The purpose of the current research was to learn more about the differences between subgroups of poor comprehenders. Using a think-aloud and recall procedure the differences in the online process...Show moreThe purpose of the current research was to learn more about the differences between subgroups of poor comprehenders. Using a think-aloud and recall procedure the differences in the online process of inference making and the offline product of reading comprehension, the mental representation of narrative and informational texts, have been investigated in fourth and fifth grade Dutch speaking students. Results from the think-aloud procedure replicated findings from previous research. Two subgroups of poor comprehenders have been found which differ in inference making. First, the paraphrasers primarily make text repetitions while reading a text. Second, the elaborators make connecting and elaborative inferences comparable to good comprehenders. However, unlike the good comprehenders, the elaborators make more invalid inferences. Results from the recall procedure indicated that the subgroups of poor comprehenders do not differ in the mental representation they construct after reading both narrative and informative texts. The current research confirms that poor comprehenders do not form a homogenous group, but differ in online comprehension processes. However, next to individual differences also the existence of subgroups of poor comprehenders has been confirmed. Further research is needed to investigate the instructional and educational validity of the subgroups of poor comprehenders.Show less
