The Effects of Functional Reading Activities to Motivate and Empower for Autistic Young Adults: A Single-Case Design Study.

The present study explored the combined effects of students’ learning-related beliefs as well as use of reading comprehension strategies on academic success—academic outcomes and exhaustion. In total, 1165 eighth grade students’ beliefs, use of reading comprehension strategies and reading comprehension were assessed at the beginning of the school year. Half a year later 296 students from the sample reported their academic exhaustion and grades from the previous semester. Students’ learning-related beliefs and use of deep reading comprehension strategies were associated with their academic outcomes and exhaustion. More specifically, believing in quick and effortless learning was associated with the use of a smaller variety of deep reading comprehension strategies and lower academic outcomes. Additionally, students’ motivational beliefs about effective learning were mainly indirectly through strategy use linked to their academic outcomes, while having direct effects on academic exhaustion. These results refer to the importance of addressing learning-related beliefs in addition to strategy instruction.

The most challenging skill for S1 university students in the EFL context is Reading comprehension. This may be due to the lack of possessing the necessary reading comprehension strategies that would help them to understand English texts efficiently. In this respect, this study is first intended to determine the relationship between the frequency of use of reading-comprehension strategies and the students’ familiarity with them before and after completing the usual curriculum of reading comprehension course. Furthermore, this study also attempts to evaluate the effect of the S1 students’ familiarity with and frequency of use of reading comprehension strategies on their performance in reading comprehension tasks. A sample of 85 University students in EFL context was chosen, but only 73 of them filled in the questionnaire and completed their pre-test and post-test. All of these 73 students attended the usual reading curriculum without any special treatment. The findings of the study indicate that the students’ awareness and frequency of use do not show any improvement as the S1 students completed their usual reading comprehension courses. Another major finding is that reading strategies frequency use and familiarity with them show no correlation with the students’ performance while taking both the pre-test and post-test. Therefore, the fact that S1 students show no development of both their use and awareness of reading comprehension strategies after completing the usual reading comprehension course and also no improvement in their performance can be explained by the ineffective training that they underwent during Semester 1 of their English studies journey. In other words, the students’ high or low scores in reading comprehension courses are not determined by their familiarity with reading comprehension strategies or their frequency use. Thus, researchers on education are urged to hold studies that shall investigate the teaching of reading comprehension strategies in the usual curriculum and how they should be taught efficiently.

The use of adequate reading comprehension strategies is important to read efficiently. Students with dyslexia not only read slower and less accurately, they also use fewer reading comprehension strategies. To compensate for their decoding problems, they often receive audio-support (narration written text). However, audio-support linearly guides readers from beginning to end through texts, possibly hindering the use of reading comprehension strategies in expository texts and negatively impacting reading time and reading comprehension performance. We examined to what extent audio-support affects reading comprehension strategies, reading times, and reading comprehension performance in 21 secondary school students with dyslexia and 22 typically developing controls. Participants were provided with three types of assignments (summarizing, open-ended questions, statement questions) in each condition (written text with and without audio-support). SMI RED-500 eye tracker captured eye movements during reading. The standard deviation of the weighted fixation duration times on the three paragraphs was considered indicative of the disparity of readers’ attention within the text. Following a discrimination based on experts’ reading behavior and hand-coded validation, these scores visualized whether students used the intensive reading strategy (reading whole text) or selective reading strategy (focusing on part of the text). In open-ended assignments, students divided their attention more over the whole text instead of focusing on one specific part when audio was added. In addition, audio-support increased reading time in students with and without dyslexia in most tasks, while in neither of the tasks audio-support affected reading comprehension performance. Audio-support impacts reading comprehension strategy and reading time in all students.

Relationship between reading comprehension strategy use and daily free reading time

Reading proficiency is an important life skill that contributes to improved quality of life and becoming an active member in society. This pilot randomized clinical trial tested the effects of a functional literacy intervention in young adults with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (IDDs). Participants included 44 young adults with IDD between 18 and 26 years old. Participants were randomly assigned to the Functional Reading Activities to Motivate and Empower (FRAME) treatment group or a "business-as-usual" control group. Participants participated in 24 twice-weekly sessions in which they were taught reading comprehension strategies in the context of functional text stimuli or activities of daily living that require reading (e.g., text messages, e-mails). The primary outcome measure was the number of reading comprehension strategies used. Secondary outcomes included (a) multiple-choice comprehension questions, (b) text message response, (c) e-mail response, (d) summarization, and (e) verbal responses to functional text samples. Young adults with IDD in the treatment group made statistically significant gains in use of reading comprehension strategies (d = 1.09, p = .002) and multiple-choice comprehension questions (d = 0.79, p = .038) as compared with the control group. There were no statistically significant differences on the remaining outcome measures. This study provides preliminary support for the short-term effects of the FRAME intervention for young adults with IDD, with particular emphasis on explicit reading comprehension strategy instruction within a functional context. Therapeutic services typically end during the transition period for young adults with disabilities. However, it is essential that evidence-based literacy supports are available as this is a skill that continues to develop throughout the lifespan and has the potential to transform an individual's transition to adulthood and independence. Future research should include a larger clinical trial and evaluate mediators of intervention effects.

The aim of this study is to determine the relationship between levels of reading comprehension strategy use, reading attitudes, and the amount of reading per year among elementary school students. The study was conducted with 1316 students (649 girls and 667 boys) attending the fourth and fifth grades of 15 elementary schools in Denizli, Turkey. Stratified Sampling Method was employed to obtain data using Reading Attitude Scale (RAS) and Reading Comprehension Strategies Scale (RCSS). The analyses indicate that reading attitude is a significant predictor of the level of reading comprehension strategies used by students (R2 = 0.44). The findings show that there is a negative and low-level relationship (r = −0.054) between daily time spent reading and the level of strategy used, and a positive and low-level relationship (r = 0.01) between the level of strategy used and the number of books that a child reads per year.

The purpose of this study was to identify the types of reading strategies used by first year college students for reading different materials and their effects on students’ academic performance/achievement. The sample of the study consisted of 269 first year students of different departments of Arts and Humanities group at Government College (Wahdat Road), Lahore. IELTS’ Reading Comprehension Test (Academic/General) was used to assess the reading comprehension skills of students. Meta Comprehension Strategy Index (MCSI) by Schmitt (1990) was used to assess the level of awareness and the use of reading comprehension strategies. Data was analyzed using SPSS and was graphically presented to provide a clear understanding of results which indicated the lack of awareness about reading comprehension strategies as a key factor leading to the poor performance of students in the reading comprehension test. The study contributes scholarly in the existing literature by accentuating the need to make instruction about reading strategies compulsory in English language classrooms. It will increase the academic success of students and will also provide them with better job opportunities in future.

Goal orientation and reading comprehension strategy use among students with and without reading difficulties

Late elementary education constitutes a critical period in the development of reading comprehension strategies, a key competence in today's society. However, to date, appropriate measurements to map late elementary students' reading strategies are lacking. In this respect, the present article first describes the development and validation of the 26-item reading comprehension strategies questionnaire (RCSQ). To this aim, exploratory (sample 1: n = 1585 students) and confirmatory (sample 2: n = 1585 students) factor analyses were conducted. These analyses resulted in the RCSQ, consisting of five subscales: (1) overt cognitive reading strategies, (2) covert cognitive reading strategies, (3) monitoring, and (4) evaluating. For non-native and bilingual students, a fifth subscale 'using home language in view of comprehending texts' emerged. Second, multilevel analyses were performed to explore individual differences in late elementary students' reading comprehension strategy use. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

Considerable research has shown that the use of reading comprehension strategies (RCS) inthe learning of second language (L2) has positive effects on students’ reading comprehension (RC)performance. However, the development of L2 reading comprehension has been a challenge to Year6 classes in Brunei that take place in an English as a foreign language (EFL) societal environmentwhere both students and teachers have to achieve and work through English as a medium ofinstruction (EMI). In this complex environment, English reading comprehension amongst studentsin Brunei has been identified as an area that needs to be improved. The purpose of this study was todevelop a deeper understanding of the complex relationships between the learning and teaching ofRCS and the lived experience of Bruneian Year 6 students and teachers in EFL/EMI settings. Thiswas achieved through an investigation of the facilitating or hindering factors involved in learningand teaching of RCS in L2 RC EFL/EMI classrooms, and an exploration of ways students andteachers manage EFL and EMI in the learning and teaching of RCS in L2 RC lessons. Engestrom’sSecond Generation Activity Theory (2001) was used both as a theoretical framework and a methodfor analysis to generate a rich description of the complex environment in which the learning andteaching of RCS occurs.This study employed an instrumental case study using a sequential exploratory design and amixed method approach. A total of 477 Year 6 students and 57 teachers participated in this study. Inthe first phase, data were collected from the students and teachers using RCS self-report surveys.This was followed by students undertaking a reading comprehension stimulation task, students’group interviews, teachers’ interviews and classroom observations. Quantitative data were analysedusing SPSS and thematic analysis was undertaken for the qualitative data.This study found that students and teachers were aware of the role of RCS in enhancingreading comprehension. However, the facilitating or hindering factors of EMI in EFL environmentwithin an examination orientated education system such as students’ perceived Englishcompetencies, limited instructional resources, and teacher directed pedagogical practices led tocomplexities in implementing RCS in the learning and teaching of L2 RC. The findings of thisresearch provided evidence of some of the facilitators and hindrances of the learning and teachingof L2 RC, specifically the impact of EFL/EMI in the use of RCS in the bilingual classroom, and theways students and teachers manage the learning and teaching of L2 RC within a complex system.This study further suggests that the learning and teaching of RCS in L2 RC lessons should be seen as complex as it is closely related to EMI policies in EFL setting within an examination orientatededucation system.The study adds to our understanding of RCS teaching and learning through the explorationof a context new to language learning strategies (LLS) research, that is, the use of RCS in Brunei. Itcontributes to the existing body of knowledge in the field of second language acquisition andteaching; and more specifically to understanding how activity theory can assist in exploring issuesin second language learning. This study enriches the existing evidence about how social aspect oflearning and teaching of RCS facilitate L2 reading comprehension for primary students and teachersin EFL/EMI contexts. This study also contributes to the understanding of factors and implicationsthat may be involved in the strategies used by students and teachers within a complex system. Thefindings provide information for policy makers, teachers and other stakeholders in Brunei, andbeyond, about the importance of RCS in delivering effective learning and teaching of L2 readingcomprehension.

Adolescents' use of reading comprehension strategies: Differences related to reading proficiency, grade level, and gender

A reading circle is a small discussion group administered by peers who choose to read the same story, poem, article or book (Daniels, 2002, p. 2). Various studies have proven that reading circles have a positive impact on students’ reading comprehension skills (Altınkaya, 2019; Avcı & Yüksel, 2011; Balantekin, 2016; Brown, 2002; Kaya-Tosun, 2018; Sarı, Kurtuluş, & Yücel-Toy, 2017). This study aims to improve students’ reading comprehension strategies and help them develop a positive attitude toward reading as well as contribute to their reading habits using the reading circle technique. The researcher and a Turkish teacher cooperated within the scope of this study, which was designed as action research, and they used the reading circle technique to improve students’ reading comprehension strategies as well as their reading attitudes and habits. This study was conducted with 28 students, and the students were divided into four groups with seven members to form small discussion groups. Reading circle sessions were held on Zoom for 10 weeks, with each session lasting 30 minutes for each group. In the present study, the “Book Metaphor Form” was developed by Gül (2019), and students’ progress was monitored by administering pre-test and post-test with the “Reading Habits and Attitudes Scale” as well as the “Reading Comprehension Strategies Scale” developed by Susar-Kırmızı (2006). The process was monitored through “Task Cards,” “Reading Circle Control List,” “Researcher Observation Form” and “Reading Circle Evaluation Form.” Results of the quantitative analyses showed that reading circles did not affect students’ reading comprehension strategies as well as their reading attitudes and habits. Results of the qualitative analyses indicated that reading circles had an increasing effect on students’ motivation to read a book, their positive attitudes toward books/reading, such as using the library and exchanging books, and their use of strategies to learn a new word. On the other hand, students were observed to be able to associate what they read with real life and improve their skills to make a summary and work in groups. At the end of the process, students’ metaphoric perceptions of books changed, and those who perceived books as a tool of amusement decreased while the number of students who regarded books as a source of information increased. In brief, the qualitative analyses conducted within the scope of this study suggested that students’ use of reading comprehension strategies as well as their attitudes and habits about reading improved, whereas this was not reflected in the quantitative data of this study. The current study results support the idea of using reading circles with secondary school students and point out because it is necessary to investigate the effect of reading circles with studies to be conducted with different groups for longer periods.

Adults with mild to moderate acquired brain injury (ABI) often pursue post-secondary or professional education after their injuries in order to enter or re-enter the job market. An increasing number of these adults report problems with reading-to-learn. The problem is particularly concerning given the growing population of adult survivors of ABI. Despite the rising need, empirical evaluation of reading comprehension interventions for adults with ABI is scarce. This study used a within-subject design to evaluate whether adult college students with ABI with no more than moderate cognitive impairments benefited from using reading comprehension strategies to improve comprehension of expository text. Integrating empirical support from the cognitive rehabilitation and special education literature, the researchers designed a multi-component reading comprehension strategy package. Participants read chapters from an introductory-level college anthropology textbook in two different conditions: strategy and no-strategy. The results indicated that reading comprehension strategy use was associated with recall of more correct information units in immediate and delayed free recall tasks; more efficient recall in the delayed free recall task; and increased accuracy recognising statements from a sentence verification task designed to reflect the local and global coherence of the text. The findings support further research into using reading comprehension strategies as an intervention approach for the adult ABI population. Future research needs include identifying how to match particular reading comprehension strategies to individuals, examining whether reading comprehension performance improves further through the incorporation of systematic training, and evaluating texts from a range of disciplines and genres.

Reading for college courses places considerable cognitive-processing demands on students. Drawing on descriptive studies of highly-skilled adult readers, a questionnaire was constructed to determine if the use of reading strategies improved everyday college course performance. Three-hundred and twenty-four college undergraduates responded to an open-ended question about reading goals, an open-ended question about reading comprehension strategy use, and rated 35 reading comprehension strategies for frequency of use. The number of goals and the number of strategies that students gave as answers for the open-ended questions, and the ratings for the 35 strategies as a whole, reliably discriminated between participants with higher and lower grade-point averages. Additional tests with a freshman sample showed that the strategy ratings also discriminated between participants with higher and lower ACT (American College Testing) Reading and English scores. Statistical tests for individual strategies revealed that the strategies that consistently differentiated participants were related to setting and responding to reading goals. Overall the results showed the benefits of comprehension strategy use on college students' academic performance. They contrast with a common characterization of college readers as unsophisticated, inefficient, and ineffective. Future research should focus on developing instructional settings that readily evoke comprehension strategies and encourage students to use them.

The relationship between writing achievement and the use of reading comprehension strategies in the 4th and 5th grades of primary schools