Components of Strategic Learning
There
are factors that are influential throughout the whole reading experience, which
affect how well a learner comprehends text.
Comprehension takes places before, during and after reading and for full
comprehension to take place certain procedures need to occur. The processes that influence comprehension
include the activation of background knowledge, the generation of imagery, the
analyzing of text, summarization and questioning (Pressley, El-Dinary, Gaskins,
Schuder, Bergman, Almasi, & Brown, 1992), which also includes predictions,
inferencing, and monitoring understanding (Dowhower, 1999; Oster, 2001) and
clarifying (Palinscar, & Brown, 1986).
Although all are important for better comprehension of text, the
discussion that follows will focus on a few components that are helpful at
developing cognition and metacognition before, during and after reading takes
place.
Schema theory or the activation
of background knowledge calls for instruction that helps students activate
prior knowledge before reading, and helps this knowledge to adjust or be added
to throughout reading (Caverly, Mandeville, & Nicholson, 1995). Caverly, Mandeville and Nicholson also
discuss the importance of strategy incorporation, integration and
self-monitoring for more effective reading.
Each individual builds up and stores a body of knowledge based on his or
her own speed of processing information and this is a vital link to memory
(Jacobson, 1998). Lipson (1984)
describes how prior knowledge accounts for a greater degree of text difficulty
and that misinterpretations lead to the construction of erroneous notions which
affect how text is comprehended. For
greater success with the interaction of text, the learners should be encouraged
to discuss and activate their own prior knowledge beforehand, which can help
the teacher detect inconsistencies and make students aware of this before
misinterpretation begins (Pressley, Johnson, Symons, McGoldrick, & Kurita,
1989).
During reading it is
important to develop strategies that generate questions based on the text for
clear comprehension. This process also
helps the teacher realize where misinterpretation is taking place and correct
it before it transfers to comprehension (Davey, 1983; Oster, 2001). The most
beneficial component of question generation is that learners are taught to
analyze questions to determine if they could be answered explicitly or
implicitly through the text (Pressley, Johnson, Symons, McGoldrick, &
Kurita, 1989). It is also beneficial
because it prompts the learners to search for answers that they want to know,
which motivates them to look back in the text (Ciardiello, 1998). Since question generation is both cognitive
and metacognitive, it gets the reader to concentrate not only on the material
itself but demands constant checking to see that one has performed the
necessary processes (Ciardiello, 1998).
This in turn makes the learner more cognizant about how self-questioning
contributes to improved preparation for discussions and assessment (Helfeldt,
& Henk, 1990).
Even though the text has
been completed, comprehension has not yet been concluded until the learners
clarify what has been read. Palinscar
and Brown (1986) describe clarification as a way for learners to draw their
attention to the fact that there may be difficulties that arose and were not
understood correctly which needs to be made clearer for better comprehension. The learners need to be alert to the effects
of such complications on comprehension and then take the necessary measures to
restore meaning (Palinscar, & Brown, 1986). As Garner states, “application of a strategic remedy indicates
that cognitive failure has been met with metacognitive success” (Garner, 1992,
p. 226). For a learner to be truly
metacognitive, they need to realize what they do not understand, and figure out
how to make sense of any miscommunication.
To become a strategic learner, a learner needs to be aware that their
learning must be monitored before, during and after reading and that there is a
need to understand, organize and remember important information (Bryant, Ugel,
Thompson, & Hamff, 1999). There is
no one strategy that will be applicable to every situation, so it is essential
that learners have a repertoire of strategies to draw from that are applicable
to the different types of texts available (Simpson, & Nist, 2000).