Reading comprehension

Reading comprehension is the ability to process written text, understand its meaning, and to integrate with what the reader already knows.

[5] Comprehension specifically is a "creative, multifaceted process" that is dependent upon four language skills: phonology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics.

There are specific characteristics that determine how successfully an individual will comprehend text, including prior knowledge about the subject, well-developed language, and the ability to make inferences from methodical questioning & monitoring comprehension like: "Why is this important?"

[19] In general, neuroimaging studies have found that reading involves three overlapping neural systems: networks active in visual, orthography-phonology (angular gyrus), and semantic functions (anterior temporal lobe with Broca's and Wernicke's areas).

[24] According to Biemiller, this intensive approach gives students opportunities to explore the topic beyond its discourse – freedom of conceptual expansion.

[26] Vocabulary is important as it is what connects a reader to the text, while helping develop background knowledge, their own ideas, communicating, and learning new concepts.

One such strategy for improving reading comprehension is the technique called SQ3R introduced by Francis Pleasant Robinson in his 1946 book Effective Study.

[28] Between 1969 and 2000, a number of "strategies" were devised for teaching students to employ self-guided methods for improving reading comprehension.

In 1969 Anthony V. Manzo designed and found empirical support for the Re Quest, or Reciprocal Questioning Procedure, in traditional teacher-centered approach due to its sharing of "cognitive secrets".

[30] This detached whole group version only helped students individually to respond to portions of the text (content area reading), and improve their writing skills.

[citation needed] In the last quarter of the 20th century, evidence accumulated that academic reading test methods were more successful in assessing rather than imparting comprehension or giving a realistic insight.

[citation needed] In the 1980s, Annemarie Sullivan Palincsar and Ann L. Brown developed a technique called reciprocal teaching that taught students to predict, summarize, clarify, and ask questions for sections of a text.

The idea is that students will develop stronger reading comprehension skills on their own if the teacher gives them explicit mental tools for unpacking text.

Dr. Neil Postman has said, "All our knowledge results from questions, which is another way of saying that question-asking is our most important intellectual tool"[32] (Response to Intervention).

There are several types of questions that a teacher should focus on: remembering, testing, understanding, application or solving, invite synthesis or creating, evaluation and judging.

Informational books provide real-world knowledge for students and have unique features such as: headings, maps, vocabulary, and an index.

[34] Non-verbal imagery refers to media that utilize schemata to make planned or unplanned connections more commonly used within context such as a passage, an experience, or one's imagination.

[41] Applying methods to attain an overt phonemic awareness with intermittent practice has been found to improve reading in early ages, specifically those affected by mental disabilities.

[44] Informal assessments are generally conducted through observation and the use of tools, like story boards, word sorts, and interactive writing.

By conducting running records, teachers are given an overview of students' reading abilities and learning over a period of time.

After the completion of the running record assessment, plan strategies that will improve the students' ability to read and understand the text.

Overview of the steps taken when conducting a Running Record assessment:[47] Some texts, like in philosophy, literature or scientific research, may appear more difficult to read because of the prior knowledge they assume, the tradition from which they come, or the tone, such as criticizing or parodying.

[citation needed] A Philosopher Jacques Derrida, explained his opinion about complicated text: "In order to unfold what is implicit in so many discourses, one would have each time to make a pedagogical outlay that is just not reasonable to expect from every book.

[49] Embedded hyperlinks in documents or Internet pages have been found to make different demands on the reader than traditional text.

Authors such as Nicholas Carr, and Psychologists, such as Maryanne Wolf, contend that the internet may have a negative impact on attention and reading comprehension.

[50] Some studies report increased demands of reading hyperlinked text in terms of cognitive load, or the amount of information actively maintained in one's mind (also see working memory).

[52] This can be attributed to the decision-making process (deciding whether to click on it) required by each hyperlink,[51] which may reduce comprehension of surrounding text.

On the other hand, other studies have shown that if a short summary of the link's content is provided when the mouse pointer hovers over it, then comprehension of the text is improved.

[citation needed] The National Reading Panel noted that comprehension strategy instruction is difficult for many teachers as well as for students, particularly because they were not taught this way and because it is a demanding task.

[citation needed] The directed listening and thinking activity is a technique available to teachers to aid students in reading comprehension.