The goal of this project was to develop a sequential program for the development of critical thinking skills that could be extended to all the elementary schools in the school district. The major objectives were: (1) to enhance teachers' ability to think critically, practice in their classrooms teaching strategies to develop pupils' thinking, and…

Sixteen sixth-grade students participated in a study of the reasoning strategies employed by good and poor readers. Students, trained in applying introspective procedures, completed instruments that measured verbal reasoning, determining cause and effect, reading for inference, and determining main idea. Protocols obtained during five consecutive…

This study attempted to elucidate the effects of context and level of processing on comprehension and memory for prose. Two aspects of memory for prose were investigated: the amount of information remembered and the semantic interpretation assigned to ambiguous paragraphs. Task instructions and exposure duration of the passages were manipulated to…

Thirty physical education students and 30 music education students read a passage which could be given two distinct interpretations. Multiple-choice test scores, theme-revealing disambiguations and instrusions in free recall indicate that high-level schemata provide the interpretive framework for comprehending discourse. Schema theory and its…

Suggests applying questioning strategies based on literal, interpretive, and applied levels to reading assignments. (MKM)

Argues that picture books pose difficulties for young children who are not yet equipped to interpret them. (AEW)

Identifying the main points of a communication is fundamental to successful reading comprehension. Discussed are difficulties in defining main idea, text structure variables in determining important information, textual hierarchy and the theory of macrostructure, text features signalling important information, summary writing, learning-disabled…

Reviews recent research on metacognition and presents some implications for its use in the classroom. (FL)

Describes a metacognitive study method, LETME, designed to help students manage the entire study process by facilitating the understanding, selection, organization, retention, and analysis of information from expository text. (DF)

Presents three ideas for teaching content area writing, noting that such writing is most productive when assignments are based on real subject area topics and authentic styles. (HOD)

Examines why analytical thinking should be a major focus of teaching in the reading and writing classroom. (HOD)

Examines some recent ERIC materials on comprehension processes and on how teachers can improve students' awareness of comprehension or metacomprehension. (HOD)

Describes an Environmental Reading Program, in which students come to realize that they are readers of their surroundings. Shows how the program can stimulate thought processes and promote comprehension. (FL)

Compares Charles Peters's Content Processing Model with another content area reading model and argues that critics have overlooked a substantial flexibility within the models. (HOD)

Two experiments were conducted on the influence of language mode (print or sign) and syntax (English or American Sign Language) on recall, preference, and comprehension. Prelingual deaf individuals' visual orientation produced a sign-based encoding system that responded to American Sign Language as a familiar language. (Author/BS)