The Effects of Prior Knowledge and Schema Activation Strategies on the Inferential Reading Comprehension of Children with and without Learning Disabilities

1996 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonya C. Carr ◽  
Bruce Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Learning Disabilities ◽  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Prior Knowledge ◽  
Reading Ability ◽  
Reading Level ◽  
Students With Learning Disabilities ◽  
Schema Activation

The present study compared the reading comprehension abilities of students with learning disabilities (LD) and those of both their age peers and their reading-level peers. Reading passages included familiar and unfamiliar topics, so as to assess the use of prior knowledge under varying conditions. All passages tested inferential reading ability, since the answers to test questions could be inferred from content, but were not explicitly stated. Subject activation and experimenter activation of prior knowledge were also compared. All groups benefited from experimenter activation of prior knowledge, but these benefits were most noteworthy for subjects with LD, and when passage topics were unfamiliar. The subjects with LD performed very similarly to their reading-level peers, as opposed to their age peers. Thus, the findings shed some light on the nature of learning disabilities. Implications for instruction are explored.

Reading Comprehension Performance of Adolescents Withlearning Disabilities

1989 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vicki E. Snider
Keyword(s):  
Learning Disabilities ◽  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Prior Knowledge ◽  
Junior High School ◽  
Text Structure ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Students With Learning Disabilities ◽  
Knowledge Group ◽  
Experimental Group

A study was conducted to examine the effects of prior knowledge on the reading comprehension performance of students with learning disabilities. Instruction in information and vocabulary concepts was provided to 13 junior-high school students with learning disabilities who had been predetermined to lack the prior knowledge required by an experimental test of reading comprehension. The effect of prior knowledge was examined by comparing the performance of an experimental group (high prior knowledge group) to a control group (low prior knowledge group). The effect of text structure was also examined by comparing reading comprehension performance on three types of reading passages - textually explicit, textually implicit, and scriptually implicit. The results indicated that students in the experimental group increased their prior knowledge and, as a result of instruction, demonstrated superior reading comprehension performance. In addition, text structure was found to affect reading comprehension performance. When comprehension questions tapped information provided in the text, reading comprehension performance improved for all students. Educational implications of the results are discussed.

Increasing Secondary Students’ Comprehension Through Explicit Attention to Narrative Text Structure

2021 ◽  
pp. 004005992110255
Author(s):  
Whitney Sommers Butler ◽  
Casey Hord ◽  
Susan Watts-Taffe
Keyword(s):  
Learning Disabilities ◽  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Reading Instruction ◽  
Secondary Students ◽  
Text Structure ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Students With Learning Disabilities ◽  
Narrative Texts ◽  
School Students

In spite of the prevailing assumption that formal reading instruction is no longer needed once adolescents reach high school, students at the secondary level still benefit from explicit reading instruction to continue developing advanced literacy skills enabling them to access complex narrative texts. This article argues for the importance of teachers to scrutinize the texts they plan to teach to determine what instruction and supports are needed to promote reading comprehension for students with learning disabilities. Specifically, this article examines how nonlinear text structures can challenge adolescent reading comprehension and illustrates explicit text structure instruction with three exemplar texts which use unconventional narrative patterns. The article emphasizes the importance of considering the qualitative features of texts to inform instruction to support reading comprehension for students with learning disabilities.

Reading Comprehension Instruction: Summarization and Self-Monitoring Training for Students with Learning Disabilities

1991 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
pp. 270-279 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Duncan Malone ◽  
Margo A. Mastropieri
Keyword(s):  
Learning Disabilities ◽  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Training Session ◽  
Students With Learning Disabilities ◽  
School Students ◽  
Self Monitoring ◽  
Think Aloud Protocols ◽  
Reading Comprehension Instruction ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Monitoring Training

Forty-five middle-school students with learning disabilities were randomly assigned to one of three reading-comprehension training conditions: (a) summarization training, (b) summarization training with a self-monitoring component, or (c) traditional instruction. All students were interviewed before and after training regarding the strategies they typically employ during reading comprehension; during one training session, “think aloud” protocols were collected. Results indicated that students with learning disabilities trained in summarization procedures performed statistically higher on all dependent measures. In addition, on some transfer measures, students who were trained in the monitoring component statistically outperformed those with only the summarization training.

Innovations in Blended-Learning

2014 ◽  
pp. 295-306
Author(s):  
Edith Gotesman ◽  
Miri Krisi
Keyword(s):  
Learning Disabilities ◽  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Blended Learning ◽  
Computer Technology ◽  
English For Academic Purposes ◽  
Traditional Teaching ◽  
Students With Learning Disabilities ◽  
Reading Tests ◽  
Sample Group ◽  
E Learning

This research was born out of a necessity to accommodate students with learning disabilities who study English for Academic Purposes (EAP) at the Ashkelon Academic College in Israel. It was aimed at examining whether a convergence of traditional teaching and computer technology complemented by e-learning could assist students with Learning Disabilities (LD) to bypass their initial disadvantages when it came to studying English. Groups of LD students selected for study were given five regular and two guided reading tests to explore whether the use of blended learning improved the reading comprehension abilities of students in the sample group.

Sentence-Level Gist: Literacy Instruction for Students With Learning Disabilities in Co-Taught Classrooms

2020 ◽  
pp. 105345122094437
Author(s):  
Marney S. Pollack ◽  
Alexandra Shelton ◽  
Erin Clancy ◽  
Christopher J. Lemons
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Learning Disabilities ◽  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Literacy Instruction ◽  
Main Idea ◽  
Students With Learning Disabilities ◽  
Sentence Level ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Identification Strategy ◽  
Main Idea Identification

Several strategies that demonstrate promise are available for educators to improve reading comprehension outcomes for students. However, some students, including students with and at risk for learning disabilities, require more intensive supports to develop proficiency in reading comprehension. To support these students, teachers must intensify instruction. This article describes an intensive main idea identification strategy, sentence-level gist, for teachers to use with students with persistent reading comprehension difficulties in the co-taught classroom. The sentence-level gist strategy requires students to determine the subject and important words in each sentence and then synthesize this information to write a main idea statement for a section of a text.

The Effect of Prior Knowledge on the Question Answering of Good and Poor Readers

1983 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Betty C. Holmes
Keyword(s):  
Prior Knowledge ◽  
Reading Ability ◽  
Question Answering ◽  
Reading Level ◽  
Poor Readers ◽  
Fifth Grade ◽  
Good Readers ◽  
Fifth Grade Students ◽  
New Information ◽  
Good And Poor Readers

The purpose of this investigation was to compare the question answering of good and poor readers when their prior knowledge for the answers to questions was determined before reading to be accurate, inaccurate, incomplete, or missing. Fifty-six fifth-grade students with equivalent I.Q.'s, but varying in reading ability and extent of general prior knowledge for the passage topics, participated in the study. Subjects read an expository passage written on their approximate instructional reading level. The results indicated that poor readers did not use prior knowledge to the same extent as did good readers. This was especially true when students were learning new information. The results also suggest that poor readers have difficulty answering text implicit questions even if they possess adequate prior knowledge for passage topics.

Best Practices in Promoting Reading Comprehension in Students with Learning Disabilities 1976 to 1996

1997 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 198-213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margo A. Mastropieri ◽  
Thomas E. Scruggs
Keyword(s):  
Learning Disabilities ◽  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Whole Language ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Comprehension Strategies ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
Students With Learning Disabilities ◽  
Reading Comprehension Strategies ◽  
Questioning Strategies

Abstract In this review, the best practices for facilitating reading comprehension for students with learning disabilities are described and summarized. these best practices were derived from the results of an extensive literature review of research in reading comprehension with students with learning disabilities. analysis of all relevant literature revealed consistently high effects for some reading comprehension strategies. strongest outcomes were observed for teacher-led questioning and self-questioning strategies, followed by text-en hancem ent strategies, and, finally, strategies involving basic skills instruction and reinforcement. the few studies that were located in the area of whole language yielded less positive outcomes. implications for effective practice are described.

Using Anticipation Guides to Support Comprehension of Science Informational Text

2018 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 141-148
Author(s):  
Nicole S. Fenty
Keyword(s):  
Learning Disabilities ◽  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Informational Text ◽  
Advance Organizers ◽  
Advance Organizer ◽  
Informational Texts ◽  
Students With Learning Disabilities ◽  
Text Types ◽  
Students With Ld

Students with learning disabilities (LD) in reading often struggle to succeed due to difficulties with reading comprehension. Comprehension difficulties can impact access to a variety of text types, including informational texts. Researchers suggest that students with LD in reading require explicit comprehension supports before, during, and after reading. This article outlines the use of a comprehension tool, anticipation guides (AGs), a type of advance organizer especially suited for use with informational text. A brief summary of the literature surrounding the use of advance organizers in elementary settings is provided. General steps for planning and adapting instruction using AGs are also included. In addition, planning and instructional steps are contextualized using a science illustration. Finally, conclusions are offered.

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