Although substantial research has been conducted into reading strategies, the difference between the reading strategies the students think they learn in class and the reading strategies the teacher considers she teaches is given little critical attention in the academic world. This study aims to investigate the relationship between non-English major students’ application of seven reading strategies for the CET-6 test and the teacher’s formal instruction in these with a view to improving teaching practices at university level.   A reading comprehension test and a questionnaire were given to 16 non-English major sophomore graduate students to establish what reading strategies are most and least utilized by students. A questionnaire was also presented to the teacher to ascertain what reading strategies she had taught. It is established that there are differences in the students’ and the teacher’s perceptions of what reading strategies have been taught and their suitability in the CET-6 reading comprehension text.

Studien syftar till att undersöka lärares uppfattningar om läsförståelseutveckling och om hur läsförståelseundervisning. Det är en kvalitativ studie inspirerad av fenomenografisk metodansats med halvstrukturerade intervjuer som datainamlingsmetod. Resultatet visar att det finns en variation i lärares uppfattningar om vad som utvecklar läsförståelse och hur läsförståelseundervisning ska genomföras. Det som framkommer i intervjuerna med pedagogerna är att de flesta vill och försöker arbeta medvetet med sin läsförståelseundervisning men att det till stor del förekommer mest implicit undervisning. Resultatet påvisar en tendens till att eleverna blir sittande att genomföra uppgifter på egen hand eller i par och pedagogen blir instruktionsgivare och kontrollant istället för undervisare och övervakare av elevernas läsning. Det finns även en risk att de läsare som inte har några svårigheter inte får möjlighet att utveckla sin läsförståelse utan att fokus endast blir på de elever som är svaga läsare.

ABSTRACT LINKS AND DISCONNECTS BETWEEN THIRD GRADE TEACHERS’ BELIEFS, KNOWLEDGE, AND PRACTICES REGARDING NONFICTION READING COMPREHENSION INSTRUCTION FOR STRUGGLING READERS by Nicole P. Maxwell In the current era of accountability, U. S. teachers face strict demands from No Child Left Behind (NCLB) to ensure that all students’ reading achievement meets the requirements of their respective grade levels (Coburn, Pearson, & Woulfin, 2011). These demands are especially stressful when teachers have students who struggle with reading. Regrettably, many students grapple with reading difficulties, particularly with comprehending fiction and nonfiction texts (Allington, 2011). The purpose of this study was to examine the beliefs and understandings three third grade teachers held concerning nonfiction reading comprehension instruction for struggling readers and how these beliefs and knowledge influenced their pedagogical practices. This qualitative, interpretive case study examined their beliefs using the theoretical lenses of epistemology (Crotty, 2007; Cunningham & Fitzgerald, 1996; Dillon, O’Brien, & Heilman, 2004; Magrini, 2009), social constructivism (Vygotsky, 1978), transactional theory of reading (Rosenblatt, 1994), and the sociocognitive interactive model of reading (Ruddell & Unrau, 2004). The following research questions guided this inquiry: (1) How do third grade teachers support struggling readers when navigating nonfiction texts? (2) What are these third grade teachers’ beliefs and understandings about struggling readers? (3) How do these beliefs influence the third grade teachers’ pedagogical practices with struggling readers? Data collection lasted for five months and involved interviews, classroom observations, teacher debriefs, and the collection of artifacts, including DeFord’s (1985) Theoretical Orientation to Reading Profile (TORP). Data analysis was conducted using the constant comparative approach (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). The findings in this study revealed links and disconnects between the accommodations teachers believed their struggling readers needed and what they actually provided their struggling readers. These teachers faced pressures of time constraints and a focus on testing, which affected their pedagogical practices. Furthermore, they demonstrated a reliance on content area textbooks and dissatisfaction with the accessibility of nonfiction materials. These findings highlight the need for pre-service and in-service teachers to have access to quality nonfiction materials to use in the classroom and instruction on how to provide nonfiction comprehension instruction to their struggling readers.

@font-face { font-family: "Cambria"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: 200%; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }p.MsoNormalCxSpFirst, li.MsoNormalCxSpFirst, div.MsoNormalCxSpFirst { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 200%; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }p.MsoNormalCxSpMiddle, li.MsoNormalCxSpMiddle, div.MsoNormalCxSpMiddle { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 200%; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }p.MsoNormalCxSpLast, li.MsoNormalCxSpLast, div.MsoNormalCxSpLast { margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: 200%; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }.MsoChpDefault { font-size: 10pt; font-family: Cambria; }div.WordSection1 { page: WordSection1; } @font-face { font-family: "Times"; }@font-face { font-family: "ＭＳ 明朝"; }@font-face { font-family: "Cambria Math"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }.MsoChpDefault { font-size: 10pt; font-family: Cambria; }.MsoPapDefault { margin-bottom: 10pt; }div.WordSection1 { page: WordSection1; } The central goal of elementary reading instruction is to teach students to make sense of the range of texts that they encounter during their school careers and lives. The issue of interest in this study is to better understand educational practice for upper elementary reading comprehension instruction. Using a case study design within the framework of symbolic interactionism, I studied four upper elementary teachers and examined the nature of their experiences with organizing, carrying out, and learning about reading comprehension instruction. Three weeks of classroom observations of each teachers’ language arts instruction and three interviews of each teacher constitute the major sources of data for this study. Results suggest that each teacher provided her students a different type of instructional experience around reading comprehension, despite having access to same kinds of instructional materials and assessment information. The instructional experiences offered by the teachers were contingent upon the teachers’ perspectives on the construct of reading comprehension and the factors that weighed most heavily in their individual decision-making processes about reading comprehension instruction. Several additional patterns emerged across the teachers. All four teachers made adaptations to their core reading program, utilized a small, consistent set of instructional routines in day-to-day instruction, and identified working with struggling students as an area of concern with which they felt unprepared to handle well. None of the teachers were observed or reported consistently employing direct, explicit, accountable ways of talking with students about texts or about ways of thinking through texts. These findings suggest future research and professional development efforts to improve reading comprehension instruction should begin with the ways in which teachers think about reading comprehension and the kinds of decisions teachers make as a result of their working definitions. In addition, more attention needs to be paid to supporting teachers in making thoughtful adaptations to their curriculum materials, in expanding the range of instructional routines employed on a regular basis, and in learning how to meet the needs of students struggling with comprehension. Finally, greater emphasis needs to be placed on fostering the kinds of talk amongst teachers and students that leads to the most robust reading comprehension development.

In the secondary school situation, a pupil needs to read to learn, therefore it is imperative to comprehend what is read. Reading comprehension is one of the two functions of reading and it is dependent on the abilities of the reader, the reader's interpretation of the text and the context in which the text is read. In examining reader characteristics, it is evident that it is very difficult for learning disabled pupils with a reading comprehension deficit to comprehend successfully. Their · unique problems can be exacerbated by such external factors as text components and the context in which the reading takes place. Reading comprehension has been instructed to learning disabled secondary school pupils using reading methods and strategies, to facilitate reading comprehension. From this practical experience and the literature studied, guidelines have been formulated for teachers to use to improve the reading comprehension skills of learning disabled secondary school pupils. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Orthopedagogics)

In the secondary school situation, a pupil needs to read to learn, therefore it is imperative to comprehend what is read. Reading comprehension is one of the two functions of reading and it is dependent on the abilities of the reader, the reader's interpretation of the text and the context in which the text is read. In examining reader characteristics, it is evident that it is very difficult for learning disabled pupils with a reading comprehension deficit to comprehend successfully. Their · unique problems can be exacerbated by such external factors as text components and the context in which the reading takes place. Reading comprehension has been instructed to learning disabled secondary school pupils using reading methods and strategies, to facilitate reading comprehension. From this practical experience and the literature studied, guidelines have been formulated for teachers to use to improve the reading comprehension skills of learning disabled secondary school pupils. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Orthopedagogics)