An experimental study of the effects of direct instruction in comprehension strategies taught through listening upon reading comprehension of fourth grade students

The purpose of this study was to determine if direct instruction in comprehension strategies taught through listening had an effect on the reading comprehension of fourth grade students.The study sample consisted of seventy-four students in fourth grade classrooms in a metropolitan school district in central Indiana. The two experimental classes received eight listening lessons, taught by the regular classroom teachers, at the rate of one per week. The two control classes did not receive the listening instruction.The students in the experimental and control groups were classified into three ability groups based upon the results of Shipman-Warncke Assessment Profile. The measure of reading comprehension was the Metropolitan Reading Diagnostic Test.FindingsThe data from this study indicated:Both groups, experimental and control, showed significantly improved comprehension over the length of the study.Analysis by level, "successful", "average", and "ineffective", revealed no statistically-significant difference in the comprehension growth.Both the control and experimental "successful" and "average" ability level students' scores gained at nearly the same rate from pretest to posttest.4) There were no pre- posttest differences between any of the three ability levels on the six question types.ConclusionsBased on the findings of this study the following conclusions were drawn:1) The comprehension strategies taught through the listening lessons did not significantly affect the reading comprehension of the students involved in the study.2) All students showed significant gains in reading comprehension over the course of the study.3) Students with reading abilities categorized as "ineffective" showed a tendency to respond better to the listening lessons than the other two ability groups.Listening and reading are important language communication skills for children, both in school and in daily life. This study has attempted to add to the body of knowledge related to ways that these two lifetime skills may be taught in the elementary school.Department of Elementary EducationThesis (D. Ed.