Coop-Dis-Q: A reading comprehension strategy

Improving students' reading comprehension is a pervading instructional chal lenge. Cooperative learning, discussion, and questioning strategies are sev eral effective means to accomplish this. A new instructional technique, Coo perative Discussion and Questioning (Coop-Dis-Q) was developed by taking al l three elements and incorporating them into one strategy. The premise is t hat the strength of each will augment the benefits of the other two, creati ng a synergistic instructional effect. Field testing took place in a fifth- grade classroom using small groups working with a novel that had been read to the entire class. Coop-Dis-Q compels students to take active roles and a ssume responsibility for decision making at several levels.