Dissertation Analysis
The researcher aims at establishing if any one of the three pre-reading advance organizers that are the problematic situation, graphic and verbal organizers, has any effect on the comprehension of certain selected fifth-grade social studies reading materials. Two research questions were formulated. The first one aimed at ascertaining if post-reading comprehension test scores after a lesson using the three pre-reading advance organizers differed from a lesson given without them. Secondly, the researcher compared the post-reading comprehension test scores after a lesson using any of the three pre-reading strategies and wanted to find out if any of the pre-reading strategies were significantly different from the other two.
Schema Theory
After identifying the objectives of the study, the researcher delves into the literature on the explanations given by other researchers on why students have a problem in comprehending reading material. Quoting other researchers such as Vacca & Vacca, 1986, the article gives some of the problems that are deemed to be hindering students’ comprehension (Constance, 1990). However, the researcher introduces the schemata as a new factor that influences comprehension, although it had not been taken into consideration by other previous studies. Schema refers to abstract knowledge structures that are stored in the memory. On the other hand, the schema theory states that the comprehension of the text is achieved by a reader building the meaning of a certain selected text by relating the new knowledge to that already stored in the brain. By using the schema theory, the researcher is bringing out the importance of the three advance organizers since they increase the student schemata by providing a conceptual framework upon which a student can build new information (Constance, 1990).
The researcher justifies and shows the importance of the study by stating that many studies have indicated that advance organizers indeed do improve reading comprehension, but no research has ever tried to analyze the likelihood of a particular organizer being better than the others. The article outlines assumptions, which are the variables that are held constant during the study. It is assumed that the post-reading test scores are only influenced by the use or lack of advance organizers and not by these variables that are held constant. The article also states some of the limitations that can affect the outcome of the study.
Advance Organizers
The researcher gives a comprehensive background of the advanced learners as well as a description of the three pre-reading advance organizers that will be used in the study. He also describes how the teacher can use each of the organizers during the lesson. For example, for the graphic overview, the teacher can design a diagram or chart which has the contents of the reading so that students can anticipate the concepts and how these concepts relate within the text.
Hypotheses
The researcher also defines two null hypotheses, which will be accepted or rejected after analyzing the data collected during the study. From the literature search, the researcher seeks the relevant literature for the first hypothesis by quoting different studies such as Darach & Gerstein, 1986; Lenz et al., 1987; Tudor, 1986 that have shown that advance organizers have a positive effect on comprehension of reading (Constance, 1990). The author also looks at the relevant literature for the second hypothesis from other studies conducted in the past on graphic organizers such as Armstrong that carried out in 1988 (Constance, 1990). Most of them concluded that graphic and pictorial organizers improved comprehension compared to verbal organizers.
Methods and Materials
The researcher describes the sample, the materials, data collection, and analysis under this subheading. For example, the sample consists of fifth-grade children from eight classrooms in Hamilton County in Tennessee and eight volunteer teachers from Temple University.
Conclusion
The literature review in any study is normally drawn from previous researchers conducted on similar or near similar variables in the past. Since research is a continuous process, the theoretical framework from other studies helps a researcher in supporting their hypotheses, understanding the research, and justifying the importance study.
References
Constance, L. (1990). The comparison of the effects of three pre-reading advance organizers on the literal comprehension of fifth-grade social studies materials. University of Tennessee, Knoxville.