Abstract of

Teaching Online Comprehension Strategies Using Think-Alouds

Angel Kymes

As new information and communication technologies permeate classrooms and libraries, educators have the responsibility to assist students in comprehending and understanding the information that is now available online. How can we instruct students to become skilled, strategic readers when they encounter online texts and hypertextual formats? By using a familiar technique, the verbal protocol or think-aloud method, educators can help students monitor their own learning and develop metacognitive strategies during online reading. The think-aloud as an instructional model for teaching online comprehension has roots in reading, cognition, and usability research. Through demonstration and explicit instruction in the use of mindful strategies, such as setting a purpose, questioning the text, and evaluating structures and forms, educators are able to give students skills for the comprehension of information in the online environment. These skills, when used in conjunction with Web-searching strategies and site evaluation, should also provide students with the ability to plan for their use and dissemination of information, as they are both consumers and producers of ideas. Educators face the challenges of becoming more technologically literate and capable of integrating these new technologies with their existing literacy curricula.

Abstract from Kymes, A. (2005, March). Teaching Online Comprehension Strategies Using Think-Alouds. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 48(6), 492–500. doi: 10.1598/JAAL.48.6.4