Learning Sciences Dissertations

Many universities are investing in active learning strategies and learning spaces designed to support those strategies to increase student success. However, many instructors perceive barriers to adopting active learning techniques, limiting the effect of universities' investments. This research explored barriers to instructor adoption of active learning techniques and sought to expand the understanding of the differences in perceived barriers across academic disciplines, teaching experience, and other instructor characteristics. The first study in this research explored whether commonly stated barriers are indeed substantive barriers through a quantitative survey that asked instructors to rate the severity of each barrier. One commonly stated barrier, validated by this research, was the lack of available classrooms suited to teaching using active learning practices. In the second study in this research, observations were made of the behaviors of instructors and students in both lecture-style and active learning classrooms. The study explored how instructors overcame barriers related to the availability of suitable classrooms and investigated the ways in which the elements of both types of rooms supported active learning strategies. This second study found differences in student engagement within the two environments, with increases in engagement linked to specific affordances provided by elements of the active learning classrooms. Finally, recommendations were made for improving lecture-style classrooms with elements of active learning classrooms, including the addition of multiple writing surfaces and movable furniture, to assist instructors and students in the adoption of active learning techniques without requiring large investments by universities.

The college alcohol culture glorifies high-risk drinking while minimizing potential negative consequences. A social ecological framework can be used to understand the college alcohol culture in institutions of higher education (IHEs) because the framework provides a synergistic tapestry of multiple factors such as: individual, institutional, and environmental. The role of social media is important to explore as social media has created a new frontier for college students to navigate throughout their college experience. The social ecological framework was used as a guide for this study; to explore the college alcohol culture within social media, specifically Twitter. The tweets in IHE hashtags provided a unique opportunity to simultaneously examine individual, institutional, and environmental factors. The publicly available tweets were retrieved during a college football season because of the growing trend of alcohol sales at college football stadiums. The sample included the IHEs represented in the 2014 football tournaments: Historically Black College and University (HBCUs) Classics, the College Football Bowl, along with the National College Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II and III Football Championships. Tweets found in the identified IHE hashtags were used to examine the frequency of alcohol reference terms along with the association to institutional and environmental factors of the college alcohol culture. A quantitative research design was employed, using factor analyses and hierarchical linear modeling. The factors examined in this study included: individual (i.e., alcohol related risk and protective behaviors), institutional (i.e., size of the student population, the NCAA division, and the HBCU affiliation), and environmental (i.e., alcohol sales, availability, and advertising). The majority of the identified IHE hashtags had at least one alcohol reference term in the tweets. Most of the tweets referenced a type of alcohol; beer was the alcohol reference term found most often in the tweets of the identified IHE hashtags. Institutional factors accounted for some of the difference in the frequency of terms. The environmental factor of alcohol sales during football games did not account for a significant amount of variance among the frequency of alcohol terms in the hashtags. Future research and implications for practice are discussed.

This study examined the technology-enhanced lived experiences of three Mexican-American secondary students in Southwestern United States. This work extends the research of Basch, Schiller and Blanc (1994) and Faist (2000) in which they explain that immigrant teens experience dual lives due to simultaneous connections that may have resulted in barriers and stressors between their host and home countries. The study answers a call from Velez-Ibanez and Greenberg (1992) and Gonzales, et al. (2005) for research that regards household practices as "funds of knowledge" or that are encountered through lived experiences and that may support the individual in making sense of and giving meaning to life experiences.

The multi-case analysis was guided by the following question: How did three Mexican-American immigrant teens use social media and messaging apps within transnational social spaces? The three participants were second-generation immigrants from Mexico. The teens were between fourteen and seventeen years of age. Data collection took place over the course of the first months of 2018 and included three in-depth individual interviews, three focus group interviews, and observations of the participants. Findings uncovered funds of knowledge for these three Mexican-American immigrant teens that existed within a virtual transnational space that was easily accessible through the affordances of social media and communication technologies. These cross-border networks provided access to funds of knowledge that included historical, political, economic and social knowledge. The affordances of technology were used by teens to advocate for themselves for the instructional, pedagogical and social realms needed for institutional change. Considering boyd's (2014) affordances of technology theory as well as Treem and Leonardi’s (2012) affordances, this study examined the way three Mexican-American immigrant teens leveraged aspects of communication technologies to access communities and build relationships and funds of knowledge in both the United States and Mexico as they traversed the immigrant experience. Additional research should extend this work to consider the application of virtual funds of knowledge accessible by teachers for the inclusion of instructional and pedagogical structures and content of the classroom.

Interprofessional education (IPE) can be defined as knowledge gained when two or more professionals (or students) learn about, from, and with each other to enable effective collaboration and improve health outcomes (World Health Organization, 2010). The ultimate goal of IPE is to improve patient care outcomes through the promotion of teamwork, and through collaboration between various healthcare professionals. The current literature supports the notion that the concept of IPE should be initiated as early in the educational process as possible, and sustained throughout a student’s education. This study examined a group of early career health sciences students at a local technical college. Participants’ knowledge of IPE and perceived readiness to enter an IPE program were tested before and after working on an online instructional module focused on IPE with a health science focus. Participants’ knowledge of IPE and perceived readiness to enter an IPE program were tested before and after working on an online instructional module focused on IPE with a health science focus. Participants’ knowledge of IPE and perceived readiness to enter an IPE program were tested before and after working on an online instructional module focused on IPE with a health science focus. Results showed significant increases in participants’ perceived readiness to enter the profession from pretest to posttest, although these could not be attributed to the intervention; and results showed generally low levels of participants’ knowledge surrounding IPE.

Professional development (PD) is the method educators use to continue to learn and update their knowledge and instructional practices to increase student achievement. The literature provides several reiterations of effective PD components (Darling-Hammond et al., 2017). However, there is an emerging body of research looking to identify which components of PD are effective and necessary for different types of PD. For example, performance feedback is a commonly cited important component of PD, but is often very resource intensive (Samundre et al., 2024). Mowbray et al., 2024 demonstrated a functional relation between PD with ongoing performance feedback and an immediate and stable increase in teachers’ implementation of a mathematics vocabulary routine. However, it may be the teachers only required the PD, and not the performance feedback to achieve a high level of implementation. Therefore, this multiple baseline study across special education teachers replicates and extends Mowbray et al., (2024) to investigate if ongoing performance feedback was a necessary component to improve teachers’ implementation. Results indicated a functional relation between the PD and an immediate, sustained high level of implementation. This study contributes to the PD literature regarding the necessity of ongoing performance feedback with a PD on mathematics vocabulary instruction and discusses some of the contextual variables that influence the outcomes of PD. Limitations, such as the one-on-one format of the PD, and future research to extend the PD to a small group format, are discussed.

Mobile health (mHealth) message design strategies for low and middle-income countries (LMICs) have quickly gained acceptance in the field of health education. mHealth initiatives focusing on maternal health are frequently implemented with the aim of providing access to information while improving maternal health practices. Within Ghana, access to relevant health information and hospital care within rural settings remain scarce for the majority of citizens (WHO, 2011). However, with the rapid rate of mobile phone adoption, delivering learning opportunities in conjunction with mobile devices may be promising for many individuals in Ghana. The purpose of this study was to examine message design inputs influencing expecting mothers’ maternal health activity. McGuire’s communication-persuasion theoretical framework informed the mix-methods study. I used participatory rapid appraisal techniques while carrying out the study with research team members. I employed surveys to collect quantitative data. To gather qualitative data I engaged in open-ended survey questions, interviews (one-on-one and focus groups), a journal and team reflections. The findings revealed that participants from two communities in Northern Ghana in rural settings had several inputs in the message design which may influence expecting mothers. These include; information source, design and delivery, power dynamics and personal circumstances, and perceived gains. The findings highlight that for many mHealth projects in LMIC's, there is an urgent need to reexamining the culture attributes of the users' local environment. These findings also address critical aspects of a real world problem with intent to support rural community development in Northern Ghana with goals to alleviate the lack of academic knowledge by providing an insider’s perspectives regarding community insights.

Online learning is increasingly common in educational institutions worldwide, with students of all ages opting for virtual environments over traditional schooling. This shift has led school districts to offer online education options, even for the youngest learners. Despite its benefits, such as flexibility and accessibility, online learning poses unique challenges. Students report feelings of disconnection from the learning community. Students often feel unnoticed and unheard, impacting their emotional well-being and academic success. Therefore, creating a sense of community in online learning is as essential as in traditional settings. This study uses the Adolescent Community of Engagement framework alongside maker-centered affordances—such as knowledge sharing, peer learning, decentering the classroom, student empowerment, inquiry-based learning, sensitivity to design, and productive failure—to explore how an online learning environment can foster a sense of community in an after-school club for elementary students. Results indicate that a maker-centered learning environment designed using the framework of Adolescent Community of Engagement can support community building and social learning among elementary school students.

Little is known about evidence-based educational interventions in juvenile correctional facilities (Public Law 115-385). One consideration when identifying evidence-based practices is to assess the perspectives of students. Chapter One is a systematic literature review of peer-reviewed studies that included student voice. The characteristics of the studies and how researchers assessed and utilized the student voice data are discussed. Chapter Two is a qualitative study that utilizes inductive and deductive thematic coding to identify student perceptions of their English Language Arts classroom participation in a long-term juvenile correctional facility. Implications, limitations, and future directions for research are discussed.

Patient education is a primary physical therapy intervention that physical therapists and physical therapist assistants use in patient care, however not much is known about patient education practice in the United States. This study addressed this gap by surveying physical therapists and physical therapy assistants in the state of Georgia with a survey instrument developed from the works of Forbes et al. (2017a), Snook et al. (2022), Coleman et al. (2017), and Zappin et al. (2023). The following research questions guided this study: What are the most important and most frequently used patient education activities as reported by physical therapists and physical therapist assistants in Georgia? What are the perceived barriers to successful patient education as reported by physical therapists and physical therapist assistants in Georgia? Do physical therapists and physical therapist assistants report using clear communication techniques in Georgia? If yes, what? What is the current knowledge of health literacy among physical therapists and physical therapist assistants in Georgia? Is there an interaction between demographics (provider type e.g. physical therapist or physical therapist assistant, gender identity, or racial/ethnic identity) and the results found in the previous analyses? Surveys were completed by 157 individuals who reported using a wide variety of methods to educate patients. Top barriers to effective patient education include patient’s cognitive status, emotional status, and lack of trust/rapport between patient and provider. Respondents reported using six of the eight recommended clear communication techniques, although the correct definition of health literacy universal precautions was not known by most. Although the therapists believe that written instructions are important and frequently are provided, they rarely evaluate the level of reading material. Additionally, the results found differences based on provider demographics. For example, differences in health literacy knowledge (physical therapists had higher knowledge scores than physical therapist assistants), use of medical jargon (males were more likely to use), and use of written and verbal instructions (females more likely to provide) were found. Implications and future directions for research related to physical therapist and physical therapist assistant patient education and clear communication are discussed.

Instructive feedback (IF) is an instructional methodology that involves inserting secondary or non-targeted information into the consequent events of learning trials for primary or targeted skills (Werts et al., 1995). IF has been demonstrated to be effective with learners with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) including autism spectrum disorder (ASD; Vladescu & Kodak, 2013), and acquisition is not limited to a single target (Nottingham et al., 2017). However, limited research exists investigating the effects of IF on derived relational responding. The current study used a multiple probe across stimulus sets design to evaluate whether implementing IF procedures within a multiple exemplar training (MET) format targeting basic emotion words led to the acquisition of multiple secondary targets of subordinate emotion words and facilitated derived relational responding in the frame of comparison for two learners with ASD. Although one participant did not complete the entire study protocol, IF led to the acquisition of some secondary and emergent targets without explicit instruction, along with enhanced accuracy on a narrative reading comprehension task. Nonetheless, both participants required more intensive instructional support before IF effectively facilitated the acquisition of secondary targets. The intervention had high social validity with participants parents, and moderate social validity with the participants themselves. These results tentatively suggest that IF may facilitate derived relational responding within the frame of comparison, however additional research is needed. Limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Self-efficacy is a reliable predictor of academic motivation and achievement across academic disciplines and age groups (Lishinski et al. 2016; Zimmerman et al. 1992). Because self-efficacy can be improved through instructional experiences and tools, identifying students with low self-efficacy or strategies to increase it is valuable in computing education. For this reason, measurements of self-efficacy are important for educators and researchers. The goal of the study is to replicate the findings from Steinhorst et al. (2020) validation study of their newly designed self-efficacy measurement for introductory programming students. Additionally, the intention is to extend the work by incorporating new measures of general (i.e., domain-independent) self-efficacy to assess convergent validity and explore measurements over time. Students completed several instruments related to general self-efficacy once at the beginning and programming self-efficacy at the beginning and end of the semester. Half of the current study’s scales were used in the original study, so this population can be directly compared to the original populations. New scales for general self-efficacy were added to examine convergent validity and potential differences between general and programming-specific self-efficacy. The results revealed robust internal consistency and construct validity of the Steinhorst instrument for both the introductory programming course and the data structures course, aligning with the general self-efficacy theory. Additionally, the findings highlight the Steinhorst Instrument's suitability for different languages and contexts. A significant insight from the study is the necessity for researchers and educators to modify the instrument accordingly, ensuring that items not covered in the curriculum are excluded. This research enhances researchers' and educators' understanding of the Steinhorst instrument's robustness for assessing programming self-efficacy across various educational contexts.

For the past 20 years, the diversity of students attending U.S. postsecondary institutions has increased (Irwin et al., 2021; NCES, 2021a; NCES, 2021b). With this increased diversity, there is an increased need to ensure that assessments and measures are accessible and generalizable for all students. To this end, the current study aimed to collect further evidence of the validity and reliability of a measure of critical thinking disposition (CTDS, Sosu, 2013) with a diverse sample of postsecondary undergraduate students. Prior studies have collected psychometric evidence of the CTDS outside of the U.S. (Sosu, 2013), and/or have excluded specific racial groups (Yockey, 2016). The current study evaluated psychometric evidence of the CTDS with a sample of 317 U.S. postsecondary, undergraduate students diverse in race/ethnicity, gender, and academic classification. A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to investigate the model fit of the CTDS with scores from the current study sample, which showed that currently defined measurement models do not fit the data based on the current sample. This indicates that the CTDS is not an appropriate measure for use with the current sample and similar samples. The reliability of scores, as well as their relationship with a social and emotional learning scale (SELS, Coryn et al., 2009), was also assessed and compared with results from prior studies. While the correlation coefficients and reliability estimates were comparable to those from prior studies, findings could not be substantiated since the CTDS cannot be validly used with the current sample. The findings shed light on the validity, reliability, and generalizability of the use of the CTDS with diverse student groups.

Very little research examines the intersection of virtual research team labor, the experiences of women and diverse people working on virtual research teams, and the role that power dynamics play in constraining and opening up possibilities for resilience and agency on virtual research teams between members of all roles, including the non-human actors and digital technologies that support human researchers. The general body of research that does exist focuses on corporate virtual teams that seek to reduce conflict between members in order to increase profit margins. Likewise, research settings, theory and methodology is homogenous in the literature and tends to align with the profit goals of large corporations. A few studies do conceptualize and study power dynamics on virtual research teams and these all suggest that a flattened hierarchy increases creative adaptation, satisfaction amongst researchers, and research output. Still, these studies don’t consider all-women virtual research teams in their exploration of power nor do they specifically work through a critical lens. In my work, I sought to fill these gaps by doing interpretive, empirical research on diverse academic women researchers, supported by other human and non-human actors, working on a single-gender virtual research team over several years together. Theoretically, my work was situated in both the critical feminist and actor network theory postmodern worldviews. Using these worldviews, I conducted 10 interviews and gathered recorded meetings and related documents. I then performed a thematic analysis of the 10 interviews and 9 selected meetings. Next, I completed two rounds of critical discourse analysis. First, within a larger critical ethnographic lens, I analyzed interviews, documents, and recorded meetings using Grbich’s frames of analysis technique. Then, I ran a second discourse analysis using Venturini’s cartography of controversies approach. I presented these as a consolidated set of analyses within analyses in this manuscript. I also offer a pragmatic model for virtual research teams to work from to flourish better together in the academy. In this way, I hoped to contribute to the literature and to the praxis of VRTs composed of diverse woman-identifying researchers, and the non-human actors that support them, in co-creating more resilient systems together.

Evaluative judgment is the capacity to discern and assess the quality of work using established criteria (Sadler, 1989), a critical skill for fostering self-regulation and continuous improvement in learning environments (Boud & Falchikov, 2006). This study investigates the effects of self-assessment versus peer assessment and technology versus non-technology settings on evaluation scores, evaluative judgment quality, and rating confidence of undergraduate college students. Utilizing a linear mixed-effects model, the research explores these impacts while accounting for individual participant differences (Gao et al., 2019; Panadero et al., 2016; Shore et al., 1992). The study indicated peer assessments consistently yielded higher evaluation scores across technological and non-technological contexts. However, no significant differences were observed in the quality of evaluative judgment between assessment types or settings, suggesting a more complex interplay of cognitive and affective processes than previously assumed (Sadler, 1998). Unexpectedly, peer assessment was associated with greater rating confidence, challenging the notion that self-assessment, particularly when augmented by technology, would enhance confidence levels (McCarthy, 2017; Panadero et al., 2016). These results underline the importance of peer interaction and the provision of clear evaluative criteria in enhancing evaluative practices. The study recommends integrating structured peer-assessment activities into educational curricula to promote critical feedback and reflective learning (Falchikov & Goldfinch, 2000; Hanrahan & Isaacs, 2001). The findings contribute to our understanding of assessment practices, emphasizing further research to explore the long-term development of evaluative judgment and the optimal integration of technology in assessment (Ecclestone, 2001; O’Donovan et al., 2004).

Students from racially minoritized groups attending Title I high schools need support preparing, applying, enrolling, financing, and transitioning into college. Previous research has demonstrated that (a) skills in time-management, (b) ability to apply oneself and focus on a goal, and (c) skills for advocating for oneself as a learner are essential for college readiness. The current study explored 35 Georgia high school students’ experiences of locally created and delivered college readiness programming. Guided by a social capital theoretical framework and informed by grounded theory developed by Glaser and Strauss (1967), investigators discovered hypotheses and concepts through constant comparative analysis. Students’ preparation for college began well before they started their post-secondary education journey and was shaped by their environmental, familial, cultural, academic, and socio-economic context, which served as a framework that either supported or challenged their post-secondary education experience. When examining the intersections of social capital supports of and obstacles to college readiness, students’ preexisting frameworks provided a unique variation to their experience. Findings showed that college readiness is comprised of social capital and obstacles that are multilayered and are further complicated by an interaction with each student’s personal strengths and challenges before beginning college readiness programing.

This study examined students’ perceptions of teaching, social, and cognitive presence in an online, asynchronous mastery course as they related to interaction and student course satisfaction. The study design used structural equation modeling to examine the relationships. Data was collected from 166 students who were enrolled in an asynchronous online mastery course, which covered information technology literacy skills. The study was conducted over three years using a questionnaire built upon three previously validated instruments: The Community of Inquiry (CoI) Survey (Arbaugh, Cleveland-Innes, Diaz, Garrison, Ice, Richardson, & Swan, 2008), The Noel-Levitz Priorities Survey for Online Learners (Ruffalo Noel-Levitz, 2016) and the Distance Education Learning Environments Survey (Walker & Fraser, 2005). The results of the study included a confirmatory factor analysis and a structural equation model. Results showed that students’ perception of teaching presence had the strongest positive direct effect on student course satisfaction, while cognitive presence was not a significant predictor of course satisfaction. Cognitive presence was a significant positive predictor of interaction. Social presence had a positive effect on interaction, however interaction was not a significant predictor of course satisfaction. In addition, results showed that as students’ perception of social presence increased, their reported course satisfaction decreased. The results of this research enhance the understanding of how the interdependent relationships between teaching, social, and cognitive presence affect one another. This study adds to the literature on asynchronous online learning, mastery-type courses, can serve as a model for analyzing and improving online course design and implementation, and may be used for future research and development in similar contexts.

Utilizing technology in the classroom to support daily instruction has increased significantly in many K12 learning environments (Culp et al., 2005; Davies & West, 2014; Gray & Lewis, 2021). However, empirical research identifying how technology is used to support the education of American Indian students in the United States is scarce (Adcock, 2014; Swagerty, 2021). Parallel to the growth of technology in K12 classrooms has been the growth of “asset-based pedagogies,” including culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP) which can potentially increase engagement, participation, and a sense of belonging in the classroom for minoritized students (Ladson-Billings, 1995; McCarty & Brayboy, 2021; Paris & Alim, 2014). This research aims to explore the nexus between these two parallel movements within the context of American Indian education. The affordances of instructional technology have the potential to support CRP for Indigenous students by providing opportunities to tailor instruction to American Indian culture, language, and traditions (Adcock, 2014; Allen et al., 2002). Quantitative analysis of the relationship between CRP and instructional technology within American Indian education is a gap within the literature. Through quantitative analysis of nationally representative survey data, this study aims to clarify if and how teachers of American Indian students are using technology and Indigenous CRP. Although some qualitative research has investigated instructional technology and CRP with American Indian students, it is outdated, and no single study exists that quantitatively analyzes how teachers of American Indian students are utilizing technology. This study aims to guide future professional development, coaching, and training for teachers of American Indian students and promote and support educational sovereignty by informing educators and policymakers of how technology can sustain Indigenous languages and culture in the classroom.

Math continues to be a challenge for American high school students. The United States was placed ninth in reading and thirty-first in math literacy out of 79 nations and economies in the most recent results for international exams given to teens. Math test results were worst in states with large wealth disparity. Motivation and engagement, conceptualized as students' energy and drive to participate, learn, work efficiently, and realize their potential at school, play a significant impact in students' academic success. While the flipped classroom methodology has demonstrated some success within helping this trend, many studies indicate that additional assistance is needed in keeping the students motivated and engaged for the technique to be successful. The purpose of this study was to help continue to examine supplementing the flipped classroom with additional support to further engage and motivate students. An experimental quantitative study compared a gamified flipped classroom instructional methodology to both a normal flipped classroom and a traditional lecture style class within a six-week summer program for low-income and first-generation high school students. Scores from a post-test assessment examined the differences in achievement. Motivation was measured through scores from the Math Motivation Questionnaire and engagement was measured through scores from the Student Engagement in Mathematics Scale. Findings could contribute to the literature revealing how gamification can assist in motivating and engaging high school students within a mathematics class. This study could have practical significance by identifying the effective features of both the flipped classroom and gamification within mathematics. This knowledge could be useful in determining best practices for designing and implementing this teaching technique.

Many patients have difficulty communicating with their healthcare providers (Aldoory, 2017; Brooks et al., 2020; Watson, 2019). Teach-Back is an evidence-based health literary communication tool that is useful for ensuring patients understand the information they receive; with evidence after exposure to Teach-Back, patients exhibit increased disease-specific knowledge, adherence, self-efficacy, and improved health outcomes (Hong et al., 2020a; Talevski et al., 2020). Healthy People 2030 endorsed Teach-Back as an intervention for improving patient comprehension of health information in clinical settings (ODPHP, 2020). However, Teach-Back has not been widely implemented in these settings (Brooks et al., 2020). Not much is known regarding the comprehensive factors which predict clinicians’ use of Teach-Back. This study is a follow-up to Feinberg et al. (2019) which found medical residents increased their use of Teach-Back after attending an educational presentation. Variables not examined in the original analysis are explored in the following research questions: After an educational intervention, is there a significant relationship between patients’ exposure to Teach-Back by medical residents and patients’ highest educational level, perceived health status, diagnoses, reason for visit, new or returning patient status, gender and/or the conversation length during consultation? What are the relationships between the total number of times Teach-Back is used post-intervention and the medical resident’s age, gender, race, or main language? Bivariate and Kendall’s tau correlations revealed new or returning patient status (χ² = 5.430, p < .05) and conversation length (r_t = .307, p < .01), respectively, were significantly associated with patient’s Teach-Back exposure after the residents’ participation in the training intervention. The subsequent binary logistic regression revealed only conversation length (B = .061, p < .05) was a significant predictor of Teach-Back exposure. No statistically significant relationships between the total number of times Teach-Back was used post-intervention and medical residents’ personal characteristics were found. Findings add to original study results of factors which facilitate Teach-Back exposure. Longer consultations and new patient visits were more likely to involve Teach-Back use than other factors. Given the benefits of Teach-Back for all patients, a universal precautions approach is recommended to facilitate its widespread adoption in clinical settings.

People encounter and comprehend narratives in a variety of modalities: text, graphic, film, audio, and others. Linguistic modalities (e.g., text, audio) require language comprehension while visual modalities (e.g., graphic, film) require visual comprehension and also language comprehension when text or audio is included. However, it is unknown whether readers engage in similar or different cognitive processes and construct similar or different comprehension products to the same extent for linguistic and non-linguistic narratives (i.e., with no text or audio). Thus, studies have not directly compared the in-the-moment (i.e., online) processes and post-reading (i.e., offline) products of comprehension across linguistic and non-linguistic narratives. A review of the current literature on graphic narrative comprehension is presented. The goal of this study was to explore the extent to which readers generate online cognitive processes and produce offline comprehension products post-reading across text and non-linguistic graphic narratives. A sample of 51 participants completed a think-aloud task with non-linguistc graphic and text versions of narratives to to assess readers’ online cognitive processes. A subsample of 48 participants also completed a recall task to assess their comprehension offline products (i.e., text / image base and situation model) post-reading. In addition, participants’ text print exposure and visual language fluency were measured to control for participants’ experience with both modalities. Overall, narrative modality had an effect on both participants’ comprehension processes and products. Post-hoc analyses revealed that during the think-aloud task, participants generated more backward-oriented inferences (i.e., anaphoric, bridging) and generated more inferences about characters’ emotions for non-linguistic graphic narratives. For text narratives, participants generated more forward-oriented inferences (i.e., predictions) and generated more statements about characters’ goals. During the recall task, participants included more emotion inferences in their situation model representation for non-lingusitic graphic narratives but included more accurate story information for their text base representation for text narratives. These findings suggest that modality (i.e., linguistic or visual information) influences how readers process and comprehend narratives and are discussed in terms of theoretical, research, and practical implications.