Thinking Aloud in the Science Classroom: Can a literacy strategy increase student learning in science

This research study investigated the effect of using the think aloud protocol while reading informational text on students' ability to learn from text in a secondary science classroom. The participants in this study were high school students (n=47) in three classes of a mixed-grade Integrated Biology, Chemistry, and Physics course. The study tracked student achievement during a four-week curriculum unit on the theory of evolution and evidence for biological evolution. All students received instruction on using the think aloud protocol, and all students practiced the think aloud protocol when reading short articles related to scientific evidence for evolution. The researcher measured student's ability to read and understand science text by comparing scores from a reading skills pre-assessment and post-assessment from each student. Student surveys were conducted to gather feedback on the effectiveness of the strategy in teaching students to use a literacy strategy while reading science text. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics.