A partial model of word recognition was transformed by means of a task analysis into a series of subskills. This model uses hypothesis/test procedures for word recognition. The purpose of the study was to determine if children who were trained in these hypothesis/test subskills would be superior in word recognition and comprehension. An important aspect of reading pedagogy is the discovery of skills which are important but not taught. At the present time reading methods tend to focus on initial skills, and we need methods which train more sophisticated strategies. Background The research reported here operationalizes a method for teaching intermediate skills based upon a partial model of word recognition (Samuels, 1970). In many ways the partial model of word recognition is similar to the Halle and Stevens (1964) analysis by synthesis model of speech recognition and to Bruner's (1951) hypothesis testing and Solley and Murphy's (1960) trial and check. Ryan and Semmel (1969) have also written about the word recognition process; they state, "Expectancies about syntax and semantics within context lead the reader to form hypotheses which can be confirmed or not confirmed with only a small portion of the cues available in the text." (p. 59) What these models appear to acknowledge is that recognition is a constructive process in which output is different from and greater than the input. Implications of these models for reading would be that given context and but a single letter * This research was funded by grants from: the National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development to the Minnesota Reading Research Project; the Bureau of Education for the Handicapped Division of Research to the Minnesota Research, Development and Demonstration Center in Education of Handicapped Children; and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and National Science Foundation to the Center for Research in Human Learning. Appreciation is extended to the Minneapolis and to the Bloomington, Minnesota schools for their help.
[1]
E. Hilgard,et al.
Conditioning and Learning
,
1940
.
[2]
Ignatius G. Mattingly,et al.
Language by Ear and by Eye: The Relationships Between Speech and Reading
,
1974
.
[3]
John R. Bormuth,et al.
READABILITY--A NEW APPROACH.
,
1966
.
[4]
Noble Harter,et al.
Studies in the physiology and psychology of the telegraphic language
,
1897
.
[5]
Joanna P. Williams.
Learning to Read: A Review of Theories and Models.
,
1973
.
[6]
S. Jay Samuels,et al.
Toward a theory of automatic information processing in reading
,
1974
.
[7]
Stephen J. Boies,et al.
Components of attention.
,
1971
.
[8]
Jerome S. Bruner,et al.
Personality dynamics and the process of perceiving.
,
1951
.
[9]
R. R. Blake,et al.
Perception : an approach to personality
,
1951
.
[10]
J. Guthrie.
Models of reading and reading disability.
,
1973,
Journal of Educational Psychology.
[11]
P A Kolers,et al.
Bounding of letter sequences and the integration of visually presented words.
,
1972,
Acta psychologica.
[12]
Billy M. Guice.
The Use of the Cloze Procedure for Improving Reading Comprehension of College Students
,
1969
.
[13]
M. Semmel,et al.
Reading as a Constructive Language Process.
,
1969
.
[14]
E. B. Huey.
The Psychology And Pedagogy Of Reading
,
1908
.
[15]
J. M. Cattell.
Ueber die Zeit der Erkennung und Benennung von Schriftzeichen, Bildern und Farben@@@Ueber die Tragheit der Netzhaut und des Sehcentrums@@@The Influence of the Intensity of the Stimulus on the Length of the Reaction Time
,
1888
.
[16]
S. Jay Samuels,et al.
RECOGNITION OF FLASHED WORDS BY CHILDREN
,
1970
.
[17]
Philip B. Gough,et al.
One Second of Reading.
,
1972
.
[18]
W. H. Macginitie.
Testing Reading Achievement in Urban Schools.
,
1973
.
[19]
P. Weener,et al.
Visual and Auditory Training with the Cloze Procedure to Improve Reading and Listening Comprehension.
,
1973
.