1. AIM - The aim of the study was to determine the relationship between metacognition and reading comprehension and also the relationship between metacognition, age and reading comprehension. 2. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE STUDY - In chapter 2 the cognitive approach to learning and reading, according to which the learner/reader plays an active role in the processing of information, is discussed. The human information processing system is discussed and the chapter is concluded with a discussion of how reading comprehension failures occur due to problems associated with the information processing system. In chapter 3 metacognition is defined and discussed based on the views of John Flavell, Ann Brown and Scott Paris and his co-workers. Certain factors affecting metacognition are also discussed. In chapter 4 the teaching of metacognition and reading strategies are discussed. Text processing strategies and text reorganising strategies are discussed which enable readers to regulate the level of their reading comprehension when comprehension failures occur. 3. EXPERIMENTAL REVIEW - An ex post facto research was undertaken involving all the standard 1 and standard 3 pupils of the largest of three primary schools in a specific town in the PI/IN region. Two questionnaires were used. One questionnaire, which was completed by both groups, tested metacognitive knowledge and skills such as evaluation, planning, regulation and conditional knowledge. Another questionnaire tested reading comprehension by means of a cloze test, an error detection test and a conventional comprehension test. Two different questionnaires were used for the two groups. A multiple linear regression analysis was performed on the data to determine the contribution of each independent variable (planning, evaluation, regulation and conditional knowledge) on the dependent variables (cloze test, error detection test and comprehension test). 3.1 Results - The following metacognitive variables influenced performance in the reading comprehension tests: * Error detection test : planning and conditional knowledge at std. 1 level and evaluation and regulation at std. 3-level. * Cloze test : only planning at std. 1 level and planning, regulation and conditional knowledge at std. 3 level. * Comprehension test : only conditional knowledge at std. 3 level. The results seem to indicate that metacognitive variables do affect performance in reading comprehension tests and that metacognition is related to age, considering the fact that the more "advanced" components of metacognition namely conditional knowledge and regulation affect performance mainly at std. 3 level. The number of metacognitive variables affecting performance in the three comprehension tests, three at std. 1 level and six at standerd three level, also indicates that metacognition develops with age. Due to the small population sample used in the study, however, no general conclusion can be drawn from these results. / Skripsie (MEd (Psigo-opvoedkunde)--PU vir CHO, 1995

Ineffective reading takes place if the reader does not understand what he reads. Therefore it is important for everybody to be able to make sense of what they read. Teachers often do not pay enough attention to the teaching of comprehension in schools. Reading comprehension is an aspect that has been the least adequately explained arid therefore it is the most difficult one to teach. Even students think of it as only another exercise of English and rush through it just to finish as soon as possible. Teachers hand back the exercises and give the correct answers without instructing students on how to improve their comprehension. By teaching students different reading strategies their proficiency in comprehension may improve. Most of the students are unaware of reading strategies and they don't know how to implement them in their comprehension.• This study offers an empirical investigation into the teaching of four specific reading strategies to students in an attempt to help them to improve their reading comprehension. The literature on language learning strategies and reading strategies, as well as the teaching and learning of reading strategies, is surveyed. The results of an empirical investigation into the teaching of four reading strategies (guessing the meaning of the word from the context, finding the main idea in a passage, making inferences and generalizing) indicate that, although there was only a marginal improvement in reading comprehension, it is clear that the teaching of reading strategies has enormous potential. English Second Language teachers may find it worth their while to implement the teaching of reading strategies to develop their students' proficiency in reading comprehension. / Thesis (MEd (Vakdidaktiek))--PU vir CHO, 1996

1. AIM - The aim of the study was to determine the relationship between metacognition and reading comprehension and also the relationship between metacognition, age and reading comprehension. 2. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE STUDY - In chapter 2 the cognitive approach to learning and reading, according to which the learner/reader plays an active role in the processing of information, is discussed. The human information processing system is discussed and the chapter is concluded with a discussion of how reading comprehension failures occur due to problems associated with the information processing system. In chapter 3 metacognition is defined and discussed based on the views of John Flavell, Ann Brown and Scott Paris and his co-workers. Certain factors affecting metacognition are also discussed. In chapter 4 the teaching of metacognition and reading strategies are discussed. Text processing strategies and text reorganising strategies are discussed which enable readers to regulate the level of their reading comprehension when comprehension failures occur. 3. EXPERIMENTAL REVIEW - An ex post facto research was undertaken involving all the standard 1 and standard 3 pupils of the largest of three primary schools in a specific town in the PI/IN region. Two questionnaires were used. One questionnaire, which was completed by both groups, tested metacognitive knowledge and skills such as evaluation, planning, regulation and conditional knowledge. Another questionnaire tested reading comprehension by means of a cloze test, an error detection test and a conventional comprehension test. Two different questionnaires were used for the two groups. A multiple linear regression analysis was performed on the data to determine the contribution of each independent variable (planning, evaluation, regulation and conditional knowledge) on the dependent variables (cloze test, error detection test and comprehension test). 3.1 Results - The following metacognitive variables influenced performance in the reading comprehension tests: * Error detection test : planning and conditional knowledge at std. 1 level and evaluation and regulation at std. 3-level. * Cloze test : only planning at std. 1 level and planning, regulation and conditional knowledge at std. 3 level. * Comprehension test : only conditional knowledge at std. 3 level. The results seem to indicate that metacognitive variables do affect performance in reading comprehension tests and that metacognition is related to age, considering the fact that the more "advanced" components of metacognition namely conditional knowledge and regulation affect performance mainly at std. 3 level. The number of metacognitive variables affecting performance in the three comprehension tests, three at std. 1 level and six at standerd three level, also indicates that metacognition develops with age. Due to the small population sample used in the study, however, no general conclusion can be drawn from these results. / Skripsie (MEd (Psigo-opvoedkunde)--PU vir CHO, 1995

Ineffective reading takes place if the reader does not understand what he reads. Therefore it is important for everybody to be able to make sense of what they read. Teachers often do not pay enough attention to the teaching of comprehension in schools. Reading comprehension is an aspect that has been the least adequately explained arid therefore it is the most difficult one to teach. Even students think of it as only another exercise of English and rush through it just to finish as soon as possible. Teachers hand back the exercises and give the correct answers without instructing students on how to improve their comprehension. By teaching students different reading strategies their proficiency in comprehension may improve. Most of the students are unaware of reading strategies and they don't know how to implement them in their comprehension.• This study offers an empirical investigation into the teaching of four specific reading strategies to students in an attempt to help them to improve their reading comprehension. The literature on language learning strategies and reading strategies, as well as the teaching and learning of reading strategies, is surveyed. The results of an empirical investigation into the teaching of four reading strategies (guessing the meaning of the word from the context, finding the main idea in a passage, making inferences and generalizing) indicate that, although there was only a marginal improvement in reading comprehension, it is clear that the teaching of reading strategies has enormous potential. English Second Language teachers may find it worth their while to implement the teaching of reading strategies to develop their students' proficiency in reading comprehension. / Thesis (MEd (Vakdidaktiek))--PU vir CHO, 1996

Key words: reading comprehension, primary school, reading strategies, instruction techniques, gender. Research indicated that the reading ability of Grade 3 to 7 learners is insufficient for them to successfully complete their grades. This is an issue which needs attention very seriously, because it is clear that many students who have problems with reading comprehension and don't use reading strategies optimally and strategically are unprepared for the academic literacy requirements that typically characterise all levels of education, and that may very well be a part of their upcoming job responsibilities. For students to become mindful, motivated strategy users, they need systematically orchestrated instruction. Good instruction is the most powerful means of developing proficient comprehenders and preventing reading comprehension problems. The purpose of the study was to determine whether: • Grade 3, 5 and 7 learners use reading comprehension strategies and, if they do, which strategies are they using during which phase (pre-reading phase, during reading phase and post-reading phase). • There is a difference in boys' and girls' use of reading-comprehension strategies. • There is a difference in the use of reading comprehension strategies and the reading comprehension between Grade 3,5 and 7 learners. • The teachers of Grade 3, 5 and 7 learners are teaching reading strategies and, if so, which reading strategies are they teaching and how are they teaching them. A single cross-section survey design was used in the study. A total of 240 Grade 3, 5 and 7 learners attending two primary schools in Pietersburg, as well as six teachers (one for each grade in each of the two schools), participated in this study. Results showed that Grade 3, 5 and 7 learners differ regarding their use of reading strategies during the before reading, during reading and after reading phases. Results further showed that girls, in their use of reading strategies, differed statistically from boys, but the difference only revealed a small effect size. Pearson product moment correlations indicated that there was a relationship between reading strategy use and reading comprehension of Grade 3, 5 and 7 learners. The results of the ANOVA and the post hoc Tukey test showed that there were statistically, as well as practically, significant differences in the use of reading strategies and reading comprehension between Grade 3, 5 and 7 learners. The results also indicated that, although teachers sometimes teach reading strategies, the teaching does not seem to be explicit. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007

With increasing opportunities to study abroad, learning to read in a foreign language has become increasingly important for countless second language learners. International students in pursuit of higher education degrees are required and expected to read in the target language at the same level of fluency and comprehension as their native-speaking counterparts. The number of international students studying in Arabic higher education institutions has followed the general ascending trend. For these second language speakers of Arabic, good reading skills in Arabic are essential for their academic success. Since the use of reading strategies is an important component of first and second language reading, this study aimed to investigate the use of reading strategies by native and non-native speakers of Arabic when reading academic materials in Arabic. In addition, it aimed to explore possible differences in the use of reading strategies between these two groups. For this purpose, a total of 305 students participated in the study. A survey composed of 30 items was administered to 222 non-native speakers of Arabic, and the same survey with 28 items was administered to 83 native speakers of Arabic. The survey included demographic questions adapted from Mokhtari and Sheorey (2008) and employed the questionnaire SORS used by Mokhtari and Sheorey (2002). These 30 items belonged to three strategy subscales: Global, Problem-solving, and Support strategies. To analyze the collected data, descriptive statistics and multiple independent t-tests were performed. In addition, an analysis was performed to find the most and least used reading strategies by both groups as well as possible differences between them in terms of reading strategy use. Problem-solving strategies were the most frequently used by both groups with a slightly higher use by the non-native speakers. Regarding the other two types, the native and non-native speakers showed different preferences. Specifically, Support strategies were the second most favored type among the non-native speakers, whereas for the native speakers, the second most frequently used type were Global strategies. However, even though Global strategies were the least used among non-native speakers, the non-native speakers' mean score on Global strategies use was higher than the native speaker score of use. Overall, the similarities and differences in the use of reading strategies by native and non-native speakers of Arabic deserve attention because they carry implications for both reading research and pedagogy. These empirical findings can be used by Education policy makers to create training courses and workshops that will help students improve their reading skills in general and reading strategies in particular. This study also suggests that there is a need for further research that will examine how the use of reading strategies is related to the academic performance of native and non-native speakers.

In the context of reading strategy research, the present study explores changes with passage difficulty in the frequencies of occurrence of responses and strategies identified in expert readers' think-aloud protocols. Data consisted of tape recorded think-alouds collected from ten university undergraduates reading to summarize three expository passages ordered from simple to difficult by independent raters. Tapes were transcribed and six categories of responses and strategies were identified in subjects' protocols. The six categories, in order of frequency of occurrence, were: Metastatement, Problem Solving, Repetition, Surface Response, Surface Structure, and Divergent. There were significant differences across passage difficulty in expert readers' evidence of responses and strategies. The frequency of occurrence of problem solving increased significantly as subjects read increasingly difficult expository text. Both surface reactions to text and subjects' comments on their own reading, were high in frequency of occurrence only for the most difficult text. Interpretation suggests expert readers seem to engage with text through problem solving more often in reading more difficult text and demonstrate the existence of a lack of comprehension through reactions to the text and to their own reading. Implications for practice and research are discussed. / Graduate

The purpose of this study is to analyze the teacher's work, opinions and experiences of teaching with material from A reading class. The study is conducted using interviews and observations, and aims to answer how a number of teachers reason about the material they work with to accommodate students with different reading comprehension strategies and to observe how a number of teachers work with this material. The two questions this study aims to answer are:- How do a number of teachers use the material from A reading class?- How do teachers reason about their work with A reading class? In what extents do they use the material that is available? And what are the advantages / disadvantages they see with the material? The methods used to conduct this study is: four interviews with teachers who work in grades 1-4 and five observations in grade 1-4 where the material was used. The theory, and the theoretical concepts this study is based on is: a number of international theories in witch A reading class is based on, the study of Barbro Westlund and the material from A reading class. The study shows that teachers work with the material very differently. The teachers who have chosen to work with the material only see it as positive, those who have been forced to work with the material however, see some negative aspects of it. All of the teachers pick parts of the material to fit their students and class. Most of the teachers in this study only use the pictures that represent the five reading strategies. Only one of the teachers uses lesson plans and the instructions from A reading class. That teacher only has students with Swedish as a first language. The other three teachers have students with another first language than Swedish, as the majority of their class. They believe that children with another first language than Swedish may experience difficulties with the lesson plans from A reading class due to the long instructions and strict structure. One teacher uses the text from A reading class as a library, and in two of the interviews the teachers describes that they work with smaller reading groups so that the students get teaching at their own level.

abstract: This study examined the effects of different constructed response prompts and text types on students’ revision of misconceptions, comprehension, and causal reasoning. The participants were randomly assigned to prompt (self-explain, think-aloud) and text type (refutational, non-refutational) in a 2x2, between-subjects design. While reading, the students were prompted to write responses at regular intervals in the text. After reading, students were administered the conceptual inventory of natural selection (CINS), for which a higher score indicates fewer misconceptions of natural selection. Finally, students were given text comprehension questions, and reading skill and prior knowledge measures. Linear mixed effects (LME) models showed that students with better reading skill and more prior knowledge had a higher CINS score and better comprehension compared to less skilled students, but there were no effects of text type or prompt. Linguistic analysis of students’ responses demonstrated a relationship of prompt, text, and reading skill on students’ causal reasoning. Less skilled students exhibited greater causal reasoning when self-explaining a non-refutational text compared to less skilled students prompted to think-aloud, and less skilled students who read the refutational text. The results of this study demonstrate a relationship between reading skill and misconceptions in natural selections. Furthermore, the linguistic analyses suggest that less skilled students’ causal reasoning improves when prompted to self-explain. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Psychology 2020

The purpose of this study has been to explore reading comprehension with a focus on how teachers talk about their teaching of reading comprehension. To gain knowledge about how teachers work to increase and stimulate pupils’ reading comprehension, we decided to use qualitative interviews to further our knowledge and understanding of reading comprehension. Therefore, we interviewed five teachers who teach English in years 7–9, asking them to define reading comprehension and reading strategies, describe a lesson opportunity when they worked with texts and tasks, and encouraging them to talk about what reading strategies they usually promote in their teaching to enhance pupils’ understanding of texts.  The results show that teachers defined reading comprehension in similar ways. From the interviews it appeared that all teachers believe that pupils can understand texts if they link them to their own experiences. Therefore, it is important that texts are interesting to read. The results differed among the teachers regarding the teaching of reading strategies. Even though several of the interviewed teachers believe that it is important that pupils use different strategies to develop their reading comprehension, four of them do not spend time on teaching them. Instead, they advise pupils to use some strategies that they think are useful. In addition, the results reveal that pupils also need to distinguish between strategies and adapt them to the purpose for reading texts. The findings also show that teachers work with different types of texts and they design various tasks for texts according to pupils’ levels and needs.