Growth of Literacy Engagement: Changes in Motivations and Strategies During Concept-Oriented Reading Instruction

• Published in: Reading research quarterly 1996-07, Vol.31 (3), p.306-332
• Main Authors: Guthrie, John T., Van Meter, Peggy, McCann, Ann Dacey, Wigfield, Allan, Bennett, Lois, Poundstone, Carol C., Rice, Mary Ellen, Faibisch, Frances M., Hunt, Brian, Mitchell, Ann M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: childhood; childrens; Concept Oriented Reading Instruction; Cooperative Learning; Curriculum subjects: programmes and methods; early childhood; Educational sciences; Elementary Education; Grade 3; Grade 5; instructional; Instructional Effectiveness; learner; Learning motivation; Literacy; Literacy Engagement; Literature; literature based; Motivation; Motivation research; Owls; Reading Comprehension; Reading Instruction; Reading Research; Reading Strategies; Reading, writing; Science Instruction; strategies; Student Motivation; Teaching methods; Thinking Skills; topic; type; Writing Instruction
• ISSN: 0034-0553; 1936-2722
• DOI: 10.1598/RRQ.31.3.5

This study describes changes in literacy engagement during 1 year of Concept-Oriented Reading Instruction (CORI), a new approach to teaching reading, writing, and science. Literacy engagement was defined as the integration of intrinsic motivations, cognitive strategies, and conceptual learning from text. To promote literacy engagement in classrooms, our team designed and implemented CORI in two third- and two fifth-grade classrooms in two schools. One hundred and forty students participated in an integrated reading/language arts-science program, which emphasized real-world science observations, student self-direction, strategy instruction, collaborative learning, self-expression, and coherence of literacy learning experiences. Trade books replaced basals and science textbooks. According to 1-week performance assessments in the fall and spring, students gained in the following higher order strategies: searching multiple texts, representing knowledge, transferring concepts, comprehending informational text, and interpreting narrative. Children's intrinsic motivations for literacy correlated with cognitive strategies at .8 for Grade 5 and .7 for Grade 3. All students who increased in intrinsic motivation also increased in their use of higher order strategies. A sizeable proportion (50%) of students who were stable or decreased in intrinsic motivation failed to progress in higher order strategies. These findings were discussed in terms of a conceptual framework that embraces motivational, strategic, and conceptual aspects of literacy engagement. /// [Spanish] Este estudio describe cambios en el compromiso con la lectoescritura durante un año de enseñanza de la lectura orientada hacia los conceptos (CORI), un nuevo abordaje de la didáctica de la lectura, la escritura y la ciencia. El compromiso con la lectoescritura se definió como la integración de motivaciones intrínsecas, estrategias cognitivas y aprendizaje conceptual de los textos. Para promover el compromiso con la lectoescritura en las aulas, nuestro equipo diseñó e implementó CORI en dos clases de tercer grado y dos de quinto en dos escuelas. Ciento cuarenta estudiantes participaron en un programa integrado de lectura, lenguaje y ciencia, que ponía el acento en observaciones científicas en el mundo real, estudio autodirigido, enseñanza de estrategias, aprendizaje en colaboración, autoexpresión y coherencia de las experiencias de aprendizaje de la lectoescritura. Libros de circulación general reemplazaro