Conceptual understanding is one of the most difficult issues in teaching physics. This study investigated the effect of adopting cooperative learning and Internet reciprocal teaching (IRT) on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) literacy (physics) in secondary school by comparing the cooperative method with the IRT strategy and…

This chapter presents drama-based pedagogy as an instructional strategy to increase comprehension of a novel or informational text in a content area, to encourage collaborative discussions about a text, and to help students apply knowledge acquired from a text to one's own life and world. This essay proceeds with a brief discussion of relevant…

This article examines the author's interactions with the teaching strategy known as Reciprocal Teaching, sometimes also called Reciprocal Reading, which involves students learning to read collaboratively in small groups. Reciprocal Teaching typically involves students teaching each other by following a rubric of activities that are aimed at…

For years, educators have been trying to free history instruction from the mire of memorization and propel it with the kinds of inquiry that drive historians themselves. The common core standards may offer more impetus for districts and schools to adopt that brand of instruction. A study of one such approach suggests that it can yield a triple…

Basic reading comprehension and summary tend to be the focus in social studies and history classrooms, if reading and writing are included at all. But such a focus inhibits a conception of history as an interpretive discipline grounded in evidence that is analyzed, not simply accepted. Understanding the past is impossible without such historical…

In this article, Timothy and Cynthia Shanahan argue that "disciplinary literacy"--advanced literacy instruction embedded within content-area classes such as math, science, and social studies--should be a focus of middle and secondary school settings. Moving beyond the oft-cited "every teacher a teacher of reading" philosophy…

This document presents the proceedings of the 20th Annual Research Forum held June 25, 2015, at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Included are the following 21 action research papers: (1) History Lives! The Use of Simulations in a High School Social Studies Classroom (Lydia Adkins); (2) Using Francophone Music in the High…

Multipass, a complex learning strategy designed to enable a student to gain information from textbook chapters, was taught to eight learning disabled adolescents. The instructional procedures involved a 10 step process including such procedures as describing the steps of the strategy, modeling the strategy, and student practice to criterion in…

Examines the nature of comprehension from a linguist's, researcher's and teacher's perspectives. Suggests teaching inferential comprehension keeping the reader's experience in mind. (MKM)

Includes the following short articles describing teaching techniques: (1) "S-RUN: Beyond SQ3R" (Nancy S. Bailey); (2) "Read-React for Unique Responses" (Barbara Zynda); (3) "Use a Literacy Van"; and (4) "Summaries Improve Comprehension" (Milford A. Jeremiah). (MM)

Describes simple prereading activities and questioning techniques for improving comprehension in English. Many of the ideas could be adapted by other subject area teachers. (Author/SJL)

Describes how the "Read a Book in an Hour" teaching technique may be incorporated in programs dealing with written composition and reading comprehension. (DD)

Considers ways to involve readers in "essential reading" in which students learn to discover the meaning of text and to determine the author's intentions. (MG)

Discusses the weaknesses of the reading guide and describes another method to use in teaching students to understand and appreciate poetry. (JM)