Science of Reading: The Podcast S10 E12: Filling the gaps with inferences, with Kristen McMaster, Ph.D.
Feb 25, 2026
Kristen McMaster, Guy Bond Chair in Reading and special education professor who researches literacy assessment and intervention. She explores how readers fill gaps by activating knowledge and integrating information. Short takes cover types of inferences, automatic versus strategic processing, and practical ways to teach and assess inferencing skills.
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Comprehension Is Building A Mental Model
- Comprehension is how we make sense of the world by integrating incoming information with prior knowledge.
- Kristen McMaster describes this as building a coherent mental representation that combines new input with existing knowledge.
Inference Happens By Activation And Integration
- Inferencing fills gaps in information by activating background knowledge and integrating it with new input.
- McMaster emphasizes activation and integration as the two core processes of making inferences while reading or viewing media.
Different Kinds Of Inferences Matter
- There are multiple inference types: causal, bridging, elaborative, and referential, each drawing on text and/or background knowledge.
- McMaster uses a cactus example to show elaborative inferences need specific world knowledge about cacti.
