Date of Award
1987
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Education
Department
Education
First Advisor
Gene Henderson
Second Advisor
Nancy Polette
Abstract
This study involved nine sixth grade students In determining the effects of using predictive questioning techniques to Improve reading comprehension in Intermediate level students versus the results of using traditional reading methods. Present research gives supporting evidence that teachers spend too little time developing questioning abilities and therefore ask simple questions that require only literal comprehension skills . Although simple questioning has been found t o improve the reader's ability to recall specific information from the text , it Is a teacher- centered process that allows students to take a passive role in reading comprehension. The need for the focus of reading comprehension instruction to be shifted away from teaching isolated skills to a reader-centered process prompted the Initiation of this study using predictive questioning to teach reading comprehension.
Predictive questioning Is a process whereby specific questions are developed and presented for the purpose of eliciting inferential , analytical and evaluative responses . This process was used to involve students in justification procedures which required a more in-depth, focused view of story events. Consequently a greater attentiveness to text was demanded.
For purposes of this study, the predictive and traditional methods of instruction were alternated throughout an eight week period so that students would not accustom themselves to only one procedure. Following each procedure, students were given a comprehension test compiled by the Houghton Mifflin Company, the publishers of the reading text , to determine the level of significance of predictive versus traditional strategies. The data results were based on four predictive and four traditional session results. At-test was calculated to determine the level of significance of predictive versus traditional strategies. The !-value was calculated to be 1.87265835. Given the degrees of freedom, thee was .04785 which was significant at the . 05 level . This significant gain at the .05 level supported the hypothesis that there would be a significant difference in those students' reading comprehension scores who had four weeks of predictive questioning instruction as compared with students receiving traditional instruction for the same period of time.
Recommended Citation
Cassy, Catherine M., "Predictive Questioning in Teaching Reading Comprehension to Intermediate Level Students" (1987). Theses. 490.
https://digitalcommons.lindenwood.edu/theses/490
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