Analysis of Theoretical Framework

Analysis of Theoretical Framework EDUC 701: Theories and Research in Educational Psychology February 24, 2013 ? Introduction Teachers are required to teach reading and comprehension skills to students and help them be able to read and comprehend materials from the past and present. Dr. Constance L. Pearson (1990) writes a dissertation entitled â€Å"The Comparison of the Effects of Three Prereading Advance Organizers on the Literal Comprehension of Fifth-Grade Social Studies Materials† in this paper he is trying to see if the use of a prereading advanced organizer would help build the fifth grade students comprehension and knowledge skills.During this stage of students learning development it is very important to start working on their reading and comprehension skills. Analysis The theoretical framework for this dissertation is using fifth-grade social studies materials and having a prereading strategy of an advanced organizer to see if it would increase comprehension and know ledge in the children while they read their textbooks. The advanced organizers that are being used are visual, graphic and problematic situation approach. The advanced organizers are being used to help the students with any concepts that they are not familiar with.By using these organizers strategies would be developed to help assist in learning the material. There were two research questions to validate the theory that is being used. The first question related to reading comprehension and how it affects students when they are given a prereading activity while using one of the advanced organizers. The second research question relates to the reading comprehension of the other two advanced organizer approaches when they are given a preading activity. It is believed that students reading comprehension can be increased from the use of the advanced organizers for their particular subject area.The purpose of this research was to determine if one of the prereading advance organizer strateg ies would carry distinction from the other two approaches. During the research many factors had to be considered and one such factor were students not being able to derive meaning from what they read in content area textbooks. One reason that the reader may have a problem with content text is that the material is written on a higher reading level then the intended reader. As a result the writers have tried to simplify the terminology and shortened the sentences.They did not take into consideration factors that inherent in the reader such motivation, reading ability and interest. There is one human factor that has the most influence on comprehension and that is schemata. Comprehension of the material is being determined by the knowledge that the reader brings to the selection. The more schemata the reader has for the topic the more they will understand the topic. Content materials especially in the area of social studies seek to develop many concepts; students often do not have the f ramework to attach new knowledge.Students must have an understanding of the concepts in order to comprehend the material they are reading. In chapter two of the dissertation Pearson explains how the research and literature that relate to the relationship of advance organizers to reading comprehension. He discusses the history of the study of reading comprehension and advance organizers. The schema theory is discussed as it relates to the study of advance organizers. Before 1970 reading comprehension was viewed as a process solely activated by the text itself.The views on reading comprehension have since changed and now text has been determined to be only the framework for meaning. The reader must be able to construct an internal conceptual representation of what is being read. Conclusion Therefore, through research it was determined the usage of advance organizers before the materials were read, did bring about some remembering by activating important concepts that were already pres ent in the children’s cognitive structure. The usage of advanced organizers should reinforce the importance of the new materials by providing the framework of previous learning materials.To determine if the usage of advanced organizers remain effective you should upon its ability to support new ideas from the student’s previous ideas. The prereading strategy of advanced organizers introduces how students can attach concepts to new learning materials Reference Pearson, C. L. P. (1990). The comparison of the effects of three prereading advance organizers on the literal comprehension of fifth-grade social studies materials. (Doctoral Dissertation). University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN.