Missed opportunities of text-based instruction: What characterizes learning of interpretation if strategies are not taught and students not challenged?

Abstract

Despite robust evidence of effectiveness, many teachers struggle to implement research-based recommendations of reading instruction into everyday practice. This study examined naturally occurring text-based instruction in 237 lower secondary language arts lessons in 62 different classrooms from Norway and Sweden. Using both quantitative and qualitative approaches, we found evidence that explicit strategy instruction and cognitively challenging tasks were rare even in lessons that did focus on deep comprehension of text. We also identified some of the distinct challenges (or missed opportunities) that characterize comprehension-oriented instruction. These findings provide critical insight into relevant areas of future professional development for teachers.