Browsing by Subject "reading"
Now showing items 1-5 of 5
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(2016)Background and aims. Most of the knowledge about neurocognitive processes of reading is based on artificial reading paradigms, such as serial presentation of isolated words or linguistic violation paradigms. The main aim of this thesis was to develop a novel approach to study the neural processes of reading. Specifically, a naturalistic reading task was employed due to concerns for ecological validity, that have been raised about the effects of task on the reading processes. A combination of methods was used to overcome difficulties introduced by this unconstrained reading approach. The second aim was to apply this novel paradigm to test if early differences in the neurocognitive processing of words from different word classes can be found during naturalistic reading. Early processing differences between word classes have been observed before, but they might be task-specific or due to processing related to linguistic violations. Methods. Magnetoencephalography (MEG) and eye movements were recorded simultaneously while participants (8, 4 males) silently read a biographical novel presented on a computer screen. The eye movement recording was used to relate the MEG recording to specific word fixation events during reading. Independent component analysis (ICA) was used to remove eye movement artifacts from the MEG recording and to extract activations of individual cortical areas. An automatic parser was used to extract word class information for all the words in the reading material. Event-related fields (ERFs) evoked by fixations on nouns and verbs were compared using nonparametric cluster-based permutation tests in time window of 0–250 ms after the fixation onset. Results and conclusions. The novel combination of methods used in this study proved to be a promising approach to examine neural processes of reading. In comparison to mainstream methodology of cognitive neuroscience of reading, the present approach has several theoretical and practical advantages. Statistically significant differences between nouns and verbs were found in the sensors above the left temporal cortex, in the 138–164 ms and 184–206 ms time windows after the fixation onset. The results confirm some of the earlier findings that were based on non-naturalistic reading settings and suggests that syntactic and/or semantic information is accessed remarkably early in the course of normal reading.
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(2016)The aim of this Master's Thesis was to find out what kind of different joy of reading – projects are executed in lower grades, what kind of goals do teachers set on their projects and what kind of experiences do teachers have on their projects. Reading is seen as a remarkable factor to prosperity at school and at the same time both skill – and fact subject as well as an instrument in studying. Reading has a versatile influence on a person and it even effects person's mental well-being. Literature according to curriculum is an important part of Finnish and literature – subject. This study was executed as a qualitative case study by interviewing seven (7) class teachers in southern Finland. This study is an expanded case study. All the interviews were transcribed and its contents were analyzed. Teachers chose their projects mainly according to their own interests. Peer support from other teachers in the same school activated as a motivator for projects. Main goal for their projects seen by the teachers was that students would find joy of reading and inner motivation. Sharing experiences on reading projects will encourage teachers to organize different kinds of projects in their own class rooms. Schools should be emboldened to organize literature projects where the whole school takes part in.
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(1999)Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli kartoittaa ja kehittää modernia opiskeluympäristöä hyödyntävää kirjallisuuspiiritoimintaa ja sitä kautta edistää oppilaiden mahdollisuuksia osallistua elämyksellistä lukemista painottavaan kirjallisuuspiiriin sekä vahvistaa heidän kiinnostustaan tieto- ja viestintätekniikan käyttöön. Tutkimusaineisto kerättiin lukuvuonna 1997 1998 kyselyin ja haastatteluin sekä observoimalla lähiopetustilanteita ja virtuaaliryhmien sähköpostiviestintää. Lisäksi käytettiin valmiita dokumentteja ja asiakirjoja. Tutkimusjoukkona oli Matildaan osallistuneet 4.-6. luokan oppilaat kuudelta Espoon ala-asteelta sekä neljä tutoria, koordinaattori ja joitakin luokanopettajia Matilda-kouluista. Tutkimusongelmat suuntautuivat pääasiassa matildalaisten kokemuksiin opiskelusta modernissa opiskeluympäristössä, suhteesta tieto- ja viestintätekniikkaan sekä siihen, mitä uutta lukemiseen ja kirjallisuuteen liittyvää he kertoivat oppineensa ja kokeneensa. Koska tutkimuskohteen kaltaisia kokeiluita, joissa yhdistyy kirjallisuuspiiritoiminta ja moderni tieto- ja viestintätekniikka, ei ainakaan Suomessa ole aikaisemmin ollut, päädyttiin tutkimusmetodologian valinnassa kvalitatiiviseen otteeseen. Tutkimusote noudatti tapaustutkimuksen ja kehittämistutkimuksen periaatteita. Vaikka tutkimus oli menetelmältään kvalitatiivinen, aineistoa käsiteltiin myös kvantifioiden, mutta yleistyksiä tehtiin ainoastaan tapauksen suuntaan. Tutkimustulokset osoittivat, että opiskelu oli oppilaille positiivinen kokemus. He pitivät erityisesti etäopiskelun itsenäisestä työskentelystä ja lähiopetuspäivistä. Heidän suhtautumisensa tieto- ja viestintätekniikkaan muuttui positiivisemmaksi ja heidän taitonsa tieto- ja viestintätekniikan käyttäjinä kehittyivät. Oppilaat saivat positiivisia lukukokemuksia, heidän lukualueensa laajeni ja osa heistä kertoi lukutyylinsä muutoksista ja syvenemisestä. Oppilaat kokivat ongelmallisimmaksi hankkeen sekavan tutorointi-systeemin, kiireisen aikataulun sekä tietokoneisiin ja -verkkoon liittyvät ongelmat.
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(2015)Previous study shows that reading motivation among Finnish children and youth has diminished. Recreational reading is known to be an essential factor in literacy development. With support of the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture, new ways of promoting reading are being developed. In Sweden, the municipalities formulate plans of reading promotion with the collaboration of various operators. In Finland, there is no similar system. There are no previous studies or reports to be found on the topic in Finland or in Sweden. This study examined the methods of reading promotion presented in the plans and their justification. The study aimed at considering whether there is something to be learned from the Swedish system in Finland. Plans of reading promotion of 17 Swedish municipalities were chosen as the data of this study. The method chosen was inductive content analysis. The actions of reading promotion described in the plans could be portrayed as efforts between four factors: the professionals, the parents, the children and the material. The professionals aim at both having an impact directly on the children, using methods that take place in children's groups, and indirectly by informing and supporting the parents. They try to improve the achievability of the material by bringing the library close to the children and by offering reading that is suitable by its contents and suitably easy for each reader. The professionals also aim at improving their own actions and cooperation. The viewpoint of the librarians stands out in the plans. Cooperation with the educationalists does not seem to be widely used in planning, purchasing material or agreeing on the distribution of work. The methods are usually adult-centered. The methods, where the child becomes a subject instead of being an object, stood out clearly: the children were given an opportunity of either collaborating in purchasing the material and making it achievable or influencing each other by developing the library environment and by networking. Significant qualitative variation was found in the plans. This report offers ideas of reading promotion for an elementary school teacher and can be helpful in formulating plans of cooperation of school and library. Comparing the reading interest of Finnish and Swedish children and finding out the effects of planning on reading motivation would further contribute to the findings of this study. That information would make it more possible to evaluate if the Swedish system is worth introducing in Finland.
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(2024)Objectives. Making decisions requires the ability to seek out and use reliable information. Curiosity, as an intrinsic desire to know, is believed to be an important motivation for information seeking. Curiosity is not only a personality trait that reflects the tendency to experience new but also a cognitive state that arises from the information gap. The reward learning framework, which underscores the rewarding value of information, provides a fresh theoretical perspective for understanding curiosity. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the role of curiosity in information-seeking process. Specifically, it aims to examine how curiosity influences information-seeking behaviour and eye movements, and to explore the relationship between trait and state curiosity within this context. Methods. The sample comprised 52 participants who took part in a laboratory experiment and an online survey. The experiment involved a reading-based decision-making task, in which participants were required to read health-related arguments from three categories: scientific relevant (SR), scientific irrelevant (SI), and non-scientific relevant (NR). Eye movements were recorded during reading, while state curiosity was self-reported after each argument. In the survey session, participants’ trait curiosity levels were measured using the Five-Dimensional Curiosity Scale Revised (5DCR). Data preparation and analysis was conducted using R software. Statistical analyses included Spearman’s correlation, as well as linear and generalized linear mixed-effects models. Results and conclusions. State curiosity was associated with total fixation duration, but the effects interacted with information quality. For high quality (SR) arguments, the total fixation duration was overall longer regardless of state curiosity levels, whereas for low quality (SI and NR) arguments, total fixation duration increased with higher levels of state curiosity. As for the effects of trait curiosity, overt social curiosity was associated with more persistent information-seeking style, while stress tolerance was related to a quicker and more decisive reader. In addition, thrill-seeking tendency exhibited a negative effect on state curiosity during health-related decision-making. Overall, this study provides new insights into the role of curiosity in information-seeking process, and indicates the importance of curiosity in supporting public evidence-based decision-making.
Now showing items 1-5 of 5