Effects of textual cue manipulation on student recall in an information mapped nutrition text

Using the subject area of nutrition, this study examined the effects of different instructional features of an adjunctive text for nursing students who varied in reading level. Specifically, the study investigated the effects of both variations in instructional features of information-mapped text and the differences in student reading levels on immediate recall scores and work time spent on the modules. A sample of 65 nursing students was classified into high and low reading groups according to the Nelson-Denny Reading Test, then randomly assigned to one of the three treatment groups. Analysis of covariance indicated significant treatment effects after adjusting the recall scores for the influence of verbal aptitude. Information-mapped text with either postquestions or postquestions and feedback yielded higher recall scores than information-mapped text alone. Subjects whose modules contained postquestions or postquestions and feedback spent significantly more work time than subjects whose modules did not contain those features; however, when the recall scores were adjusted for the influence of work time spent on the modules, there were no significant differences. Conclusions and recommendations for the text construction process, especially for the adjunctive nursing text, are presented.