Introduction
to Comprehension Practices
More
research exists on reading comprehension than on any other feature
of the reading process. Needless to say, many strategies have been
proposed and researched. In this module reading comprehension information
is organized around
1.
a review
of the efficacy of different practices,
2.
general practices
that foster comprehension, and
3.
the temporal appropriateness of different strategies.
Aaron
(1997), Flood and Lapp (1990), Pressley (2000), and Pressley and Wharton-McDonald
(1997) make a convincing argument for instruction in comprehension
strategies. Pressley, however, discovered by observing
in classrooms that comprehension strategies are not commonly taught.
He reports that in his own research teaching even a single strategy
that typifies excellent readers will improve the performance of poor
readers.
Efficacy of
Comprehension Practices
Swanson,
et al. (1996) calculated effect sizes of research involving each of
four general teaching approaches: cognitive strategies, direct instruction,
remedial, and therapeutic (eclectic). Research on cognitive strategies
showed the greatest effect size (1.07). Other effect size results
were: direct instruction (.91), remedial (.68), and eclectic (.59).
Swanson,
et al. (1996, p. 386) found many similarities in the methods used
in cognitive and direct instruction, such as, use of models, corrective
feedback, participation of the learner, skills taught in a cumulative
manner, and a reinforcement system. The differences were as follows:
in cognitive interventions the focus was on routines and planful action
and/or general principles of handling information and in direct instruction
the focus was on isolated skill acquisition to support higher order
processes.
In
the same study (p. 380) the authors arrived at the following conclusions
related to reading:
- Phonics training has
a direct influence on spelling and word recognition performance.
- The majority of studies
that showed high effect size are within the domain area of reading
comprehension. Of those studies, the majority emphasize cognitive
strategies intervention.
Marston,
et al. (1995) introduces a caution about applying researched-based
teaching strategies in actual classrooms. In a large in-classroom
study, they discovered that students in a computer-assisted program
and those in a typical reading series (Holt) using direct instruction
principles significantly out performed students in direct instruction
(SRA), effective teaching (clear presentation, corrective feedback,
guided practice, monitored practice), reciprocal teaching, and peer
tutoring.
A nonequivalent
comparison group of 6 special education resource programs where there
were no treatment conditions scored between the top two and the remaining
four treatment groups. The finding makes it incumbent upon teachers
to closely monitor the actual progress students’ make under whatever
teaching methods they choose.
General Comprehension
Practices
Aaron
(1997), Flood and Lapp (1990), Mastropieri, and Scruggs (1997), Pressley
and Wharton-McDonald (1997) discuss general teaching practices that
improve reading comprehension. Their findings have many similarities
and have been combined in the list below.
List of General Practices to Improve
Reading Comprehension
Strategy |
Description
|
| Prepare
the reader |
n
Provide
explicit instruction as to purpose of the reading.
n
Preview
in order to activate prior knowledge and build background knowledge.
|
| Understand
and use knowledge of text structure |
n
Draw
attention to the organizational framework that is used by the
author.
n
Set
up the goal that the reader locates the main idea or the main
information.
n
Provide
advanced organizers.
n
Point
out important points in the text. |
| Questioning
|
n
Teach
readers to ask pre-reading questions about:
o
narrative—theme,
main characters, goals and outcome of plot;
o
expository—pre-reading
questions on critical concepts or processes to determine prior
knowledge focus reading.
n
Teach
readers to self-generate questions. |
| Reciprocal
teaching |
n
The
use of four strategies in combination: questioning, predicting,
clarifying, and summarizing.
n
The
teacher models the process, students have opportunity to practice
with each other, and eventually the process becomes more student-directed.
|
| Information
processing |
n
Questioning
or directing attention to key elements to consider while reading.
n
Use
story maps and graphic organizers.
n
Use
of analogies especially in science.
n
Assist
in note-taking procedures and in making mental images of what
is read. |
| Summarizing |
n
Use
an orderly questioning process that the student can use to guide
future examination of information.
n
Use
strategies that require retelling the text.
n
Teach
to focus on main idea, notice repetitions, and ignore irrelevant
details (a problem for students with learning disabilities). |
| Voluntary
and recreational |
n
Provide
non-assigned books at readable levels.
n
Provide
Reading trade books relevant to class.
n
Reinforce
voluntary reading for pleasure and for information. |
Sequence
of Comprehension Practices
Bean,
Valerio, and Stevens (1997) and Flood and Lapp (1990), Pressley and
Wharton-McDonald (1997) examine the temporal application of literacy
strategies. In this way, reading activities are seen as a linear process
with a before, during, and after. The listing above, General Practices
to Improve Reading Comprehension, can be viewed in the context of
a linear process. The list below is provided to demonstrate some of
the choices available to the teacher.
Timing of Reading Comprehension Strategies
Before
Reading |
During
Reading |
After
Reading |
| Set
purpose |
Read
to report |
Report
after sentence and longer |
| Advanced
organizers |
Refer
to pre-questions |
Restate
reading |
| Brainstorm
expectations |
Use
graphic organizer |
Answer
pre-reading questions |
| Pre-teach
concepts and vocabulary |
Note
new word occurrences |
Redefine
words and use in a sentence (orally) |
| Tie
into prior knowledge |
Look
for similarities |
Report
in change in knowledge |
Pressley
and Wharton-McDonald (1997, p. 456) identified the following common
features in comprehension strategies:
- Instruction
was long-term, never for a few weeks or months.
- Strategies
were directly explained and modeled.
- Teachers
provided coaching on the strategy and conducted mini-lessons when
needed.
- Students
modeled the strategy for one another and frequently explained how
they used it in processing text.
- Strategy
usefulness was emphasized and discussions included where and what
strategies were best used.
- Teachers modeled strategies
throughout the day.
Comprehension
and Vocabulary
Students
who have difficulty decoding words usually have an oral vocabulary
range that exceeds their reading vocabulary. There are also students
who have good decoding skills who can read words that they do not
understand, much like adults who can read words in a foreign language
that they do not understand. For many students fluent reading depends
not only on word recognition but word understanding.
Curtis
and Longo (1999) recommend that new vocabulary be taught by direct
instruction. They point out (p. 32) that when a poor reader is expected
to learn words in context it is “essentially trying to use one weakness
(comprehension) to work on another weakness (vocabulary)”. Students
are introduced to about 10 new words a week. The word is written on
an overhead, the meaning is given, and students copy the information
on index cards.
At
the end of the week they clarify what they know about the word, what
information is new to them, and how the word is similar and different
from other related words. Students then write each word in a sentence.
The word and its meaning are given at least 10-15 exposures during
the week through discussions, writing activities, games, and reading.
Each word is presented in several contexts; words are actively incorporated
in both class discussions and writing and outside of class “word sightings.”
Baker,
et al. (1995) provide a comprehensive synthesis on research
on vocabulary acquisition. A digest of their summary follows:
- Nearly all strategies
of increasing vocabulary knowledge results in greater learning than
occur during typical opportunities.
- Students need to learn
strategies for learning new words that allows them to learn independently.
- The relationship between
comprehension and vocabulary is strong and unequivocal. The causal
relation is probably reciprocal.
- Independent reading
is not a powerful way to learn new words but is likely to help expand
vocabulary.
|
