Variation in task criteria achievement in reading and writing skills of university students

Abstract

Recent research indicates that university students face some limitations related to reading and writing skills. To provide empirical evidence about the teaching-learning conditions that could facilitate the development of these skills, a study to evaluate the effect of varying the level of achievement of two types of tasks on reading and writing skills of university students was conducted. Thirty-six students enrolled in the bachelor’s degree in psychology participated. A pretest-posttest design with a control group was used. In the pre-test and post-test, participants were asked to read an empirical article, complete 13 identification tasks, and write a conclusion. The experimental phase consisted of completing identification and elaboration tasks based on three criteria: 1) behavioral requirements linked to the article, 2) linked to hypothetical cases and unrelated to the article, and 3) unrelated to hypothetical cases and to the article. The results show a facilitating effect on reading performance based on criterion 1 and on writing performance based on criterion 2 tasks. These findings are discussed considering the relationship between task type, achievement criterion, and functional aptitude level.