Based on the philosophy that children learn best in functional, natural settings when a desire for learning persists, this book provides classroom-tested strategies for teaching children how to monitor and improve their own comprehension as they read a variety of texts. The goal of the book is to empower students to become successful, independent…

The purpose of the case study reported in this paper was to investigate the level of self-knowledge and strategic awareness of above average college students and to determine whether students could benefit from instruction in learning and study strategies. Subjects, 11 students with a mean combined Scholastic Aptitude Test score of 1,100 attending…

Suggests that poor readers have less metacognitive knowledge than skilled readers and fail to use effective reading strategies. Provides guidelines for teaching reading strategies. (ARH)

Calls into question the assumptions (1) that those who read unfamiliar text use analytic processing more than do those who read familiar text and (2) that introspective reporting interferes with comprehension. (FL)

A study examined metacognition and teachers' perceptions of metacognitive instruction in elementary, middle, and high school. After an initial review of the literature, a survey instrument was developed and distributed to 288 teachers from elementary, middle, and high schools in a suburban area (Middlesex County, New Jersey). These teachers (both…

This report describes a project for increasing student's ability to comprehend and respond in a reflective manner. The targeted population consisted of 2nd, 3rd, and 5th grade classes in a community unit district located in a suburb of a large midwestern city. The problem of a student's inability to comprehend and respond in a reflective manner…

An accurate cognitive and demographic profile of adults with low reading skills and a credible diagnostic tool have yet to be developed. It is not yet known whether those who learn to read as adults can use automatic processes or must develop metacognitive strategies. (SK)

Notes that college students read and later answered questions about information in two sets of four fictitious biographical passages that differed in terms of the presence of thematic connections (with theme or without theme). Explores metacognitive awareness of theme and its relationship to recall, recall prediction, and strategy use. Finds the…

Describes three metacognitive abilities important for learning: self-knowledge, task knowledge, and self-monitoring. Identifies six metacognitive characteristics that separate proficient readers from less effective readers. Lists five principles on which independent learning is based. (RS)

Investigates main idea instruction in three basal reading series. Finds statistically significant differences in main idea instruction for the parameters "main idea task" and "acknowledgement of strategies mediating main idea task." Determines that basal reader materials rarely encourage students to monitor their main idea…

Investigates the effectiveness of explicit instruction in think aloud as a means to promote elementary students' comprehension monitoring abilities. Concludes that both think-aloud (TA) and a directed reading-thinking activity (DRTA) strategies are effective but that additional research is needed to determine their relative effectiveness. (SR)

Describes a 10-lesson instructional program for teaching students to think aloud during reading as a means to help them monitor reading comprehension and to address comprehension breakdowns. Presents a sample lesson, and offers suggestions for how teachers might adapt, modify, or extend think alouds in a classroom reading program or in content…

Presents an inventory intended to make junior high through college students think about what they do while reading and help them become aware of metacognitive strategies. Suggests that the inventory may provide teachers with at least some basic ideas of what their students know with respect to achieving higher levels of comprehension. (RS)

Defines metacognition and claims that it is a central aspect of students' steadily improving reading ability. Shows how teachers can teach their students useful metacognitive reading strategies. (HB)

Finds that (1) after question-answer relationship/metacognitive instruction, students answered a significantly larger percentage of the comprehension questions in their social studies textbook; (2) students so trained showed an increased ability to answer all three types of questions; and (3) there was minimal gain on students' posttest mean score…