What Do Models of Reading Comprehension and Its Development Have to Contribute to a Science of Comprehension Instruction and Assessment for Adolescents?

Abstract

AbstractCognitive models of reading comprehension provide a starting point for asking theoretically-motivated and empirically-driven questions relevant to understanding the reading comprehension of adolescent students. This chapter provides an introduction to the volume by reviewing component skills approaches and process models of reading comprehension followed by a discussion of selected empirical work related to these models. Developmental and individual differences in key comprehension-related processes from these models are discussed with particular reference to adolescent readers. Characteristics of discipline-specific texts that affect comprehension in middle school and high school students are also examined. Implications of this research for informing reading comprehension assessment, instruction, and interventions through the adolescent years are provided, with reference to the other chapters in this volume.KeywordsComponent reading skillsProcess models of comprehensionInformational text