Author :
Abstract
Keywords
Abstract
This study investigated the effects of ACTOR in the college students’ reading comprehension and their perceptions on the use of this method. The researcher developed this method to help students to understand what is explicitly stated and implied in informational texts. It includes a sequence of steps involving cognitive, metacognitive, learning style, and critical thinking strategies. The steps in ACTOR include activating prior knowledge, concentrating and connecting this knowledge to new information in the text, triggering appropriate strategies to thoroughly understand what is being read, organizing ideas that have been generated from the text, and responding to what has been read. Eighty-three college freshmen who attended a developmental or reading improvement course in a public university in New Jersey, USA participated in this study. They received training on how to use ACTOR in 13 weeks. They took the Accuplacer Reading Comprehension test before and towards the end of the semester. Findings showed a statistically significant mean difference between the participants’ pre and posttest scaled scores. They also responded to a questionnaire regarding the use of ACTOR. They found ACTOR to be very helpful or helpful in reading, studying, and taking tests.
Keywords
- Acculacer test. (2012). Retrieved from: http://accuplacer.collegeboard.org.
- Anderson, T. & Kim, J. (2011). Strengthening college students' success through the rac. Journal of College Reading & Learning, 42(1) 61-78.
- Carlisle, J; Kelcey, B; Berebitsky, D; & Phelps, G. (2011). Embracing the complexity of instruction: A study of the effects of teachers' instruction on students' reading comprehension, Scientific Studies of Reading, 15:5, 409-439, DOI: 10.1080/10888438.2010.497521
- Carretti, B., Caldarola, N., Tencati, C. & Cornoldi C. (2014). Improving reading comprehension in reading and listening settings: The effect of two training programs focusing on metacognition and working memory. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 84, 194–210.
- Chen, X. (2016). Remedial course taking at U.S. public 2- and 4-year institutions: scope, experiences, and outcomes (NCES 2016-405). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC.
- Conley, M. (2008). “Cognitive strategy instruction for adolescents: What we know about the promise, what we don’t know about the potential.” Harvard Educational Review, 78(1), 84–206.
- Common Core State Standards Initiative. (2010) Common core state standards for English language arts and literacy. Washington, D.C: National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State School Officers
- Eker1, C. (2014). The effect of teaching practice conducted by using metacognition strategies on students’ reading comprehension skills. International Online Journal of Educational Sciences, 6(2), 269-280.
- Flavell, J. H. (1976). Metacognitive aspects of problem solving. In L.B. Resnick (Eds.). The nature of intelligence (pp. 231–245). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
- Fox, E. (2009). The role of reader characteristics n processing and learning from informational text. Review of Educational Research, 79 (1), 197-261.
- Fogarty, R. (1994). How to teach for metacognition. Palatine, IL: IRI/Skylight.
- Habibian, H. (2015). The impact of training metacognitive strategies on reading comprehension among ESL learners. Journal of Education and Practice, 6(28), 61-69.
- Halpern, D. F. (1996). Thought and knowledge: An introduction to critical thinking. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum Associates.
- Holschuh, J.P. & Paulson, E.J. (2013). The terrain of college developmental reading. Retrieved from https://www.crla.net/docs/TheTerrainofCollege91913.pdf
- Hong-Nam, K., Leavell, A., & Smaher, S. (2014). The relationships among reported strategy, metacognitive awareness and reading achievement of high school students. Reading Psychology, 35, 762–790. doi: 10.1080/02702711.2013.807900.
- Lan, Y., Lo, Y. & Hsu, Y. (2014). The effects of meta-cognitive instruction on students’ reading comprehension in computerized reading contexts: A Quantitative meta-analysis. Educational Technology & Society, 17(4), 186–202.
- Lei, S. A., Rhinehart, P. J., Howard, H. A., & Cho, J. K. (2010). Strategies for improving reading comprehension among college students. Reading Improvement, 47(1), 30–42.
- Mayer, R. E., & Wittrock, M. C. (1996). Problem-solving transfer. In D.C. Berliner & R. C. Calfee (Eds.), Handbook of Educational Psychology (pp. 47-62). New York, NY: Macmillan.
- Nash-Ditzel, S. (2010). Metacognitive reading strategies can improve self-regulation. Journal of College Reading and Learning, 40(2), 45-63.
- Nist, S. (1993). What the literature says about the academic literacy. Georgia Journal of Reading, 11-18.
- Petscher, Y. (2010). A meta-analysis of the relationship between student attitudes towards reading and achievement in reading. Journal of Research in Reading, 33(4), 335-355.
- Pressley, M. (2006). Reading Instruction that Works: The Case for Balanced Teaching. New York, NY: Guilford.
- Rey, V. (2014). Enhancing reading proficiency through reader response. Paper presented at the College Reading and Learning Association Northeast Chapter Conference Weston, MA.
- Rey, V. (2017). ACTOR: Key to efficient reading. Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt.
- Rey, V., Kastner, J., Young, E. & Schuman, D. (2013). The college students’ perceptions of their reading skills and knowledge. Care for Affect in Reading Education Journal. 28, 37-44.
- Simpson, M., Stahl, N., & Anderson Francis, M. (2004). Reading and learning strategies: Recommendations for the 21st Century. Journal of Developmental Education (28) 2, 1-13.
- Simpson, M. L., & Nist, S. L. (2000). An update on strategic learning: It’s more than textbook reading strategies. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 43 (6), 528-541.
- Tsai. Yea-Ru & Talley, P. (2014) The effect of a course management system (CMS)-supported strategy instruction on EFL reading comprehension and strategy use. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 27 (5), 422-438.
- Van Blerkom, M. & Van Blerkom, D. (2007). Self-Monitoring strategies used by developmental and non- developmental college students. Best Practices in College Reading and Learning, 107-123
- Wong, Linda. (2015). Essential study skills, (8th ed.). Stamford, Connecticut: Cengage Learning.
- Zepeda, C., Richey, E., Ronevich, P. & Nokes-Malach, T. (2015). Direct instruction of metacognition benefits, adolescent science learning transfer and motivation: An in vivo study. Journal of Educational Psychology, 107(4), 954–970.
