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  • Higher Reading Scores, Dumber Readers?
    Mark commented on the article | over 2 years ago
    Higher Reading Scores, Dumber Readers?

    A very engaging discussion. I respect your fears about "authoritarian authors" and imagine them intently applying their principles of mind-control on unsuspeting readers. However, I think thou dost protest too much.


    One of the problems with reader-centered metacognitive theories is that the author-reader relationship has become unbalanced. Although the author-reader connection is vital to comprehension, the relationship should be weighted heavily on the side of the author. It is the author's thoughts that we are trying to interpret, not ours per se.


    Schema theory aside, accessing prior knowledge, setting a purpose for the reading, and making personal connections are somewhat helpful, but frankly over-valued. Understanding the ideas of the author is really what readers are/should be after. Reading is not constructivism.


    Additionally, focusing on the experience and needs of the readers can lead the readers to think of the text as a purely subjective experience. Instead, readers need to view the text as objectively as possible, setting aside all preconceived ideas and biases. On this point, you are more on track with your comments that place the reader in the role of "crap detector" through the process of internal monitoring of text and self-questioning strategies.  


    More on the relationship between author and reader with emphasis on what really works to build comprehension at http://penningtonpublishing.com/blog/reading/how-to-increase-reading-comprehension-using-the-scrip-comprehension-strategies

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