A study examined student performance when using digital textbooks versus traditional printed textbooks for the same course material. Students who...
GMAT Information and Ideas : (Ideas) Questions
A study examined student performance when using digital textbooks versus traditional printed textbooks for the same course material. Students who used digital textbooks demonstrated different reading comprehension patterns compared to those who used printed books, even when the content was identical. The researchers concluded that students who received digital textbooks spent significantly more time on supplementary materials and interactive elements, while those with printed textbooks focused more intensively on core content. One potential explanation for this difference is that students approach and process information differently when reading from screens versus paper due to distinct cognitive frameworks activated by each medium.
Which finding from the study, if true, would most directly weaken the potential explanation?
Students assigned digital textbooks printed out most of the required reading materials and studied primarily from the hard copies.
Students using digital textbooks accessed supplementary materials at different times of day than students using printed textbooks.
Students with printed textbooks took notes by hand about as frequently as students with digital textbooks took notes electronically.
Some students with printed textbooks were provided books in color while others received black-and-white editions.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "A study examined student performance when using digital textbooks versus traditional printed textbooks for the same course material." |
|
| "Students who used digital textbooks demonstrated different reading comprehension patterns compared to those who used printed books, even when the content was identical." |
|
| "The researchers concluded that students who received digital textbooks spent significantly more time on supplementary materials and interactive elements, while those with printed textbooks focused more intensively on core content." |
|
| "One potential explanation for this difference is that students approach and process information differently when reading from screens versus paper due to distinct cognitive frameworks activated by each medium." |
|
Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: A study found that students using digital textbooks read differently than those using printed textbooks, potentially due to different cognitive frameworks activated by each medium.
Argument Flow: The passage moves from describing a study's basic setup to presenting its key finding (different reading patterns), then provides specific details about these differences, and finally offers a potential cognitive explanation for why the medium might matter.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
This is a fill-in-the-blank question asking us to choose the best logical connector. The answer must create the right relationship between what comes before and after the blank.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- The explanation we need to weaken is that different cognitive frameworks are activated by screens versus paper, causing different reading behaviors
- To weaken this explanation, we'd want to show that the medium (screen vs paper) isn't actually what's driving the behavioral differences
Students assigned digital textbooks printed out most of the required reading materials and studied primarily from the hard copies.
- If digital textbook students printed out materials and studied from hard copies, they were actually reading from paper, not screens
- Yet they still showed the "digital textbook" pattern (more time on supplementary materials)
- This directly contradicts the cognitive framework explanation because it shows the different behavior occurred even when the reading medium was the same (paper)
Students using digital textbooks accessed supplementary materials at different times of day than students using printed textbooks.
- This just tells us when students accessed materials, not how the medium affected their behavior
- Different timing doesn't challenge whether screens vs paper activate different cognitive frameworks
Students with printed textbooks took notes by hand about as frequently as students with digital textbooks took notes electronically.
- Note-taking frequency being similar doesn't weaken the explanation about reading comprehension patterns
- The explanation focuses on how students process and approach information, not how often they take notes
Some students with printed textbooks were provided books in color while others received black-and-white editions.
- Color versus black-and-white printing is unrelated to the screen-versus-paper cognitive framework explanation
- This doesn't address whether different media activate different cognitive processes