Guiding Comprehension in the Learning Assistance Setting.

University and college reading improvement teachers need a repertoire of techniques designed to guide carefully students' growth in developing independent comprehension strategies. Such strategies should avoid use of prepackaged commercial kits and collections of articles (content-simulated materials) and should stress the application by students of comprehension strategies directly to the narrative and expository materials that they are required to use in their academic course work. This approach facilitates transfer of instruction and prevents assumptive teaching often found in college reading improvement programs. One strategy for guiding growth in comprehension is the guided writing procedure, which is designed to encourage active comprehension and recall of content area material through a writing and discussion exercise. A second strategy is a brainstorming activity in developing content area vocabulary that emphasizes the active learning and retention of technical vocabulary from a content area unit. (Author/TJ)