TY - JOUR A1 - Soemer, Alexander A1 - Schiefele, Ulrich T1 - Text difficulty, topic interest, and mind wandering during reading JF - Learning and instruction : the journal of the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction N2 - The present article deals with the question of how the difficulty of a text affects a reader's tendency to engage in task-unrelated thinking (mind wandering) during reading, and the potential role of topic interest as a mediator of the relation between text difficulty and mind wandering. Two-hundred and sixteen participants read three texts with each text either being easy, moderate, or difficult in terms of readability and cohesion. From time to time during reading, participants were interrupted and required to indicate whether they were voluntarily or involuntarily engaging in mind wandering. After reading each text, they rated their interest in and familiarity with the topic, and subsequently answered a number of comprehension questions. The results revealed that reading difficult texts increased both voluntary and involuntary mind wandering and this increase partially explained the negative relation between text difficulty and comprehension. Furthermore, topic interest fully mediated the effect of text difficulty on both forms of mind wandering. KW - Mind wandering KW - Reading comprehension KW - Interest KW - Text difficulty Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2018.12.006 SN - 0959-4752 VL - 61 SP - 12 EP - 22 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Soemer, Alexander A1 - Schiefele, Ulrich T1 - Reading amount as a mediator between intrinsic reading motivation and reading comprehension in the early elementary grades JF - Learning and individual differences N2 - Previous research suggests that children's growth in reading abilities is positively related to their intrinsic reading motivation and the amount of spare time reading. Furthermore, a number of previous studies point to the possibility that spare time reading amount mediates the positive association between intrinsic reading motivation and reading comprehension. However, to date, most of the available evidence for a mediation model is either cross-sectional and/or limited to late elementary and secondary school students, whereas the early elementary grades have only rarely been targeted in longitudinal studies. Accordingly, the present study investigated longitudinal relations between intrinsic reading motivation, reading amount, and reading comprehension in the early elementary grades with a particular focus on the potential mediator role of reading amount. Evidence was found for partial mediation by reading amount between reading comprehension and later intrinsic reading motivation. However, there was no evidence for (partial or full) mediation by reading amount between intrinsic reading motivation and later reading comprehension. It is concluded that in the process of becoming more sophisticated readers, early elementary students read more frequently in their spare time, and this makes reading more rewarding for them in the long run. In contrast, the potentially positive effect of spare time reading on later reading comprehension seems to be either non-existent or too weak to be reliably detected over longer time frames. KW - Reading motivation KW - Reading comprehension KW - Elementary school students KW - Longitudinal study Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2018.06.006 SN - 1041-6080 SN - 1873-3425 VL - 67 SP - 1 EP - 11 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Soemer, Alexander A1 - Idsardi, Hilda Marije A1 - Minnaert, Alexander A1 - Schiefele, Ulrich T1 - Mind wandering and reading comprehension in secondary school children JF - Learning and individual differences N2 - This study investigated predictors of mind wandering during reading and their effects on comprehension in a sample of secondary school children. One hundred and twenty-five eighth-graders read either an easy, moderately difficult, or difficult version of an expository text and subsequently answered a number of comprehension questions. Students were asked about their thoughts during reading, their propensity to mind wander in various life situations, as well as their interest in the topics of the text. Overall, the results were consistent with the general mind wandering literature: More difficult texts were associated with lower topic interest, more mind wandering during reading, and worse comprehension. Topic interest was negatively related to mind wandering during reading. Furthermore, the propensity to mind wander in daily life had both a positive effect and a negative effect on comprehension, the latter being mediated by mind wandering during reading. Based on these results, it is argued that mind wandering may benefit school children's reading comprehension if it is applied in appropriate situations and for activities that promote comprehension. KW - Mind wandering KW - Reading comprehension KW - Interest KW - Text difficulty KW - Secondary school children Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2019.101778 SN - 1041-6080 SN - 1873-3425 VL - 75 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER -