SOCIOCOGNITIVE PROCESSES IN GUIDED SILENT READING - A MICROANALYSIS OF SMALL-GROUP LESSONS

THE MERITS of silent and oral reading have been viewed traditionally f rom an intraindividual perspective without considering the classroom c ontext in which reading naturally occurs. This study provides the firs t direct evidence of the effects of silent reading when it is embedded in small-group lessons typical of much classroom reading instruction. One hundred children in four third-grade classes, each divided into t hree ability groups, received two silent and two oral reading lessons. Group dynamics were measured from videotapes of the lessons, and stud ents' comprehension was measured from recall of stories covered in the lessons. Results showed both positive and negative consequences of si lent reading. Students were more attentive during silent reading than they were during oral reading and they were more responsive to story c ontent during discussion. However, silent reading lessons proceeded at slower pace because, at the end of each reading unit, more able reade rs had to wait for their less able peers to finish reading before disc ussion could resume. The slower pace seemed to offset benefits accruin g from attention and discussion. These results suggest that the effect s of silent reading in small-group lessons are best viewed from an int er-rather than intraindividual perspective. Any benefits that occur fr om silent reading probably are due to the dynamics of the reading grou p during teacher-guided instruction and may nor be due solely to direc t cognitive consequences for individual students.