Cognitive Theories and Reading Comprehension Building Blocks of the Reading Process

Cognitive Theories and
Reading Comprehension
Building Blocks of the
Reading Process
Why is reading comprehension
important?
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NCLB – reading scores are critical to making
AYP and everything that goes along with it
Content-Area reading comprehension
continues to suffer – impacting students
ability to independently process complex
ideas
Students reading skills will have a direct
impact on their earning potential
How can teachers improve
students reading comprehension?
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Recognize the complexity of a reading
process
Use knowledge of cognitive and the reading
processes to develop lessons that help
students comprehend a variety of text
Help the students develop and master the
skills that will enable them to become
successful readers
During the Presentation I will:
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Examine the reading process from
both the Information Processing
Theory and the Constructivism
theoretical perspectives
Provide the background on the
reading process and how it ties in
with the cognitive theories
Instructional Reading Strategies
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Many of the cognitive theories act as a
basis for reading instructional theories
Overall comprehension is directly
impacted by all three stages of the
reading process
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(Before, During & After)
Each stage has a set of skills that are
common to all successful readers
Instructional Reading Strategies
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Many of these skills transcend one particular
stage of the reading process
The reading process is a dynamic process –
everyone must find their own recipe to
become a successful reader.
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That recipe is constantly changing
Many people have an over simplified
understanding of the reading process
Levels of Comprehension
Meaningful
Learning:
Rote Learning:
Learning without
attaching much meaning
to it.
Evaluate
Synthesize
Analyze
Application
Comprehension
Knowledge
recognizing a
relationship between
new information and
information already in
your long-term memory
Theoretical Perspectives of the
Reading Process
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Information Processing Theory
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Focuses on what goes on inside the learners
head – learning, memory & performance
Identify the internal mechanisms that help
people process information
Many of the skills of the Before and During
reading stages focuses on mechanisms
readers dynamically employ to comprehend a
reading
Theoretical Perspectives of the
Reading Process
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Information Processing Theory - Examples
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Prior Knowledge and Making Connections
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Predictions and Questions
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Computer Analogy – Forgetting to Save the
information to your long-term memory
Ways of interacting with the information
Monitoring Comprehension
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Metacognition – Thinking about thinking
The reader is able to adapt their own reading process
to ensure comprehension – fix-it-up strategies
Theoretical Perspectives of the
Reading Process
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Constructivism Theory
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Focuses on how the learner internalizes new
information and creates their own understanding
Examines how people combine new knowledge
with their already created schemas
Much of the After reading stage focuses on the
skills the readers dynamically employ to
comprehend a reading - building their own
interpretations of new information
Theoretical Perspectives of the
Reading Process
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Constructivism Theory - Examples
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Summarize – Explicit vs. Implicit
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Students perceptions of the reading will be impacted
by the prior or background knowledge
Synthesize – mix new and old information to
generate a personal understanding
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(Not Paraphrasing)
Students take ownership of the information strengthens the students ability to retrieve information
Evaluation – Form and Support Opinions
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Students take ownership of the information strengthens the students ability to retrieve information
Before Reading Skills
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Previewing / Surveying – scan pictures, titles
and subtitles
Text Analysis – identify text format and select
proper reading strategies based on the type and
genre of the text
Elicit prior knowledge – past experiences used
to make connections while reading
Develop a purpose for reading by making
questions and predictions based upon the
preview of the text
Before Reading Skills 
Helps readers focus their attention
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continued
Questions, Predictions and Text analysis
allows the reader to read at the
appropriate rate
Will help them move information from
the sensory register into their working
(short-term) memory
Eliciting Prior knowledge helps reader
jump start the cognitive process
During Reading Skills
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Update and create new predictions and
questions to maintain focus while actively
reading
Work to expand vocabulary skills
Reading Rate – adjust reading rate based on the
difficulty of the text and personal reading skills
Visualize – using information from both the text
and prior knowledge to create and maintain a
mental image while your read
Connection – develop links between the text and
prior knowledge to ensure comprehension
During Reading Skills 
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continued
Develop Inferences – combining information
from the text and prior knowledge to make both
explicit and implicit conclusions
Monitor Comprehension – identifying possible
reading difficulties while completing a reading
assignment, then taking correct measures to
ensure comprehension
Re-read – taking time to re-read a passage if not
completely understood
Context Clues – use various strategies to
determine the basic meaning of an unknown or
unfamiliar word
During Reading Skills 
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continued
During reading skills help the reader sift
through the information in their working
memory
Starts the process of transferring
information into long-term memory
Students move beyond rehearsal – focusing
on basic facts
Stop reading passively and begin to become
an active reader
During Reading Skills 
continued
Active Readers start the process of
transferring information in the long-term
memory by:
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Elaboration – adding additional ideas to new
information
Organizing – Making connections among various
new pieces of information
Visual Imagery – Making mental images
After Reading Skills
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Assess Reading Comprehension – use a series
of questions to check overall comprehension
Summarize – identifying the both the explicit and
implicit main idea(s) and the supporting details
Synthesize – mix prior knowledge with
information from the text to generate a personal
understanding from a passage
Evaluate – form and support opinions based upon
information from a reading
After Reading Skills 
continued
Active Readers continue the process of
transferring information in the long-term
memory by:
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Elaboration – adding additional ideas to new
information
Organizing – Making connections among various
new pieces of information
Visual Imagery – Making mental images
After Reading Skills 
continued
Once the students begin to summarize,
synthesize and evaluate more often and
with greater incite:
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More meaningful learning experiences will occur
Greater chance of retrieving the information
The information could be less likely to decay
Building Comprehension
In-depth cognitive
processing - Making
Connections
Long-Term
Memory
Attention
Working
(Sort-Term)
Memory
Input
Sensory
Register
A Model of Hunan Memory
Ormond, J. (2006). Essential of Educational Psychology. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, Inc. (p. 25)
The Reading Process
Before
Preview/Surveying
 Text Analysis
 Elicit Prior Knowledge
 Question
 Predictions
 Purpose for Reading
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During
Update Questions &
Predictions
 Visualize
 Connections
 Monitor Comprehension
 Apply fix-it-up reading
strategies
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After
Assess Comprehension
 Summarize
 Synthesize
 Evaluate
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Resources
Daniels, H. & Zemelman, S. (2004). Subjects matter: Every teacher’s
guide to content-area reading. Portsmouth: Heineman.
Ormond, J. (2006). Essential of Educational Psychology. Upper Saddle
River: Pearson Education, Inc..
Oczkus, L. (2004). Super 6 comprehension strategies: 35 lessons and
more for reading success. Norwood: Christopher-Gordon Publishers.
Robb, L. (2000). Teaching reading in middle school. New York:
Schoolastic Professional Books.
Wilson, E. (2004). Reading at the middle and high school levels: Building
active readers across the curriculum. Arlington: Educational Research
Service.