DOCUMENT RESUME ED 236 570 CS 007 358 AUTHOR Paris, Scott G. TITLE Metacognition and Reading Comprehension Skills. Final Report. INSTITUTION Michigan Univ., Ann Arbor. School of Education. SPONS AGENCY National Inst. of Education (ED), Washington, DC. PUB DATE [83] GRANT NIE-G-80-0148 NOTE 322p. PUB TYPE Reports Research/Technical (143) Guides Classroom Use Guides (For Teachers) (052) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC13 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Curriculum Guides; Elementary Education; Grade 3; Grade 5; Instructional Materials; Learning Activities; Lesson Plans; *Metacognition; Problem Solving; *Reading-Achievement; *Reading Comprehension; *Reading Instruction; *Reading Research; *Reading Skills ABSTRACT Proposing that teachers can help children learn more effectively by promoting metacognition and the acquisition of problem solving strategies, this report describes research studying the effectiveness of the experimental curriculum, Informed Strategies for Learning (ISL), in increasing third and fifth grade students' reading comprehension skills. Using a pretest-posttest design, the reported study revealed significant gains in reading comprehension and reading skills among the IS:, group. The appendix of the report contains instructional materials, grouped in 14 comprehension skill training modules, designed to develop metacognitive awareness and reading comprehension. Each module includes graded skills to be targeted weekly, the rationale for teaching them, instructional techniques, specific lesson plans for teacher use, and bulletin board ideas to supplement lessons.In addition, this section contains worksheets and assignments for student use.(MM) ************************************************w********************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from,the original document. **************,,******************************************************** Final Report to the National Institute of Education HMetacognition and Reading Comprehension Skills" NIE-G-80-0148 Submitted by: Scott G. Paris Combined Program in Education & Psychology School of Education The University of Michigan Ann Arbor, Michigan U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. H Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality, a Points of view or opinions stated in this docu- ment do not necessarily represent official NIE position or policy. Abstract Children's awareness about their own cognitiveskills, or metacognition,has been hypothesized to play a major role in learning and development. This role was examined in an experimental study of third and fifth grader'sreading compre- hension skills. Children in four classrooms weregiven an experimental curriculum, Informed Strategies forLearning (ISL), that was designed to increase children's awarenessand use of effective reading strategies. ISL included four months of direct, whole group instruction based on concretemetaphors for reading strategies. The effectiveness of ISL was tested in upre-posttest experimental design. Children who participated,in,ISL-Stb-ftd--- significantly higher on measures of readingcomprehension and awareness about strategies,although the effects were stronger for third graders. This study demonstrates the importanceof meta- cognition for children's reading as well asproviding a model for translating strategic awareness into pragmaticclassroom instruction. 3 Summary Informed strategies for Learning (ISL) is an experimental curriculum designed to teach elementary school children how to use comprehension strategies while they read. ISL is an adjunctive program that was designed to supplement classroom reading instruction and it is not restricted to a particular basal reading series nor grade level. It was created as a group administered program of instruction suitable for the entire class. The key features of ISL are: \ a. teachers provide information about reading strategies directly, b. metaphors for various reading strategies offer concrete vehicles fo communicating about thinking, , c.st,'l dents talk about how, when, and why to use compre- hensfon strategies, and d. bulletin board displays and worksheets reinforce the skills that are taught. Background of-ISL Throughout the 1970s research in eduCational and developmental psychology demonstrated the importance of cognitive strategies for children's learning. Strategies are tactics for solving problems. Children who understand the usefulness of the strategies and who have the motivation to apply them can direct their own reading and learning. Self-controlled learning strategies are important for reading comprehension because students must be able to allocate 4 attention selectively, to read for different purposes, to check their own understanding as they read, and to adjust their reading! to fit the task and situation. During this same time researchers in psychology and education discovered that children's awareness about their own thinking influenced how they used strategies for memory, attention, and reading. The term "metacognition" was coined to capture the know- ledge that people have about their own reasoning skills. Young children and novices in many skill domains seem to lackmetacognition. They have little understanding about the task beforehand, theneed to learn strategies, or their own limited abilities. Such naivite is hardly surprising for young learners but italso seems to be a characteristic of older children who experiencedifficulty in school. The clear implication is that we might be able to help children learn more effectively if we promote their metacognition and acquisition of problem-solving strategies. The Experimental Research This orientation to reading provided the foundation for ISL. We wanted to provide a program of instruction thatwould help children understand how reading strategies can improvecomprehension. Tactics such as skimming, rereading, and making inferences are important and necessary. ISL teaches children the what, how, when, and why of using strategies. In a sense, ISL was designed as a field test of the latest research ideas on children'sreading skills. But we'also wanted-to make the program practicalfor classroom teachers. Thus, we designed ISL as a series of short lessons that 4 could be presented the entire class several times each week. Public discussions and explanations about reading arecritical components of ISL. Teachers explained variousstrategies, asked students to talk about them, and providedexercisesfor students to practice thenew skills. During the 1/980 -81 school year we tested ISLin two third grade and two fifth grade classes in AnnArbor. trained reading teacher providedalf-hour lessons to each class twice a weekfor four months. Speicial bulletin boards and worksh ets were designed to communicate the strategies byusingdifferentimetaphors,e.g., I "Be a Reading Deective." It has taken usnearlytwo Years to I 1 analyze the extehsive data that we collectedfrOm the children in pre- and post -tests but theresults are very positive. The data revealedsignificant improvements in children's/awareness and comprehension scores compared to four controlclasseswho did not participate in ISL. Chapters 2 and 3 reportthe methods and data analyses in detail. ILS Materials The pro ram initially was designed as14 instructional modules 1 divided into that emphasized awareness ofstrategies, compre- i hension skills, and monitoring skills. The modules are organized in for a sequence ofi instructionthat begins with general strategies confronting text and builds to specificstrategies for refining modules. comprehensiop. Appendix A includes all 14 instructional Each Module includes two lessons thatpresent the strategy and describe how to use it. All lessons emphasize the importance of using the strategies and the value of them. In fact, the consequences for comprehension of not using them are also noted frequently. Each module includes objectives, background information on the strategy, description of the bulletin board, materials need- ed, outlined lesson plans, and copies of reading materials and worksheets. We also constructed bulletin board displays to accompany each module and to illustrate the strategies with concrete metaphors. Each display includes a title, focal questions to ask about the strategy, and several pieces to illustrate the metaphor (e.g., con- struction paper figures of a detective, magician, judge, etc.). Each one.is designed to fit onto a 5' x 5' bulletin board and they make large, colorful classroom learning aids. Conclusion Our program of research has a strong theoretical and empirical foundation. It was designed to provide a rigorous test of the role of metacognition in children's reading and learning. An equally important objective, though, was to provide a field test of an in- novative, pragmatic curriculum for helping children's reading. Chapter I of this final report presents a theoretical discussion of the importance of metacognition and strategies. Chapter 2 is a formal report of the data on children's reading awareness and comprehension. Chapter 3 illustrates the effectiveness of the instructional program. The teaching materials, lesson plans, and bulletin boards are outlined and sketched in Appendix A. 7 6 Chapter 1 Becoming a Strategic Reader Most educators today would agree that a fundamental goalof education is to teach children to become self-directed learners who seek to acquire