The dimensionality of inference making:Are local and global inferences distinguishable?

We investigated the dimensionality of inference making in samples of 4- to 9-year-olds (Ns=416-783) to determine if local and global coherence inferences could be distinguished. In addition, we examined the validity of our experimenter-developed inference measure by comparing with three additional measures of listening comprehension. Multitrait, multimethod modeling determined that the best fitting model included both text and inference factors, but the factor loadings of these final models showed that local and global inference factors could not be measured reliably. The Inference Task as a whole was reliable and showed good validity at all grade levels

Inference making in young children:The concurrent and longitudinal contributions of verbal working memory and vocabulary

Inference making is fundamental to the construction of a coherent mental model of a text. We examined how vocabulary and verbal working memory relate to inference development concurrently and longitudinally in 4- to 9-year-olds. Four hundred and twenty pre-kindergartners completed oral assessments of inference making, vocabulary breadth, vocabulary depth, and verbal working memory each year until grade 3. Concurrently, hierarchical regressions revealed that a greater proportion of total variance in inference making was explained by vocabulary and verbal working memory for younger than older children. Vocabulary breadth was a stronger predictor of inference than verbal working memory but the opposite pattern was found for vocabulary depth and verbal working memory. The longitudinal relations between inference making, vocabulary and verbal working memory were investigated in two separate cross-lagged models: one with vocabulary breadth and a second with vocabulary depth. Both vocabulary breadth and depth explained subsequent inference making and verbal working memory throughout the early grades. Inference making also predicted subsequent vocabulary depth. The results highlight the critical role of vocabulary knowledge in the development of inference ability both within and across time, the importance of vocabulary in supporting the development of verbal working memory, and the changing dynamics between language and memory in early development

Inference making in young children:The concurrent and longitudinal contributions of verbal working memory and vocabulary

Inference making is fundamental to the construction of a coherent mental model of a text. We examined how vocabulary and verbal working memory relate to inference development concurrently and longitudinally in 4- to 9-year-olds. Four hundred and twenty pre-kindergartners completed oral assessments of inference making, vocabulary breadth, vocabulary depth, and verbal working memory each year until grade 3. Concurrently, hierarchical regressions revealed that a greater proportion of total variance in inference making was explained by vocabulary and verbal working memory for younger than older children. Vocabulary breadth was a stronger predictor of inference than verbal working memory but the opposite pattern was found for vocabulary depth and verbal working memory. The longitudinal relations between inference making, vocabulary and verbal working memory were investigated in two separate cross-lagged models: one with vocabulary breadth and a second with vocabulary depth. Both vocabulary breadth and depth explained subsequent inference making and verbal working memory throughout the early grades. Inference making also predicted subsequent vocabulary depth. The results highlight the critical role of vocabulary knowledge in the development of inference ability both within and across time, the importance of vocabulary in supporting the development of verbal working memory, and the changing dynamics between language and memory in early development

Exploring the relations between epistemic beliefs, emotions, and learning from texts

Conflicting claims about important socio-scientific debates are proliferating in contemporary society. It is therefore important to understand the individual characteristics that predict learning from conflicting claims. We explored individuals’ beliefs about the nature of knowledge and knowing (i.e., epistemic beliefs) and their emotions as potentially interrelated sets of learner characteristics that predict learning in such contexts. Undergraduate university students (N = 282) self-reported their topic-specific epistemic beliefs and were given three conflicting texts about climate change to read. Immediately after each of the three texts, participants self-reported the emotions they experienced. Following reading and self-report, participants wrote summaries of the conflicting texts. Text-mining and human coding were applied to summaries to construct two indices of learning from conflicting texts that reflected which source’s information is privileged in memory. Results from structural equation modeling revealed that epistemic beliefs were consistent in their predictions of emotions, which in turn variously predicted different learning outcomes. In particular, a belief that knowledge is justified by inquiry predicted surprise and curiosity, which at times facilitated learning. In contrast, confusion, predicted by passive reliance on external sources, related to impaired memory of conflicting content. Theoretical and methodological implications are discussed for research on the relations between epistemic beliefs, emotions, and learning about controversial topics