Scott G. Paris

Becoming a Strategic Reader

Abstract An important aspect of learning to read is understanding how to use strategies to aid comprehension. Many actions such as skimming, using context to discern unfamiliar words, and taking notes to aid remembering can promote reading comprehension and learning. In this paper we examine aspects of knowledge and motivation that are critical to becoming a strategic reader. We emphasize that agents are strategic, not actions removed from contexts, and that self-guided learning depends on the intentions, perceptions, and attributions of learners. Learning to read strategically is related to childrens cognitive development as well as to the social contexts of instruction. Some suggestions are offered for classroom instruction that can promote childrens awareness and use of strategic reading.

Clarifying Differences Between Reading Skills and Reading Strategies

The terms reading skill and reading strategy are central to how we conceptualize and teach reading. Despite their importance and widespread use, the terms are not consistently used or understood. This article examines the current and historical uses of the terms, defines them, and describes their differences, similarities, and relationships. Implications for teaching reading skills and strategies are discussed.

The Benefits of Informed Instruction for Children's Reading Awareness and Comprehension Skills.

PARIs, ScoTTrr G., and JACOBS, JANIS E. The Benefits of Informed Instruction for Childrens Reading Awareness and Comprehension Skills. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1984, 55, 2083-2093. This study examines childrens reading awareness and comprehension skills as examples of the developmental and instructional relations between childrens metacognition and performance. 8and 10-year olds were interviewed about their knowledge of reading tasks and strategies in the fall and spring. A scale of reading awareness was constructed and related to childrens performance on several reading tasks. During the year half of each group received 4 months of classroom instruction on how, when, and why to use reading strategies to enhance comprehension. Pretest correlations revealed a significant relation between childrens level of reading awareness and comprehension skills. Furthermore, comparisons between pretests and posttests revealed that the metacognitive instruction significantly increased childrens reading awareness and their use of comprehension strategies. The study clearly showed that (a) children who are more aware of the nature of reading tasks and strategies also score higher on tests of reading comprehension and (b) informed instruction in the classroom can enhance both awareness and comprehension skills.

Comprehension Monitoring, memory, and study strategies of Good and Poor Readers

Comprehension and memory skills of fourth grade good and poor readers were compared in two studies. Their ability to monitor comprehension of difficult and anomalous information was measured in three ways; by spontaneous self-corrections during oral reading, by directed underlining of incomprehensible words and phrases, and by study behaviors. Poor readers engaged in significantly less monitoring on all three measures and this was correlated with poorer comprehension and recall scores. An additional metacognitive measure of perceived reading strategy effectiveness indicated that poor readers are often unaware of the negative influences of some strategies. The patterns of responses on the multiple measures suggest that poor readers may adopt decoding rather than meaning comprehension goals during reading and they are less accurate in applying monitoring skills towards resolving comprehension failures.

Assessing Narrative Comprehension in Young Children.

This article explains the creation and validation of the Narrative Comprehension of Picture Books task (NC task), an assessment of young childrens comprehension of wordless picture books. Study 1 explored developmental changes among 158 K-2 children in narrative comprehension and the correlations among childrens performance on the NC task and other measures of early reading. There was significant improvement with increasing age on NC task measures. Significant concurrent validity was found between the NC task and oral reading comprehension for readers and between the NC task and several prereading skills for prereaders. Study 2 tested the generalizability of the NC task by giving a sub-sample of students (n = 91) two additional picture books using the NC task procedures. Intertask correlations showed that children were consistent on each of the NC task dependent variables across the three books. The same developmental trends by grade and reading ability were evident on all three versions of the task. Study 3 confirmed the generalizability of the NC task across children, books, and testers, and it revealed sensitivity to longitudinal growth in childrens comprehension skills. There was little evidence of practice effects influencing NC scores. Study 3 also revealed significant concurrent and predictive validity between NC measures and other assessments of early reading skills such as the Gates McGinitie Reading Test and the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. The NC task is a valid quantitative measure of young childrens comprehension that is sensitive to developmental changes and adaptable to various books. We discuss how narrative comprehension is fundamental to beginning reading and how the NC task may be used for classroom instruction and assessment.

The role of inference in children's comprehension and memory for sentences

Abstract In a series of studies, young children often failed to construct and remember inferred relationships which they were capable of understanding. A cued recall procedure was employed to assess the relative effectiveness of implicit and explicit word prompts for sentence memory. The implicit cues were much less effective than the explicit cues for 6–7 yr old children while the cue types did not differ for 11–12 yr olds. Instructions to imitate the actions described by the sentences eliminated the memory difference for the young children. Developmental improvement in spontaneous inferential operations and intentional plans to remember are mechanisms which appear to yield an elaborated memory representation and greater access routes through indirect and implied relationships.

A Developmental Perspective on Standardized Achievement Testing

Throughout the 1980s there was a proliferation of achievement testing in America to promote and assure the effectiveness of educational reforms. However, both traditional innovative forms of assessment failed to consider the cumulative impact of repeated testing on students” attitudes and motivation. Our surveys of students in Grades 2–11 revealed that by adolescence many students become suspicious and cynical about tests. A large number of students, especially low achievers, become anxious about tests, cheat, try half-heartedly, or use poor test-taking strategies. These reactions may preserve students’ feeling of competence when they receive low test scores, but they undermine the validity of the test scores and discourage genuine learning. A developmental perspective on testing may prevent students’ counterproductive reactions and may help to guide reforms in educational assessment.

Learning the functional significance of mnemonic actions: A microgenetic study of strategy acquisition

Abstract How children learn to use memory strategies in a microgenetic investigation of learning and metacognition is examined. Seven- and eight-year-olds were given two memory trials with 24 pictures on each of 5 consecutive days. Days 1 and 2 were baseline, practice trials; Day 3 included strategy training; and Days 4 and 5 were unprompted tests of strategy maintenance. All children were taught how to label, rehearse, and group the pictures as well as to self-test their own memories and use blocked recall. Half of the children were shown the actions and told to do them; the other half received elaborated feedback on the usefulness and appropriateness of the techniques for remembering. The elaborated instructional group exhibited significantly greater recall, clustering, strategic study behavior, and metamemory regarding the mnemonic techniques than the other group. Path analysis provided evidence of a causal role of training and metacognitive awareness that mediated the use of sorting and higher recall. The study illustrates how learning the significance and utility of mnemonic techniques can influence childrens acquisition of the tactics as self-controlled strategies. In addition, the microgenetic method affords patterns of data across time and experience that permit richer interpretations of strategy learning and memory development.

Promoting Metacognition and Motivation of Exceptional Children

Metacognition fosters independent learning by providing personal insight into ones own thinking. Such awareness can lead to flexible and confident problem solving as well as feelings of self-efficacy and pride. This is especially important for students who encounter difficulty in school because they do not understand how to appraise and manage their own resources for learning. Too often, students develop debilitating expectations and behavior that undermine learning in school and inhibit transfer of effective learning strategies. We describe four general kinds of instruction that help students learn to think: metacognitive explanation, scaffolded instruction, cognitive coaching, and cooperative learning. Teachers can adapt and combine these methods to teach students how to think as they read, write, and compute in classrooms.

Situated Motivation and Informal Learning

Scott G. Paris is a professor of psychology and education at the University of Michigan, where he teaches courses on human development and educational psychology. He has written several college textbooks and received multiple teaching awards. He is also a program director for the Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement. His research focuses on childrens literacy, learning, and motivation, and he has worked closely with teachers and museum educators to