A Comparison of Two Directed Monitoring Conditions for Improving Comprehension

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of the current study was to test the hypothesis that children, specifically poor comprehenders may demonstrate better comprehension monitoring and comprehension performance under conditions that 1) place emphasis on meaning rather than decoding, 2) do not impose undue demands on working memory and processing capacity, and 3) allow for more processing time.

Method: Fourth grade skilled (n = 20) and unskilled comprehenders (n = 20) listened to passages under two directed monitoring conditions. In one condition, children listened to entire passages (Listen Through; LT) and in the other condition children listened to passages one sentence at a time (Stop, Think and Monitor; STAMP). Participants were asked to listen for anomalous information, to report when and if they identified things in the passages that did not make sense, and to explain why they felt the information was erroneous. All children were asked to recall passages and answer explicit and implicit (inferential) questions about the passages after they listened to them.

Results: Skilled comprehenders performed better on identifying and resolving anomalous information under both directed monitoring conditions. While skilled comprehenders performed better on comprehension outcomes (recall, answering questions) in the LT condition, this was not true in the STAMP condition. Both groups performed comparably on comprehension outcomes, specifically in answering implicit questions in the STAMP condition. Partial correlation coefficients between the number of implicit questions answered correctly and detection and resolution of anomalies was not significant after controlling for the effects of language on the outcome variables.

Conclusions: Further research is needed to identify the most effective methods and procedures for teaching students to comprehend what they are hearing or reading. Underlying factors such as language ability and working memory may mediate the benefit received from an approach or strategy designed to improve comprehension performance. Our study suggests that the measure of comprehension chosen (recall or answering questions) to evaluate comprehension performance may dictate the type of intervention or strategy that is most effective.