Maine Reading First Course

1. Maine Reading First Course Session #15 Comprehension Research and Assessment Maine Department of Education 2006

2. Key Learning GoalsSession 10Comprehension Research and Assessment • To provide a theoretical understanding of the research supporting the development of comprehension in children, including: • the similarities and differences between listening comprehension and reading comprehension • understanding the characteristics of effective reading comprehension, particularly setting reading purposes and using comprehension monitoring strategies • the need for readers to apply comprehension strategies before, during, and after reading • the characteristics of major text genres • text structures, literary devices, and syntax that impact comprehension • use of direct explanation, modeling, guided practice, and application when teaching comprehension strategies • To enable class participants to use scientifically based assessments to determine comprehension development in students. • To enable class participants to use assessment data to inform instruction that meets the diverse needs of students. Maine Department of Education 2006

3. What Do I Already Know About Comprehension? • Think: Rate your familiarity • Ink: Word sort • Pair-Share: Share sort with partner Maine Department of Education 2006

4. What is Comprehension?(LINKS, 2002) The process of simultaneously extracting and constructing meaning through interaction and involvement with written language, or, more simply…. thinking guided by print. (Stuart Greenberg, FCRR, 2004) Maine Department of Education 2006

5. Factors that Affect Comprehension(Rhodes & Shanklin, 1993) • The Reader • The Text Meaning • The Situation Maine Department of Education 2006

6. Changing Emphasis of Five Essential Elements Maine Department of Education 2006

7. When Should Comprehension Instruction Occur? • Before Reading • During Reading • After Reading Maine Department of Education 2006

8. Why is Comprehension Instruction Important?(RAND Report, 2002) • Students are facing an increased need for a high degree of literacy. • Students in the U.S. are performing poorly in comparison with students from other countries with respect to informational text. • Unacceptable gaps in reading performance persist across diverse populations. • Little direct attention has been devoted to professional development for teachers in how to promote comprehension. Maine Department of Education 2006

9. How Have Our Views About Comprehension Instruction Changed?(LINKS, 2002) • Then….. • Comprehension was once thought to be a natural result of decoding plus oral language. • Now….. • Saying words without understanding is not comprehending, in fact, it is not reading. Maine Department of Education 2006

10. How Have Our Views About Comprehension Instruction Changed?(LINKS, 2002) • Then…. • We once thought that by asking students different levels of questions, we were teaching them to comprehend. • Now…. • We know there is more to comprehension than asking questions. In fact, asking questions most often involves assessing, rather than teaching comprehension. Maine Department of Education 2006

11. What Do Proficient Readers Do to Enhance Their Comprehension?(Keene & Zimmerman, 1997) • Activate background knowledge and make associations or connections with text. • Make predictions, and then verify or change predictions based on the text. • Set a purpose for reading and use story structure/text features to determine reading rate. • Ask questions before, during, and after reading, and work toward answering questions during and after reading. • Synthesize and interpret information (summarize). • Draw inferences during and after reading. • Visualize and use sensory images and emotions. • Monitor understanding and use “fix-up” strategies when comprehension breaks down. • Read a variety of texts fluently. Maine Department of Education 2006

12. How Do We Assess Listening Comprehension? • Formally • Reading inventories to measure listening comprehension of graded passages. • Informally • Ask questions • Discuss the text • Observe and listen to responses • Ask for retellings of the story Maine Department of Education 2006

13. Reading Comprehension Assessment Techniques • Process Focused • Interviews • Observations and notes • Think-alouds • Product Focused • Retellings • Informal Reading Inventories • Cloze procedures • Graphic organizers • Comprehension questions • Literature discussions and logs • Response projects Maine Department of Education 2006

14. Hands-On Comprehension Assessment Activity • IRI Samples • Wanda • Tom • Cloze Procedure • Molly • Tina Maine Department of Education 2006

15. Comprehension Assessment Reflection • What comprehension knowledge and skills do the students demonstrate control of? • What comprehension knowledge and skills do the students need more practice with? • What comprehension knowledge and skills might be good next teaching steps. Maine Department of Education 2006

16. 3—2—1 • 3—things worth remembering • 2—things to learn more about • 1—burning question Maine Department of Education 2006