Reading Comprehension: From Research to Classroom

Language plays a central role in almost all aspects of our lives. This paper will focus on examining the cognitive processes that are involved in using and understanding written language. Because language almost always involves units of language larger than an individual word or a single sentence, it is important to emphasize how people understand connected discourse, such as stories. Understanding these central cognitive processes will help school psychologists understand how to facilitate reading comprehension in the classroom setting. Although most of these psychological studies do not deal with specific methods on how to how to comprehend a story, these studies do indicate some of the more powerful factors that influence whether comprehension occurs. The purpose of this paper is to provide an integration of the current approaches of research in reading comprehension with ways of facilitating comprehension in the classroom. First, a summary of the current approaches to comprehension is given, highlighting the most central concepts arising from several different perspectives. Second, a review of the empirical research is included, illustrating how recent advances in theory have increased awareness of the comprehension skills of children, especially at an early age. Third, some of the main conclusions and issues in the area are discussed in terms of theoretical and empirical advances and applications to school settings.

One of the central approaches to comprehension is termed schema theory. This approach can be used to interpret how readers interpret the text that they read. The core components of schema theory are derived from Sir Frederic Bartlett’s (1932) use of the word schemata and his interpretation of adults’ memory for s...

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