The Effectiveness of a Metacognitive Approach to Teaching Word Identification Skills to Upper Primary Poor Readers

Abstract

This study assessed the effectiveness of a metacognitive approach to developing word identification skills in upper primary poor readers. Subjects in one group were given instruction in metacognitive word identification strategies, within a reciprocal teaching format. Subjects in the other group used traditional methods of word identification within a reciprocal teaching format. There were four instructional groups involved (two for subjects in study group one and two for subjects in study group two), with seven to nine students in each group. The subjects were 32 poor readers in Years 5 and 6 who had discrepancies of /8 months or more between their chronological ages and their reading ages. Results indicated that a combination of metacognitive word identification strategies and a reciprocal teaching format was clearly more effective than traditional methods ofword identification within a reciprocal teaching format.[from article]