The Effect of Teacher Intervention of Critical Thinking Strategies Upon Students’ Comprehension Massachusetts State Colleges Graduate Research Symposium Bridgewater State College Janice A. Standring April 21, 2007

“Critical literacy helps us to read texts in deeper, more meaningful ways. It encourages readers of all ages to become actively engaged and use their power to construct understanding and not be used by the text to fulfill the intentions of the author. It helps readers understand that there are many ways of thinking about and understanding a topic and that the author has explained it in only one way” (McLaughlin & DeVoogd, 2004, p. 7).

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to validate improved comprehension through teacher intervention of critical thinking strategies. Participants are seven grade 4 students with average reading fluency, attending an urban school in southeastern Massachusetts. Comprehension growth is measured by the Group Reading Assessment and Diagnostic Evaluation, the Developmental Reading Assessment, and journal documentations. Fluent readers continue to struggle with both literal and inferential comprehension skills. A logical sequence of teacher-posed discussion questions enable participants in this study to think about and respond critically to text as they examine author style and intent through a variety of genres. At the conclusion of this study, students will individually demonstrate improved comprehension and independently implement critical thinking strategies by questioning the author.

Statement of Question Among grade-four students achieving average oral reading fluency scores, will teacher intervention of critical thinking strategies increase comprehension as measured by the Group Reading Assessment and Diagnostic Evaluation (GRADE), the Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA), and documented teacher observations?

FLUENCY, COMPREHENSION, AND CRITICAL THINKING  Fluency is definitely a precursor to comprehension, but comprehension does not always result with fluent reading.  Comprehension depends on the reader holding relevant pieces of information in memory and then applying that information to the next sentence which is read (Beck & McKeown, 2006).  Critical thinking requires the reader to not only comprehend what the author has written, but to examine it from multiple perspectives and view points (McLaughlin & DeVoogd, 2004).

COMPREHENSION Unlocking meaning with… QUESTIONING COLLABORATION CRITICAL THINKING

“Comprehension instruction is best when it focuses on a few, well taught, well learned strategies. Although we can now point to a litany of effective techniques, that does not mean that using a litany of techniques will be effective” (Duke & Pearson, 2002, p. 236).

Questioning the Author (QtA)  An instructional strategy which encourages students to become active, engaged readers  Can be used with a variety of texts and genres and a minimum of equipment or supplies  A strategy where teachers or students read aloud text which is intentionally segmented for discussion  Teachers pose queries to lead discussion after each segment  Discussion takes place while the text is being read as opposed to at the end of the selection  Students are consistently reminded to question the fallibility of the author Beck & McKeown, 2006

Text Selection… REALISTIC FICTION NONFICTION POETRY NARRATIVE EXPOSITORY FABLES BIOGRAPHY FICTION FANTASY FOLKTALES FAIRY TALES

TYPES OF QUERIES  Initiating Queries ~Work to make an author’s ideas public text as well as launch discussion  Follow-Up Queries ~Keep the discussion focused and construct meaning by integrating ideas  Narrative Queries ~Assist in addressing the challenges posed to the reader by the author’s use of literary techniques Beck & McKeown, 2006

Initiating Queries  What is the author trying to say here?  What do you think the author wants us to know?  What is the author talking about?  How has the author started things off for us? Beck & McKeown, 2006

Follow-Up Queries  So what does the author mean right here?  That’s what the author said, but what did the author mean?  Does that make sense with what the author told us before?  How does that fit in with what the author has told us?  But does the author tell us why?  Why do you think the author tells us that now? Beck & McKeown, 2006

Narrative Queries  How do things look for this character now?  How does the author let you know something has changed?  How has the author worked that out for us?  Given with what the author has already told us about this character, what do you think he’s up to?  How is the author making you feel right now about these characters?  What is the author telling us with this conversation? Beck & McKeown, 2006

Preliminary Findings  Students have begun to question the author in classroom discussions of text  Students have become critical of text format  Students have begun to make connections within the text, with themselves, and with the outside world  Students are able to identify main ideas and critically explore how or why the author developed them

In conclusion… “True dialogue cannot exist unless the dialoguers engage in critical thinking…which perceives reality as a process, as transformation, rather than a static entity – thinking which does not separate itself from action, but immerses itself in temporality without fear of the risks involved” (Freire, 2005, p. 92).

REFERENCES Beck, I. L., & McKeown, M. G. (2006). Improving comprehension with questioning the author. New York: Scholastic. Duke, N. K., & Pearson, P. D. (2002). Effective practices for developing reading comprehension. In A. E. Farstrup, & S. J. Samuels (Eds.), What research has to say about reading instruction (3rd ed., pp ). Newark, DE: International Reading Association. Freire, Paulo (2005). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Continuum International Publishing Group. McLaughlin, M., & DeVoogd, G. L. (2004). Critical literacy: Enhancing students’ comprehension of text. New York: Scholastic, Inc.