The effects of interspersed questions, advance organizers, and post organizers on good and poor comprehenders

The effects of an advance organizer, interspersed questions, post organizer, and control conditions on comprehension were compared. Seventy-six students enrolled in undergraduate courses served as subjects. They were classified as good and poor comprehenders based on the Nelson-Denny Reading Test. An 800-word passage was used to compare immediate and delayed free recall of ideas, facts, and ideas and facts combined. Results were analyzed using analysis of variance, covariance, and repeated measures designs. Good comprehenders scored significantly higher than poor comprehenders on all measures. Imediate recall was greater than delayed recall. On immediate recall of ideas, the post organizer treatment was significantly better overall than the three other treatment groups. On the analysis of variance for delayed recall of ideas the post organizer treatment was significantly better for good comprehenders, while no one treatment proved to be significantly better than the others for poor comprehenders. There were no significant treatment effects on the analysis of covariance for ideas delayed. It was concluded that the post organizer proved most helpful in the immediate recall of ideas.