States that although the think-aloud method (TAM) is being used with increasing frequency in studying text comprehension, some skepticism of its value remains. Discusses assumptions behind TAM, aspects of comprehension it can reveal, and directions for research using TAM. Argues that TAM is a useful technique for tracking changes in the contents…

A study examined the effect of verbal reporting of students' thinking on their performance during an examination. Subjects, 343 high school seniors, were randomly divided into 4 experimental groups, and a different procedure for eliciting students' thinking during a critical thinking test was used for each group. A control group took the same test…

Studies what inferences test-takers make as they struggle to match their expectations for an answer with the choices offered in a multiple-choice question. Finds that the 27 types of inferences observed within the metacognitive, cognitive, and affective interactions displayed during these protocols suggested a wealth of activity and thought. (MG)

Making the case that the human achievement of reading has few if any equals, this book uses protocol analysis data related to reading to develop a rich description and understanding of cognitive and affective processes during reading. The book concludes that reading is "constructively responsive"--that is, good readers are always…

Describes the results of a study that asked two classes of 14 and 15 year olds to think aloud in the presence of an interviewer through their several readings of a poem. (DF)

Outlines procedures used in an investigation of college students' thinking aloud protocols and discusses the framework developed for differentiating student-text interactions and identifying the common problems of less able comprehenders. Suggests ways to use protocols to look into the ways students comprehend texts, to identify comprehension…

Examines the strategies readers engage in by analyzing their self reporting responses during and after reading a passage. Argues that teachers should instruct children to be aware of the nature and effectiveness of their own reading strategies. (RAE)

A think-aloud protocol study examined changes in real-time cognitive, metacognitive, and motivation processing that may have resulted from reading-strategy training. Eighth-grade students participated in 4 weeks of reading-strategy training during social studies class. Students used their own social studies text during the training. Fourteen…

A study examined the relative merits of characteristics of general modeling when applied to cognitive modeling of reading comprehension processes and whether the characteristics of modeling, when applied to cognitive modeling of reading processes, influence comprehension and comprehension monitoring. Subjects, 100 eighth grade students who could…

Investigates the similarities and differences in cognitive processing during reading and writing activities as reported in the think-aloud protocols of an above-average and a below-average student. Concludes that the above-average student reported more behaviors and more behaviors that facilitated meaning-making than the below-average student. (RS)

To better understand the nature of students' approaches to literary understanding, a study compared the meaning-making approaches of traditionally judged above and below average readers. In all, 144 protocols were analyzed from 24 students (12 seventh graders and 12 eleventh graders, half in each class judged as above and half as below average…

A study investigated the differences between what advanced and remedial high school readers do while reading a short story. Subjects were three seniors nominated by their literature teachers as being expert high school readers of literature, and three junior level students who were all reading about two grade levels below the junior level…

A study examined preschool children's awareness of literacy. Subjects included 18 children from 2 classrooms of prekindergarten children who lived in a black, inner-city neighborhood and attended a school that believed in providing formal reading and writing instruction in the prekindergarten year. Subjects were asked how they were learning, how…

Discusses recognition of cognates used in teaching materials prepared by the English for Specific Purposes Project for academic courses. Presents suggestions based on theoretical considerations of cognate recognition. Examines, by way of protocol studies, how foreign students of English make use of cognate recognition. Suggests that strategies for…

How do some students extract complex information from advanced reading materials while others struggle to find the meaning of even simple passages? What characteristics do strategic readers exhibit that others don't possess? Unlocking the cognitive strategies of exceptional readers means finding ways to teach every student to read strategically,…