Running

head: LITERATURE REVIEW

Literature Review of The Importance of Metacognitive Reading Strategy Awareness in
Reading Comprehension
TED 690
Dario Workman
National University

LITERATURE REVIEW

2
Abstract

This paper is a brief review of an article written in 2013 regarding the importance
of metacognitive reading strategies. The article cites research discussing the importance
of reading strategies that assist students in metacognitive thinking, as well as how
metacognitive strategies can assist in overall reading comprehension. Furthermore, the
article discusses various types of metacognitive reading strategies, as well as how those
strategies can be implemented in the classroom. Additionally, I have reflected upon how
these strategies can assist in my own professional development as a teacher, as well as
how the concepts discussed in this paper support the artifacts that I have chosen for my
professional development quest portfolio.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Introduction


As a reading teacher, one of the most important obstacles that I must overcome is
a student who does not comprehend the material being read in class. While there are a
multitude of reasons why a student cannot fully comprehend what he or she is reading
(i.e., illiteracy, language barriers, poor eyesight, etc.) the most common reason for this, I
believe, is due to the student being unable to mentally process and digest what the
author is communicating. Partly, this is due to the student having poor reading
comprehension skills. In his article, The Importance of Metacognitive Reading Strategy
Awareness in Reading Comprehension, Mohammad Reza Ahmadi makes several claims
as to the significance that metacognitive reading strategies have on student reading
comprehension.
Metacognitive Reading Strategy Awareness
According to Ahmadi, A metacognitive reading strategy is defined as any
choice, behavior, thought, suggestion and technique used by a reader to help their
learning processMetacognitive reading strategy awareness has become one of the
(most) effective ways to facilitate students reading comprehension (English Language
Teaching, 2013, pg. 236). This means that the student must be aware of what strategies
are being used while reading. When a student is actively engaged with the material being
read, there is a profound influence on reading comprehension. In other words, students
who take an active role in how they interact with the material, as well as understand
which strategies can help them comprehend what is being communicated through the
text, have a much deeper level of understanding versus the reader who merely reads the

LITERATURE REVIEW

text and has no active cognitive interaction. Ahmadi develops his claim by stating that
educators generally agree that metacognitive reading strategies can be utilized to help
student reading comprehension and promote the monitoring and regulation of ones own
cognitive enterprises (pg. 237). Ahmadi continues by discussing how students who are
language learners are greatly benefited by the implementation of such techniques as well.
Metacognitive Domains of Knowledge
Generally speaking, metacognition means the process in which someone thinks
about the way that they think. Ahmadi claims that when applied to how a reader
interacts with a text, metacognition can be broken down into three basic categories: 1)
Declarative Knowledge, 2) Procedural Knowledge, and 3) Conditional Knowledge.
When reading a difficult text, the reader must identify what they know already
(declarative), what to do when they experience difficulty with a text (procedural), and
must know when and why to apply different reading strategies in order to comprehend
the passage (conditional). A good reader is usually capable of transitioning between
the three categories relatively quickly. In contrast, a reader who experiences difficulty
when reading is usually deficient in at least one of the three metacognitive domains.
Regulatory Skills
In addition to the three metacognitive domains of knowledge, Ahmadi discusses
three metacognitive reading strategy regulatory skills that have a profound impact on
reading comprehension. These three skills are as follows: 1) Planning, 2) Monitoring,
and 3) Evaluation. Planning involves all the reading strategies that take place before the
actual reading of a text, such as prediction, sequencing, anticipation guides or building

LITERATURE REVIEW

background knowledge. Monitoring involves the mental processes that take place during
the reading of the text. How a student monitors his or her behavior during the reading,
identifying when a difficult passage appears, as well as using metacognitive markers such
as text annotation. Evaluation is simply defined, according to Ahmadi, as appraising the
conclusion and regulatory processes of an individuals learning (pg. 238).
Artifact Rationale
According to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, the first
domain of the California Teaching Performance Expectations is described as
Making Subject Matter Comprehensible to Students. This means that as an
educator, the first standard I must satisfy is whether I am implementing strategies
in the classroom that assist with student comprehension of necessary content. In an
effort to prove that I have successfully shown myself capable of meeting such a
standard, I have provided the following justifications regarding the four artifacts
presented in my PDQP.

Artifact #1: Lesson Plan

Recently, I have taught a unit on literary devices. One lesson in

particular was chosen to showcase how I have strategically designed a method to

help students understand the abstract concept of Irony. This lesson plan was
crafted using the components of an effective lesson plan, which is designed to assist
with student learning. Throughout the lesson, I implement several metacognitive

LITERATURE REVIEW

strategies, such as prediction and evaluation, in order to help students process

certain aspects of literary devices.

Artifact #2: Student Work

The selection of work that I have chosen is from a unit on

rhetorical devices, particularly in advertising. Students were required to create

multiple representations of a concept, as well as paraphrase the concept into their
own words. This is an example of the kind of comprehension strategies that I
routinely implement in my classroom. Getting students to take information, process
it, and then communicate it in a way that makes sense to them personally is at the
heart of student comprehension. I believe that this method of content processing is
supported by what Ahmadi describes as monitoring ones own cognitive
enterprises (pg. 237).

Artifact #3: Graphic Organizer

In an effort to assist students with comprehension, I have

created a graphic organizer that gives students multiple avenues in which to process
content. While this method is used for various activities in my classroom, this
particular artifact represents how students practice academic vocabulary. Students
are required to take a vocabulary word and develop a deep understanding of it by
assessing its antonym, creating a paraphrased version of the definition, as well as
creating a visual representation of the meaning, all of which strengthens student
comprehension of the concept.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Conclusion
In conclusion, I believe that the artifacts that I have selected for the first domain
of my professional development quest portfolio are supported by the concepts discussed
in Ahmadis article. Metacognitive strategies such as activating background knowledge
and making predictions for a text are simple ways to assist with reading comprehension.
Teaching students to use metacognitive reading strategies can be a very effective way to
help students build their reading abilities and strengthen reading comprehension. Many
students are struggling because they do not yet possess the knowledge of metacognitive
reading strategies, as well as how to use these strategies to comprehend difficult texts.
Many more students often feel discouraged because they believe that knowledge is a
genetic disposition that one is merely born with. In order to rectify this pervasive
belief, it is my goal as an educator to teach these metacognitive strategies to my students
on a daily basis. As a result, my students will begin to understand that knowledge is not a
concrete trait, but a fluid skill that can be continually built upon.

LITERATURE REVIEW

8
References

Ahmadi, M. R. (2013). The importance of metacognitive reading strategy awareness in

reading comprehension. English Language Teaching, 6(10), 235-244.
doi:10.5539/elt.v6n10p235
Commission on Teacher Credentialing. (2013). The California Teaching
Performance Expectations. Retrieved from http://www.ctc.ca.gov/educatorprep/standards/adopted-TPEs-2013.pdf