Fostering Comprehension Monitoring in below Average Readers through Self-Instruction Training

Abstract

The benefits of self-instruction training on the comprehension monitoring performances of below average and above average readers were examined. Fourth-and fifth-grade students were tested on their ability to detect betweensentence contradictions in short expository texts after receiving either three sessions of self-instruction or equivalent didactic instruction. Additionally, generalization was assessed on text passages different from those employed during training and on postreading monitoring measures. A significant selfinstruction effect was found for both reading ability levels on all of these measures. Moreover, the below average readers performed at a level commensurate with their higher ability peers on the transfer measures. It was concluded that self-instruction training was successful in enhancing student's regulatory processing during reading.Recent work in cognitive development suggests that comprehension deficiencies of less skilled readers are related to limited employment of self-regulatory strategies

Effect of Think-Aloud Instruction on Elementary Students' Comprehension Monitoring Abilities

“…Further, the consistently poor performance of the DRA group reinforces the notion that didactic, noninteractive instruction fails to promote students' comprehension monitoring abilities. With the exception of students who may intuit or acquire comprehension monitoring abilities independent of formal instruction (e.g., Mark, a DRA student in this experiment), it is clear that teacher-led instruction in strategies like TA and DRTA, or others which cultivate student responsibility and control for reading comprehension (e.g., Miller, 1985Miller, , 1987Miller et al, 1987;Schmitt, 1988), are effective for developing comprehension monitoring skills.…”

“…For example, students have been taught specific strategies such as inference training (Dewitz, Carr, & Patberg, 1987), mental imagery instruction (Gambrell & Bales, 1986), among others (Babbs, 1984;Miller, 1985Miller, , 1987Miller, Giovenco, & Rentiers, 1987;Nolte & Singer, 1985;Raphael & Pearson, 1985;Raphael & Wonnacott, 1985;Reis & Spekman, 1983). Other experiments have involved instruction in multiple metacognitive and comprehension monitoring strategies (Lysynchuk, Pressley, & Vye, 1990;Palincsar & Brown, 1984;Palincsar, Brown, & Martin, 1987;Paris, Cross, & Lipson, 1984;Paris & Jacobs, 1984;Paris & Oka, 1986;Paris, Saamio, & Cross, 1986;Schmitt, 1988;Tregaskes & Daines, 1989).…”

The role of comprehension monitoring in Children's revision

“…Similarly, Elliott-Faust and Pressley (1986) demonstrated that children who received comprehension monitoring training were better able to detect comprehension failures when reading science passages. Miller (1985Miller ( , 1987 showed that the benefits of comprehension monitoring training applied to children with below-average reading skills, as well as to average and good readers. Beal, Garrod, and Bonitatibus (1990) extended this approach to show that training in comprehension monitoring also helps with revision.…”

The Effects of Goal Setting and Self-Instruction on Learning a Reading Comprehension Strategy

“…We anticipated that both selfregulation procedures would have positive effects on the performance of students with LD. Previous research has shown that goal setting (e.g., Sawyer et al, 1992;Schunk & Rice, 1989) and self-instruction (Miller, 1985;Miller, Giovenco, & Rentiers, 1987) can facilitate strategic performance among students with learning problems.…”