The Schema Theory

Schema theory is an explanation of how readers use prior knowledge to comprehend and learn from text
(Rumelhart, 1980). The term "schema" was first used in psychology by Barlett as "an active organization of past
reactions or experiences" (1932,p.201), later schema was introduced in reading by Rumelhalt (1980), Carrell
(1981) and Hudson (1982) when discussing the important role of background knowledge in reading
comprehension (all cited in An, 2013). The fundamental principle of the schema theory assumes that written
text does not carry meaning by itself. Rather, a text only provides directions for readers as to how they should
retrieve or construct meaning from their own previously acquired knowledge (An, 2013).

According to schema theory, comprehending a text is an interactive process between the readers background
knowledge and the text. Efficient comprehension requires the ability to relate the textual material to one's own
knowledge. As Anderson (1977, p.369) point out, "every act of comprehension involves ones knowledge of the
world as well". Reading comprehension operates in two directions, from bottom up to the top and from the top
down to the bottom of the hierarchy. Bottom-up processing is activated by specific data from the text, while
top-down processing starts with general to confirm these predictions. These two kinds of processing are
occurring simultaneously and interactively, which adds to the concept of interaction or comprehension between
bottom-up and top-down processes (Carrel and Eiserhold, 1983. Cited in An, 2013)

The Three Levels of Comprehension

Reading comprehension is the ability to process information that we have read and to understand its meaning.
The three levels of comprehension are the literal level, inferential level and the critical/evaluative level.

The Literal Level: It is simply what the text says and what actually happens in the story. This is a very
important level of understanding because it provides the foundation for more advanced comprehension. It
focuses on reading the passages, hearing the words or viewing the images. It involves identifying the important
and essential information. With guidance, students can distinguish between the important and less important
ideas.

The Inferential Level: It involves determining what the text means. Determining inferential meaning
requires you to think about the text and draw a conclusion. , the focus shifts to reading between the lines,
looking at what is implied by the material under study. It requires students to combine pieces of information in
order to make inferences about the author's intent and message. Guiding students to recognize these perceived
relationships promotes understanding and decreases the risk of being overwhelmed by the complexities of the
text being view, heard or read.

The Critical Level: In this level we are analyzing or synthesizing information and applying it to other
information. Understandings at the literal and interpretive levels are combined, reorganized and restructured at
the critical level to express opinions, draw new insights and develop fresh ideas. Guiding students through the
applied level shows them how to synthesize information, to read between the lines and to develop a deeper
understanding of the concepts, principles, and implications presented in the text.

Comprehension Skills
 Sequencing: Sequencing refers to the identification of the components of a story, such as the beginning,
middle, and end, and also to the ability to retell the events within a given text in the order in which they
occurred. The ability to sequence events in a text is a key comprehension strategy, especially for narrative texts.

Graphic Organizer: A graphic organizer, also known as knowledge map, concept map, story map, cognitive
organizer, advance organizer, or concept diagram, is a communication tool that uses visual symbols to express
knowledge, concepts, thoughts, or ideas, and the relationships between them. With the use of a graphic
organizer, the children should be given an activity where they are required to state the before, during and after
occurrences with Piped Piper in the story. They should recall the main points of what happened before the Piped
Piper, what was happening while the Piped Piper was in the town and what happened after he left.

References

An, S. (2013). Schema Theory in Reading. Changchun University of Science & Technology, Changchun,
China. Academy Publisher Manufactured in Finland.

https://wehavekids.com/education/Reading-Comprehension-Theory

Research on the benefits of oral reading practice is incomplete. Some forms of guided oral reading appear to
promote reading growth during the elementary grades. Timothy V. Rasinski, Kent State University, and James
V. Hoffman, University of Texas/Austin, explored the implications of current research and theory in oral
reading for improving reading instruction.

Research from the 1970s through the 1990s supports the potential positive impact of oral reading in instruction.
Students who read orally with the greatest fluency tend to score highest in overall reading achievement, while
those who have little fluency have the lowest levels of reading achievement.

Theories suggest that individuals have a limited amount of attention available for cognitive tasks. Reading
requires students do two things: decode words and comprehend what they are reading. Thus the attention
required for word decoding is not available to be used for comprehension. Fluency refers to the ability to
perform a task at a automatic level with a minimum of attention. Readers need to recognize words not just
accurately, but instantly and effortlessly.

One goal of reading instruction is to develop automatic word decoding. In addition, students need to be able to
read with appropriate expression and phrasing. Both these skills enhance reading fluency and comprehension.

Researchers have discovered that the amount and frequency of oral reading does not determine the level of
fluency achieved. It appears that it is the type of oral reading that makes the difference in student achievement.
Rasinski and Hoffman describe several types of oral reading aimed at improving fluency that appear to raise
students reading achievement.
Types of Oral Reading Practice

Repeated readings is the best-known oral reading method for developing fluency.

Although this method appears to increase the skills of students who have difficulty learning to read,
comparisons of research studies find somewhat ambiguous results. In some studies, reading difficult material
led to greater achievement, while in others, repeated readings of relatively easy material increased achievement
more. The age of the students, whether they are experiencing difficulty learning to read, and the type of
assistance during repeated readings are factors that affect achievement.

Paired reading, in which a struggling reader reads with a more fluent reader, results in significant
improvements in word recognition and comprehension.

The fluent reader adjusts her reading to the less fluent reader, correcting the less fluent readers decoding errors
immediately. Research with students in paired reading demonstrates three times the progress normally expected
in word decoding and five times the expected progress in comprehension. Such oral reading with assistance
shows promise for helping develop fluency and overall reading achievement among elementary students and
students at any grade level who are experiencing difficulty in reading.

Other types of shared reading and fluency instruction include shared book experience, oral recitation lessons,
and fluency-oriented reading development.

In all variations, teachers generally introduce a book, read it expressively to the class, discuss it and then have
students practice reading it individually and aloud with a partner. Teachers also model self-monitoring of
decoding and comprehension. The type of feedback students receive after oral reading affects how much their
reading improves. Students who learn to monitor and correct their own decoding and comprehension make
better progress.

Oral reading provides a context for teachers to model, assess and respond effectively to students. The
procedures used during oral reading in the Reading Recovery program, for example, demonstrate how careful
monitoring and responsive teaching can be used to develop effective word-recognition and comprehension
strategies.

Rasinski and Hoffman report that while the uses of oral reading are expanding, more research is needed to
determine the optimal difficulty level of the text to promote reading fluency, as well as the most effective oral
reading strategies for second-language learners. Several questions remain to be answered:

What types of assisted oral reading instruction are most beneficial for students?

What are the most effective ways that teachers can respond to students during and after reading?

Do normally developing fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth graders benefit from oral reading instruction aimed at
fluency?

Why is it that unassisted repeated readings do not appear to improve automatic word recognition but do
improve comprehension?

http://www.ernweb.com/educational-research-articles/effectiveness-of-oral-reading-practice/