Comprehending Comprehension

It is important to remember that most of the stuff you are teaching your students will be the first time they are hearing it, unlike yourself who has been familiarized with it. This being said, I think that one of the keys to understanding complex subjects is to give the students time to think about what they are learning in class.

Often times teachers progress too quickly from one subject to another. Also, within math classrooms, teachers don’t give students adequate time to work on solving problems if they even give the students any opportunity to work on their own without the assistance of the teacher. Students aren’t going to know if they are able to solve a problem if their teacher is always there to tell them how to go about solving the problem. Chapter four in Adolescent Literacy Turning Promise into Practice suggests that teachers “set aside some chunks of class time for focused, silent work in which students can concentrate on more deeply understanding one idea- give them time to listen to themselves think and consider subtleties instead of rushing to memorize the next thing (p. 36).” Other ways to promote a student’s understanding of complex concepts is to have them discuss with their peers in class. According to Beers, this not only helps students to better understand the material that they are teaching to each other, but they also might be able to make connections with their peers that their teachers were otherwise unable to make.

Because the comprehension of texts is such a vital part of learning, it is necessary for teachers to check in on their students to see if they understand, or are at least on the right track. According to Hinchman in Best Practices in Adolescent Literacy Instruction, questioning students is a good way to monitor their comprehension. Certain questions could definitely prove to be unhelpful. So, in order to be effective, questions must be selected carefully so that they aim at measuring a student’s comprehension, rather than a factual answer. Hinchman also says to teach students strategies in which they question themselves as they go along their reading. This way the teacher doesn’t need to be present for them to stay on top of their comprehension.

Beers, G. (n.d.). Adolescent literacy: Turning promise into practice.

Hinchman, K. A., & Sheridan-Thomas, H. K. (2008). Best practices in adolescent literacy instruction. New York: Guilford Press.