READING AND THINKING ARE NOT ALWAYS DISTINCT FROM EACH OTHER, ALTHOUGH EACH REPRESENTS DIFFERENT FUNCTIONS AND USES. THE PROBLEM IS NOT WHETHER THE TWO ARE SYNONYMOUS, BUT HOW MUCH TEACHERS SHOULD TELL STUDENTS AND HOW MUCH STUDENTS SHOULD DISCOVER FOR THEMSELVES. RECENT STUDIES SHOW THAT CHILDREN ARE CAPABLE OF APPLYING ELEMENTARY SKILLS OF…

Schemata, as defined recently by reading researchers, represent generic concepts which are stored in memory. They include underlying objects, situations, events, actions, and sequences of actions for use in interpreting new experiences. Research on schemata suggests that teachers need to pay attention to the types of questions they ask when…

Investigates effects of illustrations on 11-year-olds' comprehension of abstract and concrete passages. Reveals no significant effects due to the illustrations, although ability effects were found for literal, inferential, and total comprehension. (DF)

Argues that Piagetian theory does not support the use of a code-breaking approach to teaching children to read prior to the advent of concrete operations. Suggests that primary instructional emphasis with these children should be placed upon the meaning-getting aspects of reading. (FL)

Examines the relationship between performance on five Piagetian tasks and three measures of reading achievement in primary school children. Concludes that the relationship is minimal and inconsistent across different measures of reading as well as across grade levels. (FL)

Reports findings from a study that investigated preschool children's concepts about reading. Offers suggestions for adults who guide young children through their early experiences with print. (FL)

Explores some of the story concepts evident in children's story retellings and story writings. (FL)

Discusses Jean Piaget's notion of equilibrium--the propensity to reduce conceptual conflict--in relation to early childhood education. Presents an instructional model that has the teacher raising children's conceptual conflict through a series of open-ended questions. (FL)

Describes a procedure for assessing a beginning reader's knowledge of the spoken word/written word match in reading. (FL)

This paper discusses two aspects of reading as a cognitive process as they relate to instruction based on the intellectual operation performed during the act of reading. The first consideration is an assumption that comprehension skills are based on a set of underlying cognitive tasks or operations which can be developed through instruction. The…

Argues that by carefully planning questioning techniques, the classroom teacher can build prereading concepts and help students make those links between their own knowledge and experience and the information contained in a text. Offers taxonomies of teacher responses and of concept development to help teachers structure classroom interaction. (FL)

Techniques developed to address the reading problems of an adult English as a second language (ESL) class are described. An intensive English course was developed for a group of Arabic-speaking vocational education administrators who had several years of English training. However, they performed poorly on the lowest level of a reading series.…

Demonstrates how social constructivism has affected conceptual change research, and draws implications for reading and writing instruction from conceptual change research using social constructivism as a theoretical framework. Discuss why conceptual change researchers turned to social constructivism as a theoretical framework for their research.…

THE WORK OF CERTAIN PSYCHOLOGISTS WHICH MAY HAVE BEARING UPON THE FIELD OF READING, PARTICULARLY IN COGNITION AND DEVELOPMENT, IS SURVEYED AND POSSIBLE APPLICATIONS OF PSYCHOLOGY TO READING ARE SUGGESTED. A WELL FORMULATED PSYCHOLOGY OF READING AND AN ADEQUATE THEORY OF READING HAVE NOT BEEN DEVELOPED. INSTEAD, READING SPECIALISTS HAVE TENDED TO…

Reports on a study that examined the effects of decentration training upon second-grade children's responses to reading instruction. Concludes that those who learned to decentrate did better on postinstruction comprehension tests than those who did not learn the technique. (FL)