Improving Reading Comprehension Of Science Texts With Computer Generated Cloze Item Practice

This research studied whether computer-generated cloze items using natural language processing methods could promote learning and comprehension of science texts compared to human and random cloze items. Participants recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk (N = 562) took a pretest on one of three science topics and then read a text on it. Participants then practiced cloze items about the text generated either by a computer (machine), human, or randomly. Cloze items were presented using the MoFaCTS adaptive practice system. After 24 hours participants took a post-test on the text. ANOVA showed a significant effect of cloze type on gain score, and pairwise comparisons found the human conditions had higher gain scores than machine or random conditions. A separate ANOVA on the circulatory system text showed machine had higher gain scores than random. Implications of these findings are discussed

A Multimedia Approach to Improving Retention in Undergraduate Anatomy and Physiology

This research compared differences in grades among students who utilized an adaptive instructional system (AIS) to study for their undergraduate anatomy and physiology exams. The AIS implemented multimedia techniques by combining machine-generated cloze questions with images drawn from the A&P textbook, specifically chapters 9 (musculature) and 10 (nervous system). The AIS adapted to the performance of each student and optimally chose which question they should see next. Participants studied using this AIS before the exam and were given extra credit for participation. I hypothesized that students who practiced using the AIS will perform better on their exams than those that did not. I hypothesized that multimedia practice will lead to higher scores on questions that directly correspond to trials in the system. A series of ANOVAs did not show significant results. An exploratory regression revealed that lecture-basd questions were easier than lab-based, indicating the importance of the multimedia component

Improving reading comprehension with automatically generated cloze item practice

This study investigated the effect of cloze item practice on reading comprehension, where cloze items were either created by humans, by machine using natural language processing techniques, or randomly. Participants from Amazon Mechanical Turk (N = 302) took a pre-test, read a text, and took part in one of five conditions, Do-Nothing, Re-Read, Human Cloze, Machine Cloze, or Random Cloze, followed by a 24-hour retention interval and post-test. Participants used the MoFaCTS system [27], which in cloze conditions presented items adaptively based on individual success with each item. Analysis revealed that only Machine Cloze was significantly higher than the Do-Nothing condition on posttest, d =.58, CI95[.21,.94]. Additionally, Machine Cloze was significantly higher than Human and Random Cloze conditions on post-test, d =.49, CI95[.12,.86] and d =.71, CI95[.34, 1.09] respectively. These results suggest that Machine Cloze items generated using natural language processing techniques are effective for enhancing reading comprehension when delivered by an adaptive practice scheduling system