Developmental and instructional analyses of children's metacognition and reading comprehension.

Abstract

Children's understanding of their own cognitive skills, or metacognition, has been hypothesized to play a major role in learning and development. In this study, we examine the developing relation between children's metacognition and reading comprehension. Children in third-and fifth-grade classes were given an experimental curriculum, Informed Strategies for Learning (ISL), designed to increase their awareness and use of effective reading strategies. In both grades, children in experimental classes made significant gains in metacognition and the use of reading strategies compared with children in control classes. The multivariate profiles of reading skills derived from the developmental analyses helped to identify subgroups of children who responded differently to the metacognitive instruction. Although there were specific aptitude-by-treatment interactions, there was a general trend for metacognition and strategic reading to become more congruent from 8 to 10 years of age.

The Effect of a Metacognitive Intervention on College Students’ Reading Performance and Metacognitive Skills

“…Compelling evidence from a number of researchers suggests that metacognition is teachable, and that students who are trained in either knowledge of cognition or regulation of cognition improve in metacognition and other measures of academic achievement (Cross & Paris, 1988;Palincsar & Brown, 1984;Delclos & Harrington, 1991;King, 1991;Butler, 1998;Kramarski & Mevarech, 2003;Payne & Manning, 1992;Mevarech & Amrany, 2008;Huff & Nietfeld, 2009). …”

“…Another metacognitive intervention in the area of reading was done by Cross and Paris (1988) who taught metacognition to 171 third and fifth-graders using an experimental curriculum (Informed Strategies for Learning). The curriculum was designed to improve the students' metacognitive awareness and use of reading strategies.…”

Cognitive and Motivational Determinants of Reading Comprehension in Good and Poor Readers

“…Metacognitive knowledge was measured with an 11-item questionnaire based on measures developed by Paris and his colleagues (Cross & Paris, 1988;Paris & Jacobs, 1984) and by the first author (Ehrlich & Rémond, 1991;Rémond & Ehrlich, 1993). Questions focused on two areas: knowledge about sentence and text characteristics that influence comprehension, and reported use of comprehension monitoring strategies.…”

The Effects of Comprehensive Vocabulary Instruction on Title I Students' Metacognitive Word-Learning Skills and Reading Comprehension

“…Mayer (1981) provided a conceptual framework for cognitive strategy research, suggesting that learning is dependent on verbal knowledge (knowledge about something), procedural knowledge (how to solve the problem), and a plan of attack (a strategy to achieve the goal). Paris and his colleagues (Cross & Paris, 1988;Jacobs & Paris, 1987;Paris, 1984Paris, , 1986Paris & Jacobs, 1984;Paris, Lipson, & Wixson, 1983) extended the work of the cognitive theorists, basing their "Informed Strategies for Learning" (ISL) on three dimensions of knowledge amenable to instruction: a) declarative: what is known in a propositional manner, b) procedural: awareness of the process of using cognitive strategies), and c) conditional: knowing why strategies are used and when a particular strategy is likely to be effective. In a series of ISL studies, the researchers documented significant gains in children's reading awareness, use of strategies, and reading comprehension.…”