Teacher preparation for text comprehension instruction

Teachers have to learn strategy instruction in order to interact with students at the right time and right place during the reading of a text. Teachers also need to know about cognitive processes in reading and how to teach strategies through explanation, demonstration, modeling serving as an example , or interactive techniques; how to allow readers to learn and use individual strategies; and how to teach a strategy in conjunction with several other strategies.

Four studies conducted in the late 1980s and 1990s indicated that teachers who learn multiple comprehension strategy instruction and use it in their classrooms improve the reading comprehension of their students, especially those who are below average in skill. Improvements occurred in subject matter learning and in performance on standardized reading comprehension tests. In 1996 Rachel Brown, Michael Pressley, and colleagues taught teachers to use transactional strategy instruction in a yearlong program where students made comprehension gains. Transaction instruction involves teacher-directed actions with interactive exchanges with students in classrooms.