An investigation of the efficacy of Paris 'Reading and Thinking Strategies' on the reading comprehension and metacognition in reading in learning disabled students

This study investigated the efficacy of Paris' (1989) Reading and Thinking Strategies (Level 5/6) on the reading comprehension and metacognitive performances of grades 6 and 7 learning disabled (LD) students. In Intervention Period 1, 19 of the LD students were instructed over a seven week period by the author/researcher using three modules of the reading and thinking strategies (Blueprints for Reading, Tools for Reading, and Road Signs for Reading). Another 19 LD students were assigned to the Control Group and received a more traditional skill-based reading instruction containing no programme of reading strategies. Following the completion of Intervention Period 1, the strategy intervention was replicated with the Control Group which then became the second Experimental Group.;There were significant differences between the Experimental and Control Groups on standardized and criterion measures of reading comprehension in Intervention Period 1 in favour of the Experimental Group. In Intervention Period 2 LD students in the second Experimental Group did replicate the significant improvements achieved by the LD students in the first Experimental Group in Intervention Period 1. (Abstract shortened by UMI.);Students received instruction regarding the purpose of reading, the importance of developing reading plans for different kinds of texts, the need to monitor reading progress, and the use of specific strategies to augment understanding and remembering.