Comprehension Transactional theory, Schema theory, and Sociopsycholinguistic theory (revisited!) Murray State University

Agree or Disagree? The purpose of studying a piece of literature in schools is to learn the correct interpretation of it. Everyone who reads a piece of literature should get the same meaning from it.

As you read the following poem, What are you thinking about? What pictures are you creating in your head? What message do you get from the poem?

Nothing Gold Can Stay - Robert Frost Nature’s first green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold. Her early leaf’s a flower, But only so an hour. Then leaf subsides to leaf. So Eden sank to grief, So dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay.

Rosenblatt’s transactional theory (reader-response theory) Meaning arises in the transaction between the reader and the text. meaning

Rosenblatt’s transactional theory (reader-response theory) Each reader brings different knowledge, experiences, and expectations to a reading, and therefore each reader will take something different away from the reading. There is no one meaning within a literary work; each reader creates his own meaning.

Is every response okay? What if we are discussing a book or poem with students and a student comes up with a meaning that seems totally “off the wall”? Does reader response theory suggest that we must accept every response? How can we “steer” the student in a more appropriate direction? Ask students frequently: “What part of the text made you think that?”

Can you read this? As Silverstein (1988) puts it, we are faced with the tension between the particular and the universal: reconciling an individual case’s uniqueness with the need for more general understanding of generic process that occur across cases. That uniqueness, he suggests, resides in the individual’s developmental history over time, but “encapsulated within the general principles that influence its development.”

If you had trouble comprehending, was it because …you couldn’t decode the words? …you didn’t understand the words? Why, then, was it hard to comprehend?

Can you read this? The procedure is quite simple. First, divide everything into groups. Beware of mistakes, which can be costly. Then, if you do not have adequate facilities, you must seek the proper equipment. Be sure you are prepared to keep the machines running. Finally, you must sort everything again. Soon the procedure will begin again. There seems to be no way to avoid this procedure.

Can you read this? He had to increase his altitude in order to make the substitution. The expended tube had a very high temperature for which he wasn’t prepared. As he inserted the rifled base of the replacement, he was startled when the new filament suddenly began to emit light and heat energy.

If you didn’t understand that the first paragraph was about doing the laundry and the second was about changing a light bulb, why not? Can you comprehend them now? WHY?

According to schema theory, We learn or comprehend by relating new information to what we already know. In order to comprehend what we read, we must –Have the necessary background knowledge AND –Activate this background knowledge. What are the implications for teaching reading?

In-class writing: Think of times when you comprehend well. What, when, where, why, how are you reading? Think of times when you have trouble comprehending. What, when, where, why, how? Make a list of factors that affect your comprehension.

Discuss with your group… Factors that affect your comprehension. Make a group list. Who would most likely comprehend more in this situation: Jan is reading pp in her social studies book for homework. Jim is reading pp in his social studies book in order to make a poster depicting the Presidential election of Can you add any other factors that affect comprehension to your list?

Factors that affect comprehension: Factors within the reader: Interest Emotional state Physical state Strategies used Background knowledge Self-image

Factors that affect comprehension: Factors within the text: Layout Style Organization Vocabulary Concept load Illustrations

Factors that affect comprehension: Factors within the situation: Purpose Environment

Reading is a transaction between the reader’s mind (psyche) and the text (language) occurring in and affected by a social context. Thus, reading is a socio- pyscholinguistic process. What are the implications for the classroom?