Reading Comprehension Strategies: A Case Study

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Discussion can also play a part in practicing comprehension strategies. When students discuss a text, they are expected to share what they were thinking and questions they had. This allows the students to explain what strategy they used and how it impacted their understanding of the text. When students witness other students successfully using a comprehension strategy, they are gaining an understanding of how to use the strategy in their own reading. They will model what their peers have expressed as beneficial, and try to use the strategy for the next discussion (Palincsar & Brown, 1984).
The Reciprocal Teaching method takes the above ideas and joins them together. The students are taught four different comprehension strategies and through …show more content…

However, several different approaches exist and produce different results. When including discussion in the classroom, the teacher must first determine what kind of comprehension is being sought and then choose a program that would focus on this goal (Murphy et al., 2009). The program should include comprehension strategies that students not only have the opportunity to learn, but to also practice individually and with other students (Berne & Clark, 2008). Students need the discussion process to be modeled for them, and then be allowed to scaffold the process through the gradual release method. The discussion will be teacher-led at the beginning, but become mostly student-led as the program is continued to be implemented (Palincsar & Brown, …show more content…

The National Reading Panel recognizes the importance of peer involvement when working to raise comprehension (National Reading Panel, 2000). This can be a positive aspect of discussion as the students learn from each other in this cooperative learning experience (Oczkus, 2010). However, this is also the negative element that many research studies mentioned. Mulryan (1995) stated that during cooperative learning a student’s motivation may lessen due to the fact that many students are working towards the same goal. Providing students with individual assignments or goals within the cooperative learning group can curb this attitude (Mulryan, 1995). Lee and Hannafin’s (2016) idea of including ‘Own it, Learn it, Share it’ in student-led classrooms will also give students parameters for conduct in the classroom. When students participate in classroom discussions, utilizing Reciprocal Teaching or another strategy, working together with students to create an anchor chart of desirable and undesirable behaviors is advisable. This gives the students the ability to check their behaviors throughout the discussion (Berne and Clark, 2008). Oczkus (2010) offers checklists that can be given to students for peer-review or self-evaluation during classroom discussion. These resources can aid in focusing student talk so that it is beneficial and on

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