Comprehension, Content Instruction, and Strategies for Success

I just thought this would be interesting to post with everything going on with education these days... :)


Amy Cannon
Jones International University

Assignment 2.1: Exploring Comprehension, Content Instruction, and Strategies for Success

For this assignment, we were asked to reflect on the processes involved in comprehension and creating meaning when working with content area reading material. We were also asked to reflect on the strategies presented that could assist our students in developing the skills needed to understand challenging content information. We have utilized and synthesized the information gleaned from the module content and readings and have further explored collocations and their role in second-language literacy and comprehension for struggling readers.

Describe the cognitive processes involved in creating meaning and comprehending content area information

 “Cognitive processes are very important for human behavior. It is about knowledge and the way people use their knowledge” (Thinkquest, 2012).
There are several cognitive processes involved in creating meaning and comprehending content area information.  “Cognitive and learning strategies are those procedures that a student uses to succeed with a task that would be difficult without special effort. Strategies can be external aids, like a calculator to help with difficult math problems, a clock and a calendar to help keep track of time, lists to remember things to do, a graphic organizer for complex tasks like writing a story, and the like. Or they can be communication strategies, like asking for help. Or they can be internal mental procedures, like repeating information in one’s head or creating associations in order to make the information more memorable. Simple school examples include taking notes during a lecture, asking for clarification of complex material in a text, highlighting important information in a text as one reads, and creating an outline before beginning to write an essay” (Learnet, 2012).

Why is it important to select specific comprehension strategies and to explicitly integrate and teach the strategies in content area lessons

The following information, from our research, explains why it is important to select specific comprehension strategies and explicitly integrate and teach the strategies in content area lessons. 
 “The rationale for the explicit teaching of comprehension skills is that comprehension can be improved by teaching students to use specific cognitive strategies or to reason strategically when they encounter barriers to understanding what they are reading. Readers acquire these strategies informally to some extent, but explicit or formal instruction in the application of comprehension strategies has been shown to be highly effective in enhancing understanding. The teacher generally demonstrates such strategies for students until the students are able to carry them out independently” (Readingrockets, 2012).
In addition, “If teachers are going to help students use cognitive skills and strategies, they should help them (1) monitor their cognitive processes effectively; (2) avoid the use of simplistic, primitive routines when better strategies are available; (3) develop an adequate knowledge base of general and specific information and of the strategies available in various subject areas; (4) develop a pattern of attributing both success and failure to the effectiveness of their own efforts; and (5) help them to transfer effective strategies to new situations. Cognitive strategy instruction should help learners develop these skills” (Calumet, 2012).
Finally, “Cognitive instruction can be defined as any effort on the part of the teacher or the instructional materials to help students’ process information in meaningful ways and become independent learners.  Cognitive instruction has the potential to alter substantially the capability of the learner, especially the low-achieving learner, in much the same way that microchips radically altered the capability of the computer” (Calumet, 2012).

Which of the strategies presented would work most effectively for your students in promoting comprehension and in developing comprehension skills?

The strategy that is the most effective in my sponsor’s classroom is the use of graphic organizers.  Many of her students have disabilities.  Students with ADD or ADHD are a majority of the disabilities.  In turn, her students have difficulty remembering a paragraph or chapter they had just read.  They lose focus and tend to forget why they are reading altogether.  She has her students read 5-10 questions before they read the story or passage.  She has them listed on a graphic organizer in order of the story.  They keep the graphic organizer beside them as they start to read the story.  Typically, if they read and re-read the questions 2-3 times before reading the story they will recognize answers to the questions as they are reading.  They will stop reading and write the answer for a specific question and continue reading.  This gives them more variety, keeps the reading interesting, helps them stop and truly comprehend what they are reading, and makes them feel like they are accomplishing something. 

Conduct a brief comparison of the Think Alouds Strategy and CORI. Which would be more effective in your learning situation?

“Think-alouds have been described as "eavesdropping on someone's thinking." With this strategy, teachers verbalize aloud while reading a selection orally. Their verbalizations include describing things they're doing as they read to monitor their comprehension. The purpose of the think-aloud strategy is to model for students how skilled readers construct meaning from a text” (Readingrockets, 2012). 
In comparison,” CORI stands for Concept-Oriented Reading Instruction. It is designed to teach children reading comprehension through the integration of science and reading. Its primary aim is to increase the reading comprehension of students in grades 3 to 5 by increasing their reading engagement” (Readingrockets, 2012). 
I feel that “Think-alouds” would be more effective in my sponsor’s classroom.  As I mentioned earlier, the students have difficulty remembering and staying focused.  The “Think-alouds” strategy “helps students learn to monitor their thinking as they read and improves their comprehension.  It teaches students to re-read a sentence, read ahead to clarify, and/or look for context clues to make sense of what they read.  It slows down the reading process and allows students to monitor their understanding of a text” (Readingrockets, 2012). 

Which would be more effective when combined with independent reading and study skills?

I also feel that the “Think-alouds” strategy would be more effective when combined with independent reading and study skills for the students in my sponsor’s classroom.  The “Think-alouds” strategy “gives students the opportunity to practice the technique, and offer structured feedback to students.  They read the selected passage aloud as the students read the same text silently. At certain points they stop and "think aloud" the answers to some of the pre-selected questions” (Readingrockets, 2012).  If students are able to successfully practice this technique in the classroom, then they should easily be able to use it when they are studying and or reading independently. 

Why is it important to incorporate collocations into literacy instruction for second-language learners?

“Collocations are words that typically appear together in a predictable pattern. Collocations can consist of two word combinations up to lengthier, extended phrases. The patterns and phrases that make up a collocation are used regularly in both speech and writing. Collocations pose problems and hinder comprehension for English language learners. They also pose challenges for English speaking, struggling readers at any age” (JIU, 2012, EDU528, Module 2, Theme 3).
It is important to incorporate collocations into literacy instruction for second-language learners because, “In many cases, second-language learners lack the general knowledge that native speakers have regarding collocations, as they are not familiar with specific, popular phrases and word patterns. Some researchers believe that without knowledge of collocations, second-language learners will never be able to become fluent and literate in the second language” (JIU, 2012, EDU528, Module 2, Theme 3).

Describe the framework of the Lexical Approach. Why might this approach be effective in teaching collocations and in promoting comprehension?

“One approach to teaching collocations is the Lexical Approach.  This approach suggests that lexis is the basis for language and language learning. A key principle in this approach is that language consists of grammaticalized texts or grammar within the context of the whole text. Language often consists of multi-word prefabricated chunks of information. Collocations are part of these chunks. Therefore, meaning should be centered on words, combinations of words, and phrases that are stored in our memory as learners” (JIU, 2012, EDU528, Module 2, Theme 5).
The lexical approach would be effective in teaching collocations and promoting comprehension because the lexical approach shows a division between vocabulary words and lexis. “The lexis of language represents the entire text of the language; therefore, collocations are an important part of teaching within the framework of this approach” (JIU, 2012, EDU528, Module 2, Theme 5).

Explain the Lexical Taxonomy. How might the taxonomy be integrated into content area instruction?

Taxonomy of lexical items begins with simple words and builds to sentence frames. “By referring to the taxonomy, teachers can design effective lessons that capitalize on prior student knowledge, vocabulary, language learning skills, and level of proficiency” (JIU, 2012, EDU528, Module 2, Theme 5).  Taxonomy could be integrated into content area instruction because it builds on a students’ prior knowledge and constructs that knowledge moving forward. 

 

References

Calumet. (2012). Cognitive skills instruction. Retrieved from http://www.education.calumet.purdue.edu
Jones International University. (2012). Theme3: Collocations and Reading Comprehension. Retrieved from http://www.courses.jonesinternational.edu
Jones International University. (2012). Theme5: A Brief Examination of the Lexical Approach. Retrieved from http://www.courses.jonesinternational.edu
Learnet. (2012). What are cognitive and learning strategies. Retrieved from http://www.projectlearnet.org
Readingrockets. (2012). What works in comprehension instruction. Retrieved from http://www.readingrockets.org
Thinkquest. (2012). Cognitive processes. Retrieved from http://www.library.thinkquest.org

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