The purpose of this study was examine the effects of guided recall prompts on the written recalls of community college students. Data were presented relative to the following areas: (1) statistical analysis of frequency of idea units; (2) statistical analysis of frequency as well as proportion of idea units categorized as literal; inferential, text-relevant supplementary, and text-irrelevant supplementary; (3) statistical analysis of frequency as well as proportion of idea supplementary units categorized as relating to character, theme, reader reaction, or none; (4) statistical analysis of holistic scores for quality of recall; (5) statistical analysis of correlation of holistic scores to frequency scores. Descriptive data relative to categorization of supplementary idea units relating to character, theme, reader reaction, or none were also reported. Subjects were students enrolled in developmental reading courses at Pima Community College who demonstrated a reading ability of at least ninth grade level on the Nelson Denny Reading Test. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of four recall prompts: (1) guided recall prompt which called attention to character, (2) guided recall prompt which called attention to theme, (3) guided recall prompt which called attention to reader reaction, or (4) free recall prompt. Findings indicated that guided recall prompts had effects on the written recalls and that those effects were specific to the respective prompt. Additionally, the responses of readers provided with the guided recall prompts were qualitatively better than those provided with the free recall prompt. A comparison of the frequency scores to the holistic scores seemed to indicate that the holistic score does reflect some aspects of comprehension--specifically literal and inferential recall; however, data also seemed to indicate that the holistic score measures something beyond those things measured by the frequency data

Recent literature in cognitive psychology depicts mental constructs through which processes and strategies are employed by the learner to facilitate learning. A remedial curriculum structured to enhance the development of the general constructs theorized, was evaluated for its effect on a cognitive component of reading. Inferential comprehension strategies of 4th-6th grade students in the experimental computer-based higher order thinking skills program and in a traditional program of drill and practice in reading skills were assessed using the strategy stories of Goodman and Burke (1980). A MANOVA design revealed a difference between the two treatment groups (p >.001) on eleven dependent measures. Univariate results indicate that the experimental students performed better on five out of the eleven individual measures. Qualitative analysis on the contextual cues utilized in forming hypotheses did not reveal great differences in the amount of contextual cues used by the two groups.

The purpose of this experiment was to study the effect of audio feedback from an electromyograph on reading speed and comprehension. The subject reduced as much audio feedback, and thus laryngeal tension, as possible, thus permitting more efficient reading. After baseline, the subject received twelve half-hour practice sessions, six ten-minute testing sessions on easy, or light, material and six ten-minute testing sessions on difficult material. A post-test without feedback was given after training and a follow-up test, without feedback, was given. This method of training permits a higher rate of reading speed, while allowing the subject to process complex information and maintain a constant level of recall.

The present study was designed to investigate whether a good reader, by the fifth grade, will have attained sufficient knowledge of the language structure to enable him to more exactly and more appropriately reconstruct mutilated texts than a poor reader, matched for verbal intelligence level. Four 250-word cloze-treated passages were administered to twelve deficient and twelve non-deficient sixth grade readers, matched according to sex and the verbal portion of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children. Analyses of variance failed to show any significant differences between good and poor readers except for a weak indication that good readers produced more exact replacements.

Models of reading comprehension using the working memory paradigm have been formulated from studies using adult readers. Although there appear to be differences in working memory skills between beginner and mature readers, and normal and reading disabled children, the exact role of working memory in reading is still unclear. This study examined the role of working memory in the development of reading in children. A study ~v Baddeley, Logie, Nimmo-Smith, and Brereton (1985) was modified for this purpose to accommodate factors relevant to reading development in children

The problem explored by this study is the nature of b-d confusion as it is exhibited by remedial and nonremedial readers at various elementary ages in the areas of letter identification, spelling, and reading. The purposes of Phase I of the study were to examine the progressive phase-out of b-d errors committed by samples of remedial and nonremedial readers and to explore certain factors that could be related to the problem. The object of Phase II was to describe subjects with extreme b-d reversal problems. Extreme b-d reversers were found to have been average or below on first-grade-readiness scores and significantly below grade-level placement in reading achievement. School marks were also generally low. As a whole, the extremes were predominantly right-handed and no sex bias was detected. When the extremes were compared to subjects above average in b-d responses, the extremes made significantly more errors on other letters, were able to read significantly fewer words, and required significantly more assistance in spelling. These groups significantly differed on position of b-d reversals in reading, but not in spelling, nor on the proportion of real words actually produced when reversals were made in reading. Reversal of b and d was not associated in the same population as b-p reversals.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--McMaster University, 2006. / Supervisor: Betty Ann Levy. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 116-125).

This qualitative study investigated the teaching of reading in Grade 3 multilingual classes in one school in the Western Cape. It focused on the teaching strategies employed by teachers in teaching reading, the challenges teachers encountered in teaching reading to multilingual classrooms and the resources available to enhance reading in these classes. Data were collected by means of classroom observations and interviews with teachers. The findings of the study show that teachers experience problems with regard to the teaching of reading in Grade 3 classes. Firstly, learners have no competence in English which is the main language of learning and teaching and this has a negative impact on their reading abilities. Secondly, while code switching is one of the popular strategies in facilitating teaching and learning, it may be problematic in multilingual classrooms in that it may exclude other learners from the content explained in a different language. Thirdly, print rich environments enhance learners’ reading skills, but many underprivileged schools lack multilingual materials. The study concludes that teacher development is essential for the development of literacy in schools.

Thesis (M.S.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Department of Psychology, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education