Selfregulated 3
Selfregulated 3
Selfregulated 3
1
Dean , college of education , Arees University
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The Effectiveness a Self Regulated Learning- Based Training Program on Improving Cognitive and Metacognitive
EFL Reading Comprehension of 9th Graders with Reading Disabilities
Abstract
The Purpose of this study was to explore the effect of a self regulated learning
intervention program on cognitive and metacognitive EFL reading comprehension of
9th graders with reading disabilities.. The participants in this study were 40 9th
Graders with Reading Disabilities, selected from two schools located in Baltim
Educational Edara . A pre- post design was used to examine the effectiveness of the
phonological awareness intervention program on cognitive and metacognitive EFL
reading comprehension of the target students . Findings from this study indicated the
effectiveness of the a self regulated learning intervention program on cognitive and
metacognitive EFL reading comprehension of 9th graders with reading disabilities
On the basis of the findings, the study advocated for the effectiveness of of a self
regulated learning intervention program on cognitive and metacognitive EFL reading
comprehension of 9th graders with reading disabilities.
Introduction
Reading comprehension is defined as the active process of ‘‘simultaneously
extracting and constructing meaning through interaction and involvement with written
language’’ (Oliver, 2009,P.402). There are too many students who struggle to read
and have difficulty completing literacy assignments(Mohammed , M. Fatah
Allah,2014). Research has shown that good readers use various meta-cognitive
strategies to monitor and overcome reading problems (Mayer, 1996). If readers know
when and how to apply the meta-cognitive strategies, they can easily construct
meanings from the text. That is, the students should ask themselves why, how, when,
where, and with whom they will learn these skills. The answers for these questions
depend on their motivational beliefs (Eccles & Wigfield, 2002) or broadly on their
self-regulation practices (Abiy & Adelahu, 2013 ).
Self-regulation refers to “...the self-generated thoughts, feelings and actions that
are planned and cyclically adapted to attain personal goals” (Zimmerman, 2000,P.
14). It can also be said that self-regulation is a self-directive process of transformation
in which students change their mental ability to acquire academic skills (Zimmerman,
2002,P.65).
SRL implies learning regulated by the students themselves, and is not motivated
and regulated by external factors and people. The students’ management of their own
learning, the steering and directing of cognitive activities and motivation to the
attainment of learning goals, are the main features of SRL (Woolfolk, 2010). Thus,
SRL refers to the high involvement of the individuals themselves in their learning,
and is characterised by the meta-cognitive, motivational and behavioural processes
that enhance learning (McCaslin, Bozack, Napolean, Thomas, Vasquez, Wayman &
Zhang, 2006). Meta-cognitively, self-regulated students are students who plan, set
goals, organise, self-monitor and self-evaluate their learning at different points in the
process of the acquisition of knowledge. Motivationally, self-regulated students report
high self-efficacy, self-attribution and intrinsic interest, while behaviourally they
select structure and create an environment which contributes to optimum learning
(Zimmerman, 1990).
Within the self-monitoring phase, we find activities that help the student become
aware of his or her state of cognition, motivation, emotions, use of time and effort, as
well as conditions of the task and of the context. For example, those activities related
to self-observation of comprehension (mecognitive awareness) are included here.
These activities are manifest when students are aware that they have not understood
something they have just read or heard, when they are aware that they are reading too
quickly for the type of text involved or for the goals they have set (e.g, understanding
the main ideas), or when they actively observe their own reading comprehension,
asking themselves questions to see whether they have understood . (Fermín and
María ,2010). Likewise, this phase encompasses processes the students put into play
in order to be aware of their motivational pattern (whether they feel competent for
performing tasks, whether they value them, or what goals guide and direct their
academic behavior), aware of their own behavior (“I have to put in more time and
effort in order to understand this chapter”, “I need to get help”), as well as
characteristics of the tasks and the classroom context (what class rules exist, how
performance will be evaluated, task requirements, reward and punishment systems,
teacher behavior, etc.).
On the other hand, in light of results from the previous phase, control activities are
put into play, encompassing the selection and utilization of thought control strategies
(use of cognitive and metacognitive strategies), motivation and emotions
(motivational strategies and strategies of emotional control), as well as those related
to regulating time and effort and to control of diverse academic tasks, and control of
the atmosphere and structure of the class. (Fermín and María ,2010)
At this point we wish to point out that it is very difficult to differentiate the phase
of self-observation from that of cognitive control, as it appears in some self-regulation
models, where both aspects are conceived of as separate processes. Although at a
conceptual level it is possible to differentiate processes involved in self-observation
and in cognition control, empirical studies in this area do not support such a
separation, since most of the time both processes occur simultaneously . (Fermín and
María ,2010)
Finally, the reflection or evaluation phase includes judgments and evaluations that
the student makes regarding his task execution, comparing it to previously established
criteria (his or her own, or the teacher's); attributions made regarding the causes of
successes or failures; affective reactions experienced due to the results, as a
consequence of attributions made; choice of behavior to be followed in the future, as
well as general assessments about the task and the class environment. ( Fermín and
María ,2010).
between 90 and 118 (c) reading performance scores at least 2 years below grade level
(d) absence of any other disabling condition. Students were randomly classified into
two groups: experimental ( n= 20 boys ) and control ( n= 20 boys).
The two groups were matched on age, IQ, cognitive reading comprehension ,and
metacognitive reading comprehension. Table 1.shows means, standard deviations, t-
value, and significance level for experimental and control groups on age (by month)
,IQ , cognitive reading comprehension ,and metacognitive reading comprehension
( pre-test).
Table 1. means, standard deviations, t- value , and significance level for experimental
and control groups on age ( by month),IQ, cognitive reading comprehension ,and
metacognitive reading comprehension ( pre-test).
Variable Group N M SD T Sig.
Age Experimental 20 118.35 3.169 0.494 Not sig.
Control 20 117.90 4.124
IQ Experimental 20 178.80 1.00 0.267 Not sig.
Control 20 178.70 1.34
cognitive reading Experimental 20 20.55 1.93 0.743 Not sig.
comprehension Control 20 21.15 2.01
metacognitive Experimental 20 18.50 3.77 0.433 Not sig.
reading Control 20 18.00 3.52
comprehension
Table 1. shows that al t- values did not reach significance level . This indicated that
the two groups did not differ in age ( by month),IQ, cognitive reading comprehension
,and metacognitive reading comprehension. ( pre-test).
Instruments
Cognitive Reading Comprehension Test. The test was developed to assess reading
disabled children 's skills in reading comprehension . It was based on the features of
comprehension skills recognized by Mourad Ali ( 2005). The test consists of (60)
items assessing word recognition , and comprehension ,30 items each , with score
ranging from 0-1 on each item and a total score of 60. The test has demonstrated high
internal consistency with Cronbach’s α ranging from 0.86 to 0.89.
Metacognitive Reading Comprehension Test. ( Mourad Ali, 2005). The test was
developed to assess reading disabled children 's skills in metacognitive reading
comprehension .It consists of three subcsales; namely Self- Monitoring, planning of
task parameters and Assessment of Strategy . with score ranging from 1-4 on each
item and a total score of 64. The test has demonstrated high internal consistency with
Cronbach’s α ranging from 0.80 to 0.82.
Procedures
Screening : Third year prep students who participated met the following established
criteria to be included in the study: (a) (a) a diagnosis of RD by teacher's referral.
Neurological scanning results indicated that those individuals were neurologically
deficient (b) an IQ score on the Mental Abilities Test (Mosa, 1989) between 90 and
118 (c) reading performance scores at least 2 years below grade level (d) absence of
any other disabling condition.
Pre-intervention testing : All the forty students in grade three prep completed
Cognitive Reading Comprehension Test, which assesses reading disabled children 's
skills in reading comprehension ; Metacognitive Reading Comprehension Test, which
assesses reading disabled children 's skills in metacognitive reading comprehension.
Thus data was reported for the students who completed the study .
General Instructional Procedures: In this phase, the experimental group received
direct teaching of self-regulation strategies in reading, along with task-supported
instruction, in 21 sessions. To implement the treatment, each session, the researcher
first introduced the topic of the reading text to activate the students’ schemata. Then,
he gave the students a sense of purpose for reading by informing them that self-
regulation process would help them to be an active reader, and that they would be able
to control the reading process, their behavior, and their environment better by
applying self-regulation strategies while reading. Eight strategies had to be applied
in the form of the designed tasks/activities. The tasks/activities in the environmental
structuring category required the students to pay attention to the environment and find
the distractions, such as their classmates’ whispering and noise from outside the
room. Then they had to write if they could have adjusted the situation for the better
results, or they should have tolerated the distractions. Organizing and transforming
tasks/activities, however, helped the students to take a quick look at the text before
reading to see how the text is organized in terms of title, heading, sub-heading, and
paragraphs. The tasks/activities in goal setting and planning category got students to
guess how much time they needed to read the text and do the activities. Therefore,
they learned to budget their time in advance.
The tasks/activities in the next category focused on keeping records and
monitoring, as well as organizing and transforming strategies. Here, the students were
required to read the text paragraph by paragraph, draw an outline, and highlight the
ambiguous words, phrases, or sentences for further investigation. The tasks/activities
in the fifth category assisted the readers to seek information and social assistance. To
do so, they specified which ways they would like to use to remove the ambiguities
they had encountered in the previous phase. Rehearsing and memorizing
tasks/activities drew students’ attention to the strategies that helped them to memorize
unfamiliar words. So, they were required to check the strategies that seemed most
useful to them. Tasks/activities related to reviewing record strategy asked students to
go back to the previous phases and check if they had taken all the steps, and they had
to remove any unclear points before going to the next phase.
Finally, there were self-evaluation and self-consequating tasks/activities that
required students to self-evaluate themselves by answering some questions about their
performance, such as how they scored themselves and how they did the activities.
Students received 3 training sessions a week, lasting between 40 and 45 min .
Instruction took place in the regular classroom in order to naturalize the situation.
Post-intervention testing: Having practiced twenty-one sessions of reading, the
participants in both groups took the Cognitive Reading Comprehension Test and
Metacognitive Reading Comprehension Test as post-test.
Results
. Table 2. shows T. test results for the differences in post- test mean scores between
experimental and control groups in cognitive reading comprehension test. The table
shows that (t) values were (21.03) for comprehension ,( 22.11) for word recognition ,
and(33.20) for the composite score . These values were significant at the level (0.01)
in the favor of experimental group . The table also shows that there are differences in
post- test mean scores between experimental and control groups in cognitive
reading comprehension test in the favor of experimental group .
Table 2. T- test results for the differences in post- test mean scores between
experimental and control groups in cognitive reading comprehension test
Table 3. shows T. test results for the differences in post- test mean scores between
experimental and control groups in metacognitive reading comprehension test. The
table shows that (t) values were (9.92) for Self- Monitoring (10.85) for planning of
task parameters, (6.91) for Assessment of Strategy and(9.32) for the composite score.
These values were significant at the level (0.01) in the favor of experimental group
.The table also shows that there are differences in post- test mean scores between
experimental and control groups in metacognitive reading comprehension test in the
favor of experimental group .
Table 3. T- test results for the differences in post- test mean scores between
experimental and control groups in metacognitive reading comprehension test
Discussion
The Purpose of this study is to explore the effect of implementing self regulated
learning- based training program on improving cognitive and metacognitive EFL
reading comprehension of 9th graders with reading disabilities .Participants were
selected, then all the forty students in grade three prep completed Cognitive Reading
Comprehension Test, which assesses reading disabled children 's skills in reading
comprehension; Metacognitive Reading Comprehension Test, which assesses reading
disabled children 's skills in metacognitive reading comprehension.
The results of this study as revealed in tables 2 and 3, show that the self regulated
learning- based training program was effective in improving cognitive and
metacognitive EFL reading comprehension of 9th graders with reading disabilities in
experimental group, compared to the control group whose individuals were left to be
taught in a conventional way .
Participants of this study fall into IQ of 115 or more, nevertheless, they are at -
risk for learning disability in reading . Thus IQ score cannot account for learning
disabilities. The results of the present study support that conclusion with evidence that
students who participated in the study do not fall into the low IQ range, however they
are at reading disability. When designing a program based on self regulated learning-,
they had statistical increase in cognitive and metacognitive EFL reading
comprehension of 9th graders with reading disabilities. This goes in line with what
Mourad Ali et al ( 2006) notes that there is one problem " students who are identified
as learning disabled often cover any special abilities and talents, so their weakness
becomes the focus of their teachers and peers , ignoring their abilities. Mourad Ali
(2007) , however , notes that " learning disabled , as well as gifted students can
master the same contents and school subjects ", but they need to do that in a way that
is different from that used in our schools .
Experimental group gained better scores in cognitive and metacognitive EFL
reading comprehension tests than did control groups in post-tests though there were
no statistical differences between the two groups in pre- test. This is due to the
program which met the experimental group's needs and interests. On the contrary, the
control group was left to be taught in a conventional way. This goes in line with our
adopted perspective which indicates that traditional methods used in our schools do
not direct students as individual toward tasks and materials , and do not challenge
their abilities. This may lead students to hate all subjects and the school in general.
On the contrary, when teachers adopt a strategy ( such as self regulated learning
intervention) that suits students interests and challenge their abilities with its various
modalities .
This indicates that " as we learn more about the scope and complexity of individual
differences and how they affect academic progress, we become increasingly
convinced that many individuals who do not do well at school do not because the
instructional methods used to teach them does not complement preferred styles to
learn, thus ,we should seek strategies that help these students and match their
strengths.
References
Abiy ,Y. and Adelahu ,F.(2013). The impact of students’ self-regulated
language learning on their reading achievement in Ethiopian high schools: Grade 9 in
focus. Journal of Media and Communication Studies, Vol. 5(5), pp. 44-51.