P. Van Den Broek et al., Inferential questioning: Effects on comprehension of narrative texts as a function of grade and timing, J EDUC PSYC, 93(3), 2001, pp. 521-529
In this study, we investigated the effects of inferential questioning, and
of the timing of such questioning, on narrative comprehension by 4th-, 7th-
, and 10th-grade students and college students. Students received questions
either during or after reading simple narrative texts. Control groups read
the texts without questions. Questioning, particularly during reading, int
erfered with the youngest students' recall both of text information in gene
ral and of information specifically targeted by the questions. Questioning
facilitated college students' memory but only for information specifically
targeted by the questions and only when questioning occurred during reading
. As reading and language skills become more proficient and automatic, infe
rential questioning increasingly directs readers' attention during reading
to the information targeted by the questions, In addition, inferential ques
tioning challenges the processing capacities of younger or less skilled rea
ders and, hence, may interfere with comprehension.