Holy Moly!! Is That for Real?

There are 18 Types of Inference. Do your inference goals include 3 types of literacy,  skills needed to make inferences, the types of inferences and inferential outcomes. If not you are not assessing or teaching inferences. Our three buddies do seem to be surprised, or are they scared, maybe even amazed!. There is no clue as to what is happening  but we could probably have a little fun guessing. Since there is no text to go along with the picture can we draw accurate conclusions? Short answer is NO! Our picture above uses emotion, cause and effect, and possibly predictive and deductive inference. All of which have to be accurately taught in order to draw correct conclusions.

 Add some text or more detail to the picture and inference becomes a tool for understanding what is going on. Today you will get a snapshot of all the different ways inference can be used.

An inference is the ability to connect what is in the text with what is in the mind to create an educated guess. You make an inference when you use clues from the story to figure out something that the author doesn't tell you. When you make an inference, be able to identify the clues that you used.

2 BASIC SOURCES OF INFORMATION FOR INFERENCES

      o Text /Picture based information and
      o Knowledge-based information

3 TYPES OF LITERACY (required in elementary school)

      o Basic literacy

             ! Reading just the words on the page

      o Critical literacy

              ! Reading between the lines
              ! Requires analysis and internalization to interpret synthesize and explain.

      o Dynamic literacy

            ! Making inferences across multiple different texts and seeing the relationships among those texts.

SKILLS NEEDED TO MAKE INFERENCES

• Good comprehension of the linguistic input - Vocabulary; Syntax
• Good general world knowledge and activate prior knowledge
• Ability to summarize.
• Good Theory of Mind (especially related to characters in narratives)

TOM is the ability to make inferences about the “full range of mental states (beliefs, desires, intentions, imagination, emotions, etc.) that cause action [the ability] to reflect on the contents of one's own and other's minds” Baron-Cohen (2001

o Identify internal states

Identify false beliefs
o Understand deception

oRead the affect cues
o Use emotional labels

! Understanding emotions for emotional inferences (YCSC)

• Understanding faces
• Recognizing identity
• Recognizing expressions
• Looking at faces

o Use social cognition.
! How are people expected to feel and react in certain situations

• Good working memory – (searching your memory and keeping the text in mind as you read)

18 TYPES OF INFERENCES

1. Emotion Inference
   She cried as she stood outside the funeral home.
2. Location Inference
   As the waves washed up against the sand
3. Characteristic Inference
   Sometimes Mrs. Ross will not leave the house for a whole month.
4. Action Inference
   Sue’s arms where like hot knives slicing through butter as she progressed through the water.
5. Object/Instrument Inference
   I heard the loud engine as it increased in speed along the road.
6. Time/Era Inference
   After the car lights passed, I was left in total darkness.
7. Category Inference  I heard a quacking and then cock-a-doodle-dos and chirps.

8. Occupation Inference
   With clippers in one hand and scissors in the other, Chris was ready to begin the task
9. Cause/Effect Inference
   As I approached all I saw were ashes where the house stood.
10. Literary Inference
    "The pot calling the kettle black”
11. Author's Bias Inference What does the author really think?  Dogs are so smelly.

12. Cultural Inference (media, gender, etc. All forms of kielbasa were served.

13. Anaphoric Reference
    Figuring out whom the nouns and pronouns refer to. He was glad to be with him.
14. Bridge Inferences
    Relate present reading to something that happened earlier. He reacted just like he did before.
15. Predictive Inferences.
    What is going to happen next and justifying it with facts present?
16. Deduction Inference
    If the premises are true, the conclusion must be true.
17. Induction inference
    Conclusions based on observation of a sample, case or instance.
    90% where red in the first bag of candy so that must be true for the other bags.
18. Abduction inference
    If this is true or a rule - and applied - it would explain the effect or conclusion
    My car engine won’t turn over and the lights won't turn on thus the battery must be dead.

INFERENCE OUTCOMES:

• Connecting what is happening (real or in text) to their fund of world knowledge
• Recognize the connection between nouns and pronouns
• Figure out the meaning of words from context cues
• Provide explanations of events
• Identify motivations, personality traits and relationships between individuals or groups
• Draw accurate conclusions

ERRORS ON LITERAL & INFERENTIAL QUESTIONS

                                       Unseen                                         Seen
                                        Literal              Inferential         Literal            Inferential

Less Skilled Readers       29.2%            45.8%                  3.6%           35.4%

Skilled Readers              10.9%             15.6%                    1.0%           9.9%

Oakhill J. & Yuill N. (1996) Reading Comprehension Difficulties Processes and Intervention, Mahwah, NJ, Eribaum.

GET YOUR GOALS RIGHT!

If your inference goals read like:

John will increase his ability to make inferences and draw conclusions based on implied information from texts from his current level to 9/10 trials as measured by curriculum based assessment.

YOU HAVE MISSED THE MARK!

GET A NEW ADVOCATE

STOP listening to Blogs that do not do their research!

I am so tired of reading garbage! That leads parents astray.

THE 3 GOALS REQUIRED FOR INFERENCE

Baselines should be taken first and the

The 3 goals required for inference could look like or contain information like:

Goal 1

John will increase the following skills to make inferences on implied information from texts from his current independent reading level to 9/10 trials as measured in CBA.

1. Comprehension of the linguistic input in both Vocabulary and Syntax
2. Use of general world knowledge and activate prior knowledge
3. Ability to summarize.
4. Good Theory of Mind (especially related to characters in narratives)
   • Identifying “full range of mental states (beliefs, desires, intentions, imagination, emotions, etc.) that cause action -the ability- to reflect on the contents of one's own and other's minds”
   • Identify internal states
   • Identify false beliefs
   • Understand deception
   • Read the affect cues
   • Use emotional labels
   • Understanding emotions for emotional inferences
     • Understanding faces
     • Recognizing identity
     • Recognizing expressions
     • Looking at faces

5. Use social cognition.
   • How are people expected to feel and react in certain situations
   • Good working memory – (searching your memory and keeping the text in mind as you read)

Goal 2

John will increase his ability to make the following 18 inferences on implied information from texts from his current independent reading and language level to 9/10 trials as measured in CBA.

1. Emotion Inference
   She cried as she stood outside the funeral home.
2. Location Inference
   As the waves washed up against the sand
3. Characteristic Inference
   Sometimes Mrs. Ross will not leave the house for a whole month.
4. Action Inference
   Sue’s arms where like hot knives slicing through butter as she progressed through the water.
5. Object/Instrument Inference
   I heard the loud engine as it increased in speed along the road.
6. Time/Era Inference
   After the car lights passed, I was left in total darkness.
7. Category Inference I heard a quacking and then cock-a-doodle-dos and chirps.
8. Occupation Inference
   With clippers in one hand and scissors in the other, Chris was ready to begin the task
9. Cause/Effect Inference
   As I approached all I saw were ashes where the house stood.
10. Literary Inference
    "The pot calling the kettle black”
11. Author's Bias Inference What does the author really think?  Dogs are so smelly.
12. Cultural Inference (media, gender, etc. All forms of kielbasa were served.
13. Anaphoric Reference
    Figuring out whom the nouns and pronouns refer to. He was glad to be with him.
14. Bridge Inferences
    Relate present reading to something that happened earlier. He reacted just like he did before.
15. Predictive Inferences.
    What is going to happen next and justifying it with facts present?
16. Deduction Inference
    If the premises are true, the conclusion must be true.
17. Induction inference
    Conclusions based on observation of a sample, case or instance.
    90% where red in the first bag of candy so that must be true for the other bags.
18. Abduction inference
    If this is true or a rule - and applied - it would explain the effect or conclusion
    My car engine won’t turn over and the lights won't turn on thus the battery must be dead.

Goal 3

John will independently generalize and increase his ability to make inferences on implied information from texts from his current independent reading level to 9/10 trials by doing the following as measured by CBA.

1. Connecting what is happening (real or in text) to their fund of world knowledge
2. Recognize the connection between nouns and pronouns
3. Figure out the meaning of words from context cues
4. Provide explanations of events
5. Identify motivations, personality traits and relationships between individuals or groups
6. Draw accurate conclusions

Across multiple SOURCES OF INFORMATION:

1. Text /Picture based information   
2. Knowledge-based information

And multiple TYPES OF LITERACY (as required in elementary school)

1. Basic literacy -Reading just the words on the page
2. Critical literacy
   • Reading between the lines
   • Requiring analysis and internalization to interpret synthesize and explain.
3. Dynamic literacy
   • Making inferences across multiple different texts and seeing the relationships among those texts.

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AUTHORS

Marie Lewis is an author, consultant, and national speaker on best practices in education advocacy. She is a parent of 3 children and a Disability Case Manager, Board Certified Education Advocate, and Behavior Specialist Consultant. She has assisted in the development of thousands of IEPs nationally and consults on developing appropriately individualized IEPs that are outcome based vs legally sufficient. She brings a great depth of expertise, practical experience, and compassion to her work as well as expert insight, vision, and systemic thinking. She is passionate and funny and she always inspires and informs.

MJ Gore has an M Ed in counseling and a degree in elementary education and natural sciences. She worked as a life-skills and learning support teacher She has been honored with the receipt of the Presidential Volunteer Service Award. She is the Director and on the faculty at the National Special Education Advocacy Institute. Her passion is social justice, especially in the area of education. She is a Board Certified Education Advocate who teaches professional advocates, educators, and clinicians the best practices in education advocacy.