CART Collaborative Awareness Reading Training

CART – Collaborative Awareness Reading Training presented by

Maggie Heeney [email protected] [email protected]

Reading = knowledge of language interacting with the knowledge of the world and how it applies to text (Perfetti, 1985).

CART (Collaborative Awareness Reading Training)

CART is an interactive reading approach that focuses on raising the metacognitive awareness of strategies for use in order to overcome comprehension failure. The four-step approach focuses on the strategic use of essential reading skills. Furthermore, the interactive nature of the approach helps build confidence as well as skills.

Rationale behind CART

¨ Focus of high level ESL/EAP reading class is to teach student to “read- to-learn” (Shih, 1992)

¨ Five levels of reading: scan, skim, rauding, reading to learn and reading to remember (Carver, 1990).

¨ “Reading to learn” (Carver, 1990) is defined as reading with the purpose to learn information, process main ideas and details, to comprehend text, and to be able to relate the reading to other knowledge. Therefore, this is a critical process for high level/EAP learners.

¨ Learners often give up – classes often focus on the product not the process (Block, 1986). Theoretical Background

 Interaction between the reader and the words is the text-driven operation of reading which is applied to the knowledge based on life experience (Bernhardt, 1991).

 Strategies are deliberate problem-solving behaviours chosen by learners to repair failure in cognition (Garner, 1987; Bialystok, 1990; Oxford, 1990).

 Strategies are good behaviours that are adopted by good readers. Hosenfeld (1977) defines a good reader as one who keeps the context in mind, goes back over what was read, doesn’t worry about difficult words and has a positive attitude of the self.

 Literature shows that direct strategy training can improve reading behaviour: (Block, 1986; Carrell, 1989; Kern, 1989; 1996; Dreyer & Nel, 2003).

 CART is an adaptation of Palincsar & Brown’s (1984) Reciprocal Teaching Approach strategy training based on Vgotsky’s (1978) zone of proximinal development (scaffolding). The four steps they used are questioning, summarizing, clarifying and predicting.

 CART also is an adaptation of the strategy overview as investigated by Pressley and Afflerbach (1995) in a synthesis of 38 primary research studies of how skilled readers control text and make decisions

Why use direct Strategy Training?

Salataci and Akyel (2000) note:

The reading teacher in this kind of instruction assumes the role of guide, model or stimulator rather than the provider of the correct answers . . . [the] process may result in a dynamic classroom environment where students enjoy discussing the texts in group interaction and learning from each other’s experiences. It also results in a less stressful classroom atmosphere (p.13).

How to do CART

1. Everyone silently reads the paragraph and underlines the main idea. Teacher then models the behaviours of the 4 steps and asks a question about the main idea, answers the question, and then asks if the class needs to clarify. If no clarification is needed, make a prediction of the next paragraph. Continue the process with the second paragraph.

2. Now, begin the scaffold. Read next paragraph and ask a student to ask the question and try the steps.

3. Next paragraph, model the group interaction with teacher and two students.

4. Divide the students into groups of three and continue with the reading paragraph by paragraph.

5. For subsequent readings when the students are familiar with the process, just model the first paragraph to remind them of the process. References

Bernhardt, E. (1991). Reading development in a second language. Norwood, New Jersey: Ablex Publishing

Block, E. (1986). The comprehension strategies of second language readers. TESOL Quarterly, 20(3), 463-493.

Bialystock, E. (1990). Communication strategies: A psychological analysis of second-language use. Oxford, U.K.: Basil Blackwell.

Carrell, P. (1989). Metacognitive awareness and second language reading. The Modern Language Journal, 73, 121-134.

Carver, R. (1990) Reading rate: A review of research and theory. San Diego, California: Academic Press

Cotterall, S.(1990). Developing reading strategies through small-group interaction. RELC Journal, 21(2), 55-69.

Dreyer, C., & Nel, C. (2003). Teaching reading strategies and reading comprehension with-in a technology-enhanced learning environment. System 31, 349-365.

Garner, R. (1987). Metacognition and reading comprehension. United States: Ablex Publishing.

Heeney, M. (2005). Collaborative Awareness Reading Training (CART): Student and teacher perceptions of the Reciprocal Teaching Approach. Unpublished Master’s thesis.

Hosenfeld, C. (1977). A preliminary investigation pf the reading strategies of successful and nonsucessful second language learners. System 5, 110-123

Kern, R. (1989). Second language reading instruction: Its effects on comprehension and word inference ability. The Modern Language Journal, 73(2), 135-149.

Oxford, R. (1990). Language learning strategies: What every teacher should know. New York: Newbury House.

Palincsar, A. & Brown, A. (1984) Reciprocal teaching of comprehension-fostering and comprehension-monitoring activities. Cognition and Instruction 1 (2) 117-175.

Pressley, M., & Afflerbach, P. (1995). Verbal protocols of reading: The nature of constructively responsive reading. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Shih, M. (1992). Beyond comprehension exercises in the ESL academic reading class TESOL Quarterly, 26(2), 289-318.

Vgotsky, L. (1978). Mind in Society: The development of higher psychological processes M. Cole, V. John-Steiner, S. Scribner & E. Souberman (eds). Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press. CART

Collaborative Awareness Reading Training Four Steps to Reading Awareness:

STEP 1 QUESTIONING.

WHAT DO YOU DO? Pick a group leader! 1. Everybody silently reads the first paragraph and underlines the main idea. Then STOP! 2. LEADER: Ask questions you think a teacher might ask about this paragraph. 3. Ask ‘wh’ questions about the main idea, not the little details. 4. GROUP: Answer the questions

STEP 2 SUMMARIZING

LEADER: WHAT DO YOU DO? In one or two sentences, USING YOUR OWN WORDS, try to summarize the important ideas in this paragraph. DO NOT READ FROM THE TEXT. HOW DO YOU SAY THIS? In this paragraph, the author says______This paragraph describes______, and then it describes______AFTER YOU SUMMARIZE, ASK THE GROUP:

Are there any questions or comments about this summary? Is everybody clear about the meaning? If everybody is clear, go to step 4. If there are questions or comments, go to step 3.

STEP 3 CLARIFYING WHEN? 1. You clarify when the summary is not accurate or incomplete. 2. You clarify when there’s an important part you don’t understand, for example, a sentence, a sentence part, or a word.

HOW TO CLARIFY:

1. What do you already know about the topic from life experience? Does it help you? 2. Look for words that help develop ideas. For example: furthermore, otherwise, first, such as. 3. Look at the pronouns used. They help you connect ideas. 4. Vocabulary: make guesses by looking at word parts or the sentence. STEP 4 PREDICTING HOW DO YOU SAY THIS?

What do you think happens next? Do you have a prediction?

1. Think about what you have read so far. 2. Think about if the author is presenting a process, events in chronological order, a comparison, or part of an argument. 3. What do you already know about this topic in your life experience? 4. Make your prediction “ I predict the next paragraph will be about ______”

 FINALLY GROUP LEADER: Good job, everyone.

Let’s go on. Who wants to be the next leader?

CONGRATULATIONS! Now, your new group leader will CART you through the next

paragraph.