Active Comprehension: From Answering to Asking Questions.

Abstract

COMPREHENSION has three dictionary definitions (Merri am-Webster 1963): 1) the act or action of grasping with the intellect; 2) knowledge gained by compre hending; 3) the capacity for under standing. These definitions imply that the term comprehension can refer to a process, a product, or a potential. These different concep tions of comprehension intermingle, whether the focus is on teaching, testing, or on a theory of compre hension. Thus, I will touch on each aspect of comprehension, although my emphasis in this article will be on teaching a process of compre hension. The main strategy for teaching comprehension is to ask students questions before, during, and after reading. Questions asked before read ing, preposed questions, direct and focus students' thinking on the in formation in the text that will answer