Articles by Ruth Villalon
Cognition and Instruction
The overall goal of this study was to assess the effectiveness of two different types of interven... more The overall goal of this study was to assess the effectiveness of two different types of intervention aimed at improving written argumentative synthesis by integrating conflicting information from different sources. The participants were 114 undergraduate psychology students. Although the aims of both modalities were the same, the intervention with each group was different. More specifically, both interventions combined the use of a graphical guide that included critical questions with collaborative practice in pairs, but one of them also included explicit instruction in which the processes involved in performing the task were modelled and explained. Before and after the interventions, the students in both intervention groups produced syntheses while working individually without the help of the guide. The degree of integration of conflicting information in the individual products, the number of arguments selected from the sources and the students' perceptions of the utility of the intervention were assessed. The results indicate that only students who received additional explicit instruction showed an improved ability to integrate conflicting information and increased the number of arguments they selected from the sources. Furthermore, it was found that students in that group tended to perceive the utility of the intervention more positively than those in the other group.
Revista Complutense de Educación
Journal of Writing Research
Writing an argumentation about a controversial issue from contradictory sources is a challenging ... more Writing an argumentation about a controversial issue from contradictory sources is a challenging task. It involves understanding, managing, and generating arguments and counterarguments from different sources to support a final position, conveyed in a formal structure. Despite its difficulty, argumentative writing is not often taught in higher education in Spain. Furthermore, online interventions regarding this type of task are scarce. For this reason, we designed and evaluated virtual training aimed at writing integrative and wellstructured arguments in a distance learning university. Sixty-eight undergraduates participated in this pre-post with a control group design. The training included explicit instruction through video lectures and practice exercises with immediate feedback using open online resources (e.g., Moodle). The results show that after the instruction the participants' written products improved both in their structure, the number of arguments for the against-position, and the degree of integration of the two perspectives. However, those products that presented medium or maximum integration were still limited. These results illustrate how online instruction of argumentative writing can be implemented in higher education with positive results. However, students still need more support to expand their skills for generating integrative synthesis. Considering these results, we propose further improvements in the designed training.
Educational Psychology, 2013
This study investigated the conceptions about writing and writing self-efficacy beliefs held by h... more This study investigated the conceptions about writing and writing self-efficacy beliefs held by high school students in relation to the students' gender as well as their associations with writing achievement. The results show that female students have more sophisticated writing conceptions than their male counterparts but no gender differences were found in writing self-efficacy beliefs. In addition, results reveal that writing self-efficacy beliefs and gender play an important role in predicting writing performance and that writing performance is moderated by students' writing conceptions. Educational implications and further research are discussed.
Studies in Higher Education, Aug 1, 2007
The aim of the study was to examine reading and writing tasks as learning tools in higher educati... more The aim of the study was to examine reading and writing tasks as learning tools in higher education in Spain. The participants were 171 undergraduates from three different university degree courses. The data were gathered through a questionnaire that explored the kind of ...
Digital Education Review, 2019
Los metodos de comunicacion sincrona en los entornos virtuales de aprendizaje son una realidad ca... more Los metodos de comunicacion sincrona en los entornos virtuales de aprendizaje son una realidad cada vez mas presente en la universidad. Sin embargo, aun no conocemos de forma sistematica como los profesores conciben estas tecnologias en la practica. Este estudio tiene por objetivo explorar la practica declarada de profesores de ensenanza superior con la plataforma Blackboard Collaborate. Con tal fin, se entrevisto individualmente a ocho docentes del Departamento de Psicologia de una universidad a distancia. Se indago acerca de su uso real, uso ideal y su valoracion global de la plataforma. Los resultados indican que las profesoras emplean la plataforma Blackboard Collaborate con distintos objetivos y en diversos formatos, pero que en las practicas mas habituales prima mas la transmision de informacion que la construccion de conocimiento. Segun el profesorado, el uso ideal de la videoconferencia implicaria aumentar el numero de sesiones, fomentar la participacion del alumnado, increm...
Reading and Writing, 2022
Writing an argumentative synthesis is a common but demanding task, consequently undergraduates re... more Writing an argumentative synthesis is a common but demanding task, consequently undergraduates require some instruction. The objective of this study was to test the effectiveness of two interventions on integrative argumentation: one of them was focused on the product features of argumentative texts; and the other one on the processes involved in the written argumentation. Sixty-six undergraduate students participated voluntarily. As an academic task, they were asked to write a pre-test synthesis after reading two sources which presented contradictory positions about an educational issue, then to read two new texts about a different but equivalent issue, and write a post-test synthesis following one of two types of instructional virtual environments. The instructions, implemented in Moodle, presented similar tools, employing videos, graphic organizers, and exercises. The first condition (n = 33) focused on the linguistic features while the second (n = 33), focused on the process, in...
Electronic Journal of Research in Education Psychology, 2020
Introducción. En la lectura, instrumento cultural clave que hay que aprender a dominar en las so... more Introducción. En la lectura, instrumento cultural clave que hay que aprender a dominar en las sociedades letradas, confluyen aspectos cognitivos, afectivo-motivacionales y contextuales. Pero en el ámbito internacional hay escasez de investigaciones sobre la relación entre comprensión lectora, actitudes hacia la lectura, sentimiento de competencia e implicación familiar en los dos primeros cursos de Educación Primaria. Además, no hay estudios en España que aborden esas variables al mismo tiempo.Método. Nuestro estudio investiga la relación entre estas cuatro variables en alumnado español de 2º curso de Educación Primaria mediante un estudio corte cuantitativo (descriptivo y correlacional) en el que han participado 181 niños y 167 niñas.Resultados. Se hallaron actitudes muy positivas hacia la lectoescritura así como un elevado sentimiento de competencia. Las niñas obtuvieron puntuaciones más altas que los niños. Esta última variable y la implicación familiar exhibieron correlaciones...
Journal of College Reading and Learning, Feb 2, 2022
ABSTRACT The present study analyzed the efficacy of a brief intervention aimed at scaffolding rea... more ABSTRACT The present study analyzed the efficacy of a brief intervention aimed at scaffolding readers’ “recursivity” (i.e., going back to the texts) while reading multiple texts and writing an argumentative essay. The participants were 151 university students, randomly assigned to two conditions: experimental (Recursivity-induced, RI) and active control (AC). We collected data about participants’ thinking dispositions, perceived prior knowledge and perceived level of instruction in argumentative writing received, and prior beliefs. Then, students were assigned two texts about the evaluation of teachers, one pro and one against. RI students were prompted to compare the argumentation of each text with their own prior beliefs, whereas AC students were asked to write a summary of each text. Immediately after reading the texts and performing the accompanying tasks, RI and AC students were asked to write an argumentative essay to express their opinion on the topic. Process data were collected through the software Kidlogger. Results confirmed that the brief intervention improves students’ analysis of the belief-inconsistent text, the overall argumentative quality of students’ essay, and valid inferences made in a recall task one month after. The process analysis suggested that the intervention increases recursivity in at least a certain number of RI participants.
British Journal of Educational Psychology
We investigated the association between thinking dispositions and two outcomes of multiple-texts ... more We investigated the association between thinking dispositions and two outcomes of multiple-texts comprehension: integration of conflicting information in argumentative essays; and recall of inferential information as an index of deep comprehension. We focused on two thinking dispositions, need for cognition (NFC) and actively open-minded thinking (AOT), as relevant individual differences in the processes involved in multiple-texts comprehension. NFC is the tendency to engage in and enjoy cognitively demanding activities, whereas AOT is the tendency to rationally evaluate arguments and supporting evidence, without being influenced by biases from one's own prior beliefs and prior knowledge. 73 university students completed perceived topic knowledge, perceived exposure to argumentative writing, and perceived competence in argumentative writing, NFC and AOT questionnaires, read two contradictory texts, wrote an argumentative essay, and recalled the information read 1 month later. Argumentative essays were assessed by length and level of integration of conflicting perspective. Text recalls were assessed by number of valid inferences included. Research questions were investigated through a path analysis model. The path analysis model had a good fit. NFC was indirectly associated with argumentation quality of the essay via the essay length. AOT was directly associated with the inferences included in the recall task. The present study contributes to the literature on multiple-texts comprehension by emphasizing the role of thinking dispositions. In the present-day knowledge society, to participate in the democratic discourse, people need to critically comprehend and integrate information across multiple sources that express diverse and contradictory viewpoints. However, the effortful processing of multiple documents is not always effective, even among adults, as it depends on readers' skills and dispositions (Br aten, Britt, Strømsø, & Rouet, 2011). Readers often struggle in integrating information from alternative perspectives, fail in evaluating the plausibility of arguments, and construct one-sided representations (Mateos et al., 2018). Research on multiple-texts comprehension has examined the role of several cognitive factors, such as prior knowledge (e.g., Strømsø, Br aten, & Britt, 2010) and sourcing skills (Strømsø, Br aten, Britt, & Ferguson, 2013). Conversely, more research is needed to investigate the This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.
Computers & education, Apr 1, 2023
Thinking Skills and Creativity, Dec 1, 2022
Revista Complutense de Educación, 2020
Resumen. La mejora de la competencia lingüística en la escuela tiene que contemplar la complejida... more Resumen. La mejora de la competencia lingüística en la escuela tiene que contemplar la complejidad de los procesos que conllevan las actividades de lectura y escritura. Esta incluye considerar los factores emocionales y motivacionales implicados, tales como las actitudes y el sentimiento de competencia. Sin embargo, en nuestro país son muy escasos los estudios que se han centrado en estos aspectos, y en especial al comienzo de la escolarización. Nuestro objetivo fue identificar qué actitudes hacia la lectura y la escritura y qué sentimiento de competencia mantiene el alumnado al inicio de la Educación Primaria. Asimismo, pretendimos investigar si las actitudes se relacionan con el sentimiento de competencia en esta etapa. Los participantes fueron 725 niños y niñas de 1º y 2º curso, pertenecientes a varios centros educativos urbanos del norte de España. El instrumento empleado fue un cuestionario adaptado de la versión finlandesa del Reading Attitude Questionnaire (Merisuo-Storm y Soininen, 2012). Los resultados indican que el alumnado muestra actitudes muy positivas hacia la lectura y la escritura y que se siente muy competente para aprender a leer y escribir, aunque se aprecian algunas diferencias por curso. Se discuten las implicaciones educativas de estos resultados. Palabras clave: actitudes; lectura; escritura; sentimiento de competencia; educación primaria. [en]First and Second Graders' attitudes and feelings of competence towards reading and writing Abstract. The improvement of the linguistic competence in the school must contemplate the complexity of the processes that entail the activities of reading and writing. This includes considering emotional and motivational factors involved, such as attitudes and feeling of competence. However, in our country there are very few studies that have focused on these aspects, and especially at the beginning of schooling. Our objective was to identify what attitudes towards reading and writing and what level of competence students maintain at the beginning of Primary Education. Likewise, we sought to investigate if attitudes are related to feeling of competence in this stage. Participants were 725 boys and girls of 1st and 2nd grade, belonging to several urban educational centers in the north of Spain. The instrument used was an adapted questionnaire from the Finnish version of the Reading Attitude Questionnaire (Merisuo-Storm y Soininen, 2012). Descriptive data and contrasts of means were obtained per course. Results indicate that, in general terms, students hold very positive attitudes towards reading and writing and that they feel very competent to learn to read and write, although some differences are appreciated by grade. The educational implications of these results are discussed.
Improving University Argumentative Writing through Online Training, 2020
Writing an argumentation about a controversial issue from contradictory sources is a challenging ... more Writing an argumentation about a controversial issue from contradictory sources is a challenging task. It involves understanding, managing, and generating arguments and counterarguments from different sources to support a final position, conveyed in a formal structure. Despite its difficulty, argumentative writing is not often taught in higher education in Spain. Furthermore, online interventions regarding this type of task are scarce. For this reason, we designed and evaluated virtual training aimed at writing integrative and well-structured arguments in a distance learning university. Sixty-eight undergraduates participated in this pre-post with a control group design. The training included explicit instruction through video lectures and practice exercises with immediate feedback using open online resources (e.g., Moodle). The results show that after the instruction the participants' written products improved both in their structure, the number of arguments for the against-position, and the degree of integration of the two perspectives. However, those products that presented medium or maximum integration were still limited. These results illustrate how online instruction of argumentative writing can be implemented in higher education with positive results. However, students still need more support to expand their skills for generating integrative synthesis. Considering these results, we propose further improvements in the designed training.
Electronic Journal of Research in Educational Psychology, 2020
Introduction. In literate societies, reading is a key cultural instrument that must be mastered. ... more Introduction. In literate societies, reading is a key cultural instrument that must be mastered. This process involves cognitive, affective-motivational and contextual aspects. However, we find little research internationally on the relationship between reading comprehension, atti-tudes toward reading, reading self-confidence and family involvement in the first two grades of primary education. Furthermore, there are no studies in Spain that address these variables concurrently.
Method. Our study investigates the relationship between these four variables in Spanish sec-ond-graders using a quantitative (descriptive and correlational) study with the participation of 181 boys and 167 girls.
Results. Attitudes towards reading and writing were very positive, and confidence was high. The girls obtained higher scores than the boys. Reading self-confidence and family involve-ment showed significant correlations with reading comprehension.
Discussion and conclusions. It is important to foster the involvement of families in their childrens' acquisition of reading and writing, to maintain the learners’ self-confidence, and for teachers to understand early differences between boys and girls in their attitudes and prefer-ences.
Cognition and Instruction, 2018
The goal of this study was to assess the effectiveness of 2 different types of intervention aimed... more The goal of this study was to assess the effectiveness of 2 different types of intervention aimed at improving written argumentative synthesis by integrating conflicting information from different sources. Both interventions combined the use of a guide with collaborative practice, but one of them also included explicit strategy instruction. Only students who received additional explicit instruction showed an improved ability to integrate conflicting information and increased the number of arguments they selected from the sources.
Digital Education Review, 2019
Resumen Los métodos de comunicación síncrona en los entornos virtuales de aprendizaje son una rea... more Resumen Los métodos de comunicación síncrona en los entornos virtuales de aprendizaje son una realidad cada vez más presente en la universidad. Sin embargo, aún no conocemos de forma sistemática cómo los profesores conciben estas tecnologías en la práctica. Este estudio tiene por objetivo explorar la práctica declarada de profesores de enseñanza superior con la plataforma Blackboard Collaborate. Con tal fin, se entrevistó individualmente a ocho docentes del Departamento de Psicología de una universidad a distancia. Se indagó acerca de su uso real, uso ideal y su valoración global de la plataforma. Los resultados indican que las profesoras emplean la plataforma Blackboard Collaborate con distintos objetivos y en diversos formatos, pero que en las prácticas más habituales prima más la transmisión de información que la construcción de conocimiento. Según el profesorado, el uso ideal de la videoconferencia implicaría aumentar el número de sesiones, fomentar la participación del alumnado, incrementar su dominio del contenido y cambiar el rol de docentes y discentes. A la hora de valorar la herramienta, las participantes tienen como marco de referencia la enseñanza cara a cara y apuntan en relación a ésta varias ventajas, pero también ciertas limitaciones. No obstante, su valoración global de Blackboard Collaborate es positiva. A partir de estos resultados se plantean implicaciones para la formación de los docentes y para el diseño de futuras investigaciones en estos entornos virtuales síncronos.
Palabras clave Entorno virtual de aprendizaje; universidad a distancia; comunicación síncrona; profesores de universidad; Blackboard Collaborate.
Educational Psychology: An International Journal of Experimental Educational Psychology, Sep 1, 2015
This study investigated the conceptions about writing and writing self-efficacy beliefs held by h... more This study investigated the conceptions about writing and writing self-efficacy beliefs held by high school students in relation to the students’ gender as well as their associations with writing achievement. The results show that female students have more sophisticated writing conceptions than their male counterparts but no gender differences were found in writing self-efficacy beliefs. In addition, results reveal that writing self-efficacy beliefs and gender play an important role in predicting writing performance and that writing performance is moderated by students’ writing conceptions. Educational implications and further research are discussed.
Reading and Writing, Jan 1, 2008
The research reported here employed a multiple-case study methodology to assess the online cognit... more The research reported here employed a multiple-case study methodology to assess the online cognitive and metacognitive activities of 15-year-old secondary students as they read informational texts and wrote a new text in order to learn, and the relation of these activities to the written products they were asked to generate. To investigate the influence of the task, students were required to perform two different tasks which differed in complexity and familiarity. The first task was reading a single text and making a written summary of it, while the second consisted in reading two texts and making a written synthesis of them. To gather information about how students construct meaning from informational texts, we asked students to think aloud as they read and wrote in order to provide us with information about their comprehension and composition processes. We also examined their reading and writing activities during the tasks. The results show that to a large extent secondary school students lack the cognitive and metacognitive processes that would enable them to make strategic use of reading and writing. They also show that, although there are no major differences in the way secondary school students tackle these different tasks, those who create the most elaborate products evidence a more recursive and flexible use of reading and writing. The most obvious conclusion as far as the repercussions of these findings are concerned is that there is an urgent need for work on tasks of this kind in the classroom.
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Articles by Ruth Villalon
Method. Our study investigates the relationship between these four variables in Spanish sec-ond-graders using a quantitative (descriptive and correlational) study with the participation of 181 boys and 167 girls.
Results. Attitudes towards reading and writing were very positive, and confidence was high. The girls obtained higher scores than the boys. Reading self-confidence and family involve-ment showed significant correlations with reading comprehension.
Discussion and conclusions. It is important to foster the involvement of families in their childrens' acquisition of reading and writing, to maintain the learners’ self-confidence, and for teachers to understand early differences between boys and girls in their attitudes and prefer-ences.
Palabras clave Entorno virtual de aprendizaje; universidad a distancia; comunicación síncrona; profesores de universidad; Blackboard Collaborate.
Method. Our study investigates the relationship between these four variables in Spanish sec-ond-graders using a quantitative (descriptive and correlational) study with the participation of 181 boys and 167 girls.
Results. Attitudes towards reading and writing were very positive, and confidence was high. The girls obtained higher scores than the boys. Reading self-confidence and family involve-ment showed significant correlations with reading comprehension.
Discussion and conclusions. It is important to foster the involvement of families in their childrens' acquisition of reading and writing, to maintain the learners’ self-confidence, and for teachers to understand early differences between boys and girls in their attitudes and prefer-ences.
Palabras clave Entorno virtual de aprendizaje; universidad a distancia; comunicación síncrona; profesores de universidad; Blackboard Collaborate.
One hundred pre-service teachers who were studying the first course in Education in the University of Cantabria volunteered to participate. The following data were collected: a) general academic writing conceptions b) general argumentative strategy declared c) perception of competence in several of the processes involved in written argumentation d) level of training received in relation to argumentation. Afterwards, a subsample of 50 students carried out a synthesis from two contradictory texts in which two positions about an educational issue were claimed. Their synthesis were coded in a four options scale regarding their general approach to argumentation and the level of integration achieved.
The participants hold epistemic writing conceptions less sophisticated than expected for Higher Education, since they indicated a medium agreement to the Epistemic Scale and did not reject completely the Reproductive scale. However, most of them declared to use the most elaborated argumentative strategies. Furthermore, the students feel to be competent to a greater extend on the most simple process involved in writing an argumentation although only few of them considered to have received a high level instruction on argumentative writing. Regarding their written products, their synthesis showed, in general terms, low integration skills.
Results suggest that pre-service teachers could be overestimating their argumentation skills, even though they are aware of their lack of experience. The quality of their written products confirms the need of training in written argumentation abilities.
La sociedad de la información demanda que los estudiantes adquieran competencias para comprender, elaborar, organizar e integrar información de diversas fuentes. Así sucede, por ejemplo, en tareas de síntesis a partir de la lectura de varios textos que presentan posiciones contradictorias. Pese a los retos que plantea esta tarea, suele proporcionarse escasa instrucción sobre estrategias de escritura de este tipo. Por otro lado, es preciso tener en cuenta el aumento de alumnos a distancia y la disponibilidad de campus virtuales en las universidades presenciales. Este trabajo expone los resultados de un estudio piloto en el que se planteó una intervención con estudiantes universitarios a distancia sobre escritura argumentativa en un entorno virtual (Moodle).
MÉTODO
Participaron en la intervención 78 estudiantes de Psicología del Aprendizaje, distribuidos en dos condiciones. Previamente, se midieron sus concepciones de escritura; previa y posteriormente a la intervención, sus estrategias argumentativas declaradas y su percepción de autoeficacia en la escritura argumentativa; posteriormente se pidió una valoración de las ayudas y una reflexión sobre su proceso de aprendizaje. Durante la intervención los participantes realizaron una síntesis previa a partir de dos textos, visionaron vídeos, resolvieron ejercicios guiados, utilizaron mediadores gráficos y escribieron una última síntesis.
RESULTADOS
Los estudiantes de los dos tipos de intervención mostraron cambios positivos en la estrategia argumentativa que declaraban usar y también en su percepción de competencia en varios de los procesos implicados. Se analizó también qué tipo de ayudas concretas fueron mejor valoradas por los estudiantes y cómo se podría, según su opinión, mejorar el entorno de intervención.
DISCUSIÓN
Los resultados ilustran cómo pueden utilizarse las nuevas tecnologías para ofrecer una intervención sobre estrategias de escritura argumentativa en entornos virtuales de enseñanza universitaria. Además, los datos de este piloto permiten incorporar mejoras en la intervención a partir de las valoraciones y reflexiones de sus destinatarios.
Participants were 320 children (137 girls and 183 boys), 161 in 1st grade and 159 in 2nd Grade (6-8 years-old), belonging to several urban schools in northern Spain. The instrument used was an adapted version of the Finnish Reading Attitude Questionnaire (Merisuo-Storm and Soininen, 2012). For the data analysis we conducted mean contrast analysis for reading comprehension, attitudes and feelings of competence by sex and school grade, as well as correlations between reading comprehension, feeling of competence in reading and writing and attitudes towards literacy.
Results indicate that, in general terms, Spanish students really like reading and writing and feel very competent in learning to read and write, although some differences by gender and grade can be found. In particular, girls seem to hold more positive attitudes to literacy than boys and first grade pupils feel more confidence for reading and writing than their older peers. Also, results suggest that these positive attitudes are not necessarily related to children reading comprehension skills. The educational implications of these results both for teaching practices and for teacher training are discussed.
Keywords: Literacy, reading comprehension, attitudes, primary education.