Theoretical Ideas
There are many theories that explain the nature of learning to read. Discussed below is the sociocultural perspective theory and the behaviourist theory. It is important for teachers to make use of both theories and to note that none of the following theories have priority over another. They are all important for making meaning out of text and as such all should be considered during the teaching of reading comprehension skills and strategies.
Sociocultural perspective theory
Hall (2003) describes a sociocultural perspective theory as a shift in emphasis from the individual to ‘the social and cultural context in which literacy occurs’ (p.134). In other words, a sociocultural perspective will not separate learning to read from the context in which it happens (Levy, 2011). The sociocultural approach to reading comprehension understands that the majority of children come to school with some language and literacy skills that have most likely been practiced and developed within their own unique home and community environment (Reid, 1998), and that ‘they have been exposed to the ways that language is used to achieve a range of very individualised and perhaps culturally specific social purposes’ (Harris, Turbill, Fitzsimmons and McKenzie, 2006, p. 53). A sociocultural theory towards reading suggests that educators could use children’s understanding of language to create successful reading development. A suggested way of using this theory in the teaching of comprehension could be using popular culture and media to inform children's literacy learning, given that these are prevalent across children lives in this day and age. An example lesson could be using the internet to 'make connections' . This will help students think about the thinking involved in making connections while they read. Have students use Ipad’s to read news articles that interest them and as they read the articles they will create a three column chart where they record:
-Each hyperlink they click on
-Why they are choosing that link
-The information about the webpage it takes them to next
From this students could create their own mini webpage working with a partner and create 'hyperlinks' when they come across a word or phrase that prompts them to make a connection. Have students share the different connection that made with the hyperlinks.
Behaviourist theory (also known as the ‘bottom up’ theory)
The behaviourist approach to reading was influenced by behaviourist psychology in the 1950s, which claimed learning was based upon “habit formation, brought about by the repeated association of a stimulus with a response” (Omaggio 1993, pp. 45-46). This model of reading has been heavily criticised for its limited vision of what reading truly is and for its lack of emphasis on comprehension of text. It has also been under attack as being insufficient and defective for the main reason that it relies on the formal features of the language, mainly words and structure (Winch and Holliday, 2010).
Discussed above are two theories that I consider to have great relevance to the teaching of comprehension. I also believe it is important to consider several theories and have a balanced view of the teaching of comprehension. Winch et al (2010) define a balanced approach to teaching “… can be described as one that avoids the extremes of any theory of teaching reading and includes instruction from a spectrum of sources best suited to the child” (p. 13).