Cognitive processes of middle grade readers when reading expository text with an assigned goal Janet Tilstra ⁎, Kristen L. McMaster Department of Educational Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA abstract article info Article history: Received 2 June 2012 Received in revised form 21 August 2013 Accepted 12 September 2013 Keywords: Reading Comprehension-building Struggling readers Think alouds Cognitive processes Expository text The purpose of this study was to examine 5th-grade readers' cognitive processes during reading when assigned to read for a specific goal as compared to reading for general comprehension. Equal groups of good and struggling readers (N = 40) read expository texts and thought aloud while reading. In addition, the readers completed a text retell to examine the impact of an assigned goal on comprehension. During reading in the specific goal con- dition, both groups of readers used more study statements (monitoring, repetitions, and paraphrases) and fewer inferences (elaborative, predictive, and text-based) when thinking aloud compared with general comprehension. No reliable condition differences were noted in the amount or type of information included in retells. Implica- tions for developing readers' comprehension-building processes when assigned a goal for reading are discussed. © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction By the middle grades, readers are expected to not only decode a text, but also assign meaning to the printed word, and build a mental repre- sentation of the text. To construct a mental representation of text, readers identify key information in text and integrate this essential in- formation with prior knowledge of the topic (Kintsch, Britton, Fletcher, Kintsch, Mannes and Nathan, 1993; Kintsch & van Dijk, 1978; van den Broek & Kremer, 1999). To build a mental representation, readers do not simply repeat the information verbatim from the passage. Rather, they engage in higher level cognitive processes to generate inferences and build a consolidat- ed understanding of the text. Continuous inference-making occurs as readers connect ideas within the text, integrate text information with prior knowledge, and predict what will happen in the passage (Kintsch & van Dijk, 1978; Pressley & Afflerbach, 1995). The meaning construction process can be influenced by multiple factors including reader characteristics (e.g., proficiency, interest, and comprehension standards), text properties (e.g., genre and writing clarity), and external cues such as instructions given before reading (Alexander & Jetton, 1996, 2000; Duke, 2005; Goldman, 1997; Linderholm, Virtue, Tzeng, & van den Broek, 2004). For readers in upper elementary grades, external cues before reading become increasingly important influences on meaning construction. Readers of this age learn academic content using both narrative and expository genres. Narrative texts maintain a predictable structure, thus allowing readers to determine the most salient or important infor- mation based on the consistent story structure (McCrudden, Magliano, & Schraw, 2010; Stein & Glenn, 1979). In contrast, expository texts are organized with varied structures (Englert & Hiebert, 1984; Meyer & Freedle, 1984; Wiley, Griffin, & Thiede, 2005), contain dense, less famil- iar vocabulary, and include a greater number of abstract connections than narrative texts (Palinscar, Magnusson, Pesko, & Hamlin, 2005; Stein & Trabasso, 1985). Because of these unique features, when reading expository text, readers are less able to rely on predictable text structure or familiarity to guide comprehension (Gersten, Fuchs, Williams, & Baker, 2001); the essential text information is more closely aligned with reading goal rather than the hierarchical or linguistic features of the text (Goetz, Schallert, Reynolds, & Radin, 1983; Schraw, Wade, & Kardash, 1993). Reading goals may be defined personally by the reader (e.g., “I need to learn the names of the major historical figures from this time period.”) or externally by task instructions (e.g., “Read this passage and decide if this would be a pleasant place to vacation.”). In either case, the reading goal affects the information the reader defines as most sa- lient, in turn, affecting the information the reader uses to develop a mental representation of the passage. 1.1. Effects of reading goal on reading behavior Research findings suggest that developing readers gradually become more effective at identifying reading behaviors needed to promote effective comprehension-building. Second- and third-grade readers matched reading behavior (study or skim) of a fictional character to the appropriate reading task (Cain, 1999) and acknowledged that reading Learning and Individual Differences 28 (2013) 66–74 ⁎ Corresponding author at: Department of Psychology, College of St. Benedict|St. John's University, 37 College Avenue South, St. Joseph, MN 56374, USA. Tel.: +1 320 363 5676. E-mail address: jtilstra@csbsju.edu (J. Tilstra). 1041-6080/$ – see front matter © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2013.09.011 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Learning and Individual Differences journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/lindif