Abstract of

The Effects of Strategy Instruction on the Comprehension Performance of At-Risk Students

Janice A. Dole

Kathleen J. Brown

Woodrow Trathen

This instructional study examined group and individual differences arising from strategy instruction. In the first phase of the study, 67 fifth and sixth graders from a designated at-risk school were randomly assigned to one of the three treatments—strategy instruction, story content instruction, and basal control instruction. For 5 weeks, all students received one of the three treatments embedded within a narrative selection they read each day. Baseline, immediate posttest, and 7-week delayed posttest data were analyzed using ANCOVA. Results indicated that the strategy group performed as well as the story content and basal control groups when students read texts after receiving instruction. However, the strategy group outperformed the story content and basal control groups when students were asked to read selections on their own. In the second phase of the study, two students from the strategy group were selected to examine individual students' responses to strategy instruction. Written assessments, classroom observations, and oral interviews were used to identify possible reasons why a lower achieving student used the strategy she learned successfully, and a higher achieving student did not. It appeared that the lower achieving strategy user was motivated to use the strategy which she perceived as helpful to her. Further, as her ability to use the strategy increased, so did her daily comprehension of the stories she read. On the other hand, the higher achieving student was not motivated to use the strategy. She perceived the strategy as unhelpful and preferred her own strategies instead. This student's daily comprehension actually declined as she used the strategy. Taken together, both phases of the study shed light on the benefits of strategy instruction for at-risk students. But findings from this study also show how students' motivation can influence their use of the instruction they receive. The study concludes by raising critical questions regarding the role of motivation in strategy instruction and use.

Abstract from Dole, J.A., Brown, K.J., & Trathen, W. (1996). The Effects of Strategy Instruction on the Comprehension Performance of At-Risk Students. Reading Research Quarterly, 31(1), 62–88. doi: 10.1598/RRQ.31.1.4