Date of Award
Spring 1986
Document Type
Dissertation - Restricted
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Education
First Advisor
Leslie, Lauren
Second Advisor
Fox, Robert
Third Advisor
Dana, Carol
Abstract
One goal of our schools is to produce a literate population. Although progress has been made, illiteracy still is prevalent and the national reading comprehension level remains at about the fifth grade level. Historically, reading research has been concerned with how to effectively teach children to recognize words with the assumption that comprehension would follow fluent decoding. However, such a succession was not automatic, and research concern turned to factor analyses of the skills needed for reading comprehension (Davis, 1944). Educators responded by teaching each skill as a separate entity. Children learned isolated skills such as recognizing the main idea and applied them in specific classroom reading or workbook contexts. However, this instruction did not necessarily transfer to other instructional or independent situations where the use of the skill was appropriate. Researchers responded with training studies where students were taught both a comprehension skill (product) and a strategy (process) for when and how to use it...