Reading in the Disciplines: The Challenges of Adolescent Literacy

A companion report to Carnegie's Time to Act, focuses on the specific skills and literacy support needed for reading in academic subject areas in higher grades. Outlines strategies for teaching content knowledge and reading strategies together

Strategies for Helping Struggling Readers Comprehend Expository Text

The purpose of this paper is threefold. First, it is to present the challenges that accompany comprehending expository texts for students who have learning disability. Second, it is to discuss the implication of these challenges for special educators. Third, it is to provide descriptions of pre-reading, during reading, and post-reading teaching strategies that educators can employ to develop comprehension strategies for expository texts used among students who are struggling to comprehend

Inner Dialogue Reading Behaviors and Student Comprehension of Texts

This study examines the use of inner dialogue reading behaviors by third grade students who achieve high scores on commercial reading assessments. The study looks at one class of third grade students in Western New York, and comparatively analyzes their self-reported use of reading behaviors in relation to their achieved scores on the Next Step in Guided Reading (GRA) commercial reading assessment. The researcher collected qualitative data from the participants using results from the administered GRA assessment, structured verbal interviews, and participants’ written responses in their weekly Independent Reading Logs. Conclusions for participants who scored highly on commercial reading assessments include the following: 1. High scoring participants use a variety of reading behaviors as part of a focused and on-going inner dialogue that takes place during the reading process; 2. High scoring participants understand that comprehending text requires cognitive processing beyond decoding words accurately; and 3. High scoring participants understand reading to be a process of gathering and conveying information and ideas. In effect, they view reading as being disintermediated from the physical medium of the printed text itself. For them, reading is a process of making meaning and understanding an author’s perspective or intent. This is different from participants who did not score as highly on commercial reading assessments, who viewed decoding accuracy as the primary function of reading. Implications of this research include the need for equal focus on both decoding and comprehension reading instruction in the classroom; and explicit instruction on the successful use of inner dialogue reading behaviors to support and enhance reading comprehension

The effectiveness of close reading strategies on the expository text comprehension of students with learning disabilities

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of close reading using Achieve3000 on the text comprehension and use of text evidence by students with learning disabilities in grades 4-5. In addition, student satisfaction with close reading was evaluated for social validity. Two fourth grade students and one fifth grade student, both female, participated in the study. Two students were classified with specific learning disability, and one was classified as communication impaired. A single-subject methodology with an ABAB design was used. During the Baseline phase, students independently read the expository text. They answered comprehension questions, and wrote their responses using text evidence on lined paper. During the Intervention phase, expository texts were identified by Achieve300 at individual student lexile levels. As students read the passages, they used comprehension strategies provided by Achieve3000 on a computer. Results show that after instruction in close reading using Achieve3000 students increased comprehension and use of text evidence. Results from student surveys given after instruction suggest that the Intervention was socially accepted. Further research is needed to examine possible long-term benefits of close reading for students with disabilities

Performance Prediction of Data-Driven Knowledge summarization of High Entropy Alloys (HEAs) literature implementing Natural Language Processing algorithms

The ability to interpret spoken language is connected to natural language processing. It involves teaching the AI how words relate to one another, how they are meant to be used, and in what settings. The goal of natural language processing (NLP) is to get a machine intelligence to process words the same way a human brain does. This enables machine intelligence to interpret, arrange, and comprehend textual data by processing the natural language. The technology can comprehend what is communicated, whether it be through speech or writing because AI pro-cesses language more quickly than humans can. In the present study, five NLP algorithms, namely, Geneism, Sumy, Luhn, Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA), and Kull-back-Liebler (KL) al-gorithm, are implemented for the first time for the knowledge summarization purpose of the High Entropy Alloys (HEAs). The performance prediction of these algorithms is made by using the BLEU score and ROUGE score. The results showed that the Luhn algorithm has the highest accuracy score for the knowledge summarization tasks compared to the other used algorithms

Reading Comprehension Instruction for Expository Text in Elementary Education

The thesis focuses on strategies for developing reading comprehension skills in relation to expository, or informational, text and the need for this type of instruction in contemporary elementary classrooms. Comprehension is the final product of reading, and therefore should require attention and emphasis during literary instructional time. Many students enjoy reading narrative text, as it is more relational and has a storyline or plot, so expository text is often neglected and considered uninteresting. However, as students begin the upper elementary grade levels, almost all of their reading experiences include informational text, such as textbooks. Through instructing students how to read expository text for meaning, the teacher better equips her children to read actively and with purpose. By understanding the importance of reading comprehension and strategies that increase reader knowledge, teachers and students will have a greater appreciation for the significance of comprehension skills and place a higher emphasis on expository texts in the classroom

Effective Reading Comprehension Strategies for Individuals with Learning Disabilities: A Research Synthesis

This paper will explore and synthesize the body of current research on effective reading comprehension instruction and strategies. Beginning with a survey of several variables that affect working memory and executive processes, this paper will discuss how the mind’s ability to interpret text and derive meaning is a critical component for reading comprehension. The article will also explore how the elements of the working memory affect student with learning disabilities (LD). Furthermore, the working memory’s executive process is essential for the “simultaneous process of extracting and construction meaning” from text (Garcia-Madruga et al., 2013, p. 155). In addition, this paper will review and analyze existing evidence-based practices for teaching reading to struggling learners. Strategies such as using direct and explicit instruction, using graphic organizers, mnemonics devices, deriving main idea from texts, and using methods such as the SQ3R strategy are among a significant list that lend themselves to effective reading instruction. This review will investigate the effectiveness of some reading strategies because they are a significant part of a teacher’s instructional process. This paper will contribute to the existing body of literature about the reading comprehension process and the effects of strategic instruction in reading comprehension. This literature review will conclude with a discussion that summarizes major themes and synthesizes the effectiveness of reading comprehension instructional strategies

The Effect of Using the “SQP2RS via WTL” Strategy through Science Context to 10th Graders’ Reading Comprehension in English in Palestine

The study aimed at investigating the effect of using the “SQP2RS via WTL” strategy through science context to 10th graders’ reading comprehension in English in Bethlehem district in Palestine. The study has been applied on a purposeful sample of 10th grade students at public schools in Bethlehem district in the academic year 2015/2016. The sample included (139) students (61 males and 78 females) at AL-Awda Basic School for Girls, Bethlehem Secondary Boys’ School. Students were assigned to experimental and control groups, the experimental group was taught by using the “SQP2RS via WTL” strategy, while the control group was taught by the traditional method. The researchers have prepared a reading comprehension achievement test. Content validity and reliability were established for the test. The experiment has lasted three months, a pre-test and post-test were performed using the reading comprehension achievement test to measure the effect of using the “SQP2RS via WTL” strategy. The means and standard deviation, (3-way ANCOVA) test, were used in the study. The findings of the study showed that there were statistically significant differences in the mean scores of 10th graders’ reading comprehension in the English language due to the teaching method in favor of the experimental group, the level of pre-achievement in favor of the high achievement group, the interaction between group and gender in favor of the female in the experimental group, the interaction between group and level of pre-achievement in favor of the high achievement in the experimental group, the interaction between gender and level of pre-achievement in favor of the male in the high achievement group and the interaction between group, gender and level of pre-achievement in favor of the high achievement male students in the experimental group. And there were no statistically significant differences in the mean scores of 10th graders’ reading comprehension in the English language due to gender. In the light of the results of the study, training programs should be offered to train teachers on using the “SQP2RS via WTL” strategy, students should be provided with opportunities to practice the strategy, and more studies should be conducted on different variables and different populations. Keywords: Effect, SQP2RS, WTL, strategy, science context, 10th graders’, reading comprehensio

Investigating styles in variability modeling: Hierarchical vs. constrained styles

Context: A common way to represent product lines is with variability modeling. Yet, there are different ways to extract and organize relevant characteristics of variability. Comprehensibility of these models and the ease of creating models are important for the efficiency of any variability management approach. Objective: The goal of this paper is to investigate the comprehensibility of two common styles to organize variability into models - hierarchical and constrained - where the dependencies between choices are specified either through the hierarchy of the model or as cross-cutting constraints, respectively. Method: We conducted a controlled experiment with a sample of 90 participants who were students with prior training in modeling. Each participant was provided with two variability models specified in Common Variability Language (CVL) and was asked to answer questions requiring interpretation of provided models. The models included 9 to 20 nodes and 8 to 19 edges and used the main variability elements. After answering the questions, the participants were asked to create a model based on a textual description. Results: The results indicate that the hierarchical modeling style was easier to comprehend from a subjective point of view, but there was also a significant interaction effect with the degree of dependency in the models, that influenced objective comprehension. With respect to model creation, we found that the use of a constrained modeling style resulted in higher correctness of variability models. Conclusions: Prior exposure to modeling style and the degree of dependency among elements in the model determine what modeling style a participant chose when creating the model from natural language descriptions. Participants tended to choose a hierarchical style for modeling situations with high dependency and a constrained style for situations with low dependency. Furthermore, the degree of dependency also influences the comprehension of the variability model