Improving question answering from short texts by 9- to 11-year-old children using induction tasks
Sabine Févin1, Elise Tornare1, Delphine Oger1
1Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition et l'Apprentissage, CNRS UMR 7295 - Université de Poitiers - Université de Tours, Maison des Sciences de l'Homme et de la Société, Bâtiment A5, 5 rue Théodore Lefebvre, TSA 21103, 86073, Poitiers cedex 9, France.
Memory & Cognition
|August 15, 2025
Summary
Semantic induction tasks improve reading comprehension for young children by enhancing word processing. This helps them find answers in text more accurately, especially for inferential questions.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Educational Psychology
Background:
- Visual search for information is challenging for young readers.
- Effective reading strategies are crucial for academic success.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if semantic or perceptual induction tasks improve children's ability to find information in text.
- To examine how question type and lexical quality influence reading comprehension.
Main Methods:
- An eye-tracking experiment with 9-11 year old children.
- Manipulation of induction task type (semantic vs. perceptual) and question type (surface vs. inferential).
- Assessment of lexical representation quality via word identification and discrimination tests.
Main Results:
- Children made more errors on inferential questions than surface questions.
- Semantic induction tasks increased accuracy for inferential questions (81.5% vs. 72.5%) compared to perceptual tasks.
- Higher lexical quality correlated with shorter information-seeking times.
Conclusions:
- Semantic preactivation aids young readers in comprehending inferential questions.
- Lexical quality influences reading strategy effectiveness.
- Targeted interventions can improve reading comprehension in children.
Keywords:
ChildrenInduction taskLexical qualityQuestion answeringReadingText comprehensionVisual searchMore Related Videos
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