The role of imagery formation as a mnemonic device in drawing valid inferences from a prose passage was studied. The 72 undergraduate subjects were divided into two groups: one given instructions to form images for the objects discussed in the text, the other given instructions to repeat each sentence five times. Half the passages consisted of…

This pamphlet was prepared for a two-fold purpose: (1) To produce a companion study to a previous pamphlet on "Assessing Compositions," and (2) To continue work on comprehension. It is limited to a practical study of the issues involved in composition and comprehension by devising, setting and marking regular comprehension tests for 14- and…

In this study, 30 male college students from two weightlifting classes and 30 female college students enrolled in an educational psychology course designed specifically for music education majors were asked to read two ambiguous passages, each of which could be interpreted in two different ways. The first passage could be perceived as describing…

The question of whether readers subjectively perceive the meaning of written materials is a specific form of the more general issue of whether human beings make or find knowledge. The subjectivist paradigm asserts that the first priority in the search for knowledge is the individual's awareness of personal motives for obtaining that knowledge. The…

In this study 60 first and fourth graders selected pictures that best represented the meanings of sentences read to them. Results indicated that children were instantiating the target words with specific concepts rather than bringing to mind abstract, undifferentiated meanings. (HOD)

Comprehensibility ratings and sentence-by-sentence reading times of three-sentence narratives (triples) were studied as a function of the coherence of a triple. In both experiments, reading times did not differ for first sentences, but were longer for third sentences of unrelated than for related triples. (Author/RM)

The development of cognitive processes is essential to the development of reading comprehension skills. (MKM)

Seven learning disabled elementary students received metacognitive training in the strategic use of language information (summarizing, questioning, clarifying, predicting) using a reciprocal teaching procedure. Although results of reading achievement posttests were insignificant, subjects experienced greater gains in self-esteem than a control…

Suggests that further explication of the notion of "importance" will benefit the reading field, at both practical and theoretical levels. (ARH)

Argues that strategies for overcoming reading comprehension problems should contain the elements of cognitive and metacognitive training. Advocates a reading/learning/study strategy which involves systematic and deliberate instruction stressing increased comprehension by demonstration and guided practice followed by independent application of the…

Indicates that (1) readers determine topic interrelations as they encounter new topics during reading, (2) better recallers are more consistent about inferring topic interrelations, and (3) better recallers are more flexible in their processing of topic information. (NKA)

Describes an experiment that examined the degree to which self-instructional training influences elementary school aged children's comprehension monitoring during reading, and notes that such training does, indeed, increase comprehension monitoring. (HOD)

Describes a study contrasting hierarchical and causal approaches to story understanding indicating that when the number of causal connections increases, the likelihood of summarization for both goal and other statements increases. Suggests that the importance accorded to a statement in a story structure is the result of causal reasoning during…

Describes 10 categories of inferences and proposes a three-step procedure for teaching students to make inferences while reading. (HOD)

Offers an instructional sequence based on the premise that the spelling of English words very often reflects meaning more than sound and designed to help students make use of this understanding in learning to spell and to increase their vocabulary. (AEA)