Comprehension Instruction and Teacher Training:

Comprehension instruction must engage students in strategic behaviors over an extended period of time. These extended encounters are necessary to allow students to internalize the strategy and gain sufficient efficiency with the new procedure to justify its continued use. Unfortunately, teacher training programs often reinforce a notion of teaching that works against in-depth comprehension instruction. In the context of undergraduate reading methods courses, a program was desianed to provide preservice teachers with the experience of learLIng a new strategy in an instructional setting and the experience of applying the strategy to aid comprehension. One particular form of comprehension instruction (reciprocal teaching) was adopted for sustained focus. The preservice classes were divided into groups of from four to six students. The groups practiced reciprocal teaching simultaneously. The class's experiences during instruction are reflected in a sample transcript of the group's discussion and journal entries describing the students ' reaction to the procedure. The journal entries reflect a generally positive experience with the reciprocal teaching procedure, but laced with the difficulties and frustrations inherent in learning a new cognitive strategy. The transcript shows developing competence with the form of the interaction and the use of the component strategy. Designing and implementing this type of instruction require experience in learning and using strategies and are not enhanced by instruction in which such strategies are merely "mentioned. " (RS) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document