The effects of metacognitive training on fifth and eighth-graders\u27 reading comprehension and metacognitive awareness

This study explored the effects of metacognitive instruction administered to groups on the reading comprehension and metacognitive awareness of fifth and eighth grade students of average and above average reading ability. Change in reading comprehension was measured by differences in pre- and posttest scores on the reading comprehension subtest of the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Tests, the Degrees of Reading Power Test, and an error detection task. Change in metacognitive awareness was assessed by differences in scores on a metacognitive interview. At each grade level there were two groups of 12 students (experimental and control) who received instruction for 20 minutes twice a week for a total of 18 sessions. Results showed that above average eighth grade readers in the experimental group made significant gains on one measure of reading comprehension and that all subjects in the experimental condition made significant gains on the metacognitive interview. The hypothesized relationships between metacognitive awareness and reading comprehension were not found. Difficulties encountered in conducting research in the schools were discussed, and recommendations for further research with groups of students were made