Reading Multiple and Non-Traditional Texts

This chapter reviews theory and research on the reading of multiple and non-traditional texts, discusses implications for educational research and practice, and suggests directions for future theoretical and empirical work. Several theoretical frameworks that describe the competencies and processes involved in comprehending multiple and non-traditional texts are discussed. Furthermore, research on the role of individual and contextual factors in multiple text comprehension, the reading of printed versus digital texts, and the reading of non-traditional texts in digital contexts is reviewed. It is concluded that multiple and non-traditional texts offer many new opportunities, for example in terms of engagement, integrated understanding, and social interaction. At the same time, however, such texts pose a range of new challenges, including searching for information, attending to sources, evaluating the relevance and credibility of information, and integrating information across texts. These insights have implications for the conceptualization of reading within reading research as well as for the teaching of reading.