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This document discusses how schema theory can help English language learners become better readers. It defines schema theory and how it relates to prior knowledge and comprehension. The presentation outlines how schema theory applies to reading processes, activities teachers can use before, during and after reading to activate students' background knowledge, and limitations of relying too heavily on schema theory.
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PD workshop
- 1. Assisting ESL Students Become Better Readers through Schema Theory Applications Submitted by Abir Aboutaha Northcentral University Prescott Valley, AZ 1ATESL PD Session 2016
- 2. Workshop Outline ATESL PD Session 2016 2 •The Concept of Schema Theory •Schema and Jean piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development •Schema Theory and Reading Skill •Types of Schemata •Schema Theory and Models of Reading Process •Activating & Building the Schemata •Schema Theory Application on Reading Activities •Schema Theory Limitations •Group activities •References
- 3. The Concept of Schema Theory •The schema theory was one of the leading cognitive learning theories. •It was first introduced by Frederic Bartlett in 1932 as a part of his theory. •Bartlett (1932) defined schema as “the reflection or active organization of people’s past experiences.” •Bartlett's theory confirmed that our understanding of the world is formed by a network of abstract mental structures which represent one's understanding of the world. 3ATESL PD Session 2016
- 4. The Concept of Schema Theory • According to Rumelhart (1980), Schema entails an internal knowledge structure • New information is compared to the existing cognitive structure called "schema" • Schema will be combined, extended, or adjusted to accommodate new information 4ATESL PD Session 2016
- 5. Schema and Jean piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development Schema is the mental representations of a set of ideas and actions, which we use to understand and acquire new knowledge. Schema goes through the following processes: Assimilation: The process of taking in information into our previously existing schemas. Accommodation: Involves alternating existing ideas or schema as a result of new information or new experiences. Equilibration: A mechanism that helps children in achieving a balance between assimilation and accommodation. (Piaget, 1928) 5ATESL PD Session 2016
- 6. Schema theory and Reading Skills "Schema theory is based on the notion that past experiences lead to the creation of mental frameworks that help us make sense of new experiences” (Nunan, 1999, p.201) The reader's background knowledge and experiences play an essential role in the reading comprehension. The written text does not carry meaning by itself. 6ATESL PD Session 2016
- 7. Schema theory and Reading Skills The text provides directions for the readers to assist them in retrieving or constructing knowledge from their own existing knowledge (prior knowledge and the previously acquired knowledge structure called schemata) (Barlett, 1932). Comprehending a reading text demands an interactive process between the readers' background knowledge and the text. 7ATESL PD Session 2016
- 8. Types of Schemata Rhetorical or formal schemata Linguistic schemata Content schemata 8ATESL PD Session 2016
- 9. Schema Theory and Models of Reading Process •Bottom-Up Processing It focuses on lower level skills such as matching sounds with the letters, syllables, and words recognition. The meaning of the text is constructed based on the reader’s prior knowledge of linguistic items like vocabulary, grammar, and syntax. •Top-Down Processing It focuses on higher level skills such as the background knowledge a reader uses to make prediction to understand a written text. 9ATESL PD Session 2016
- 10. Interactive Model Processing The interactive model takes place at three levels: 1) The interaction between the bottom-up and top-down processes simultaneously throughout the reading process. 2) The interaction between lower level and higher level skills. 3) The interaction between the background knowledge presupposed in the text and the background of the reader. (Rumelhart, 1980). ATESL PD Session 2016 10 Top-down processing Bottom-up Processing Themes Main ideas Ideas / details Phrases/ expressions Words
- 11. Activating and Building the Schemata ATESL PD Session 2016 11
- 12. Schema Theory Application on Reading Activities 1) “Pre-reading activities” enable ESL learners to: Bring themselves to the text (new concepts, processes, skills). Predict and activate schema, i.e. what learners already know (prior knowledge and experiences). Make connections, predictions, inferences, pose questions, etc. Motivate learners' interest and engagement. Use Multiple intelligence (MI). Build background knowledge ATESL PD Session 2016 12
- 13. Schema Theory Application on Reading Activities 2) “During-reading activities” enable learners to: Bring the text (concept) to themselves by applying reading strategies such as skimming and scanning Make meaningful connections. Pose critical questions Make guessing & inferences Visualize what students are reading and draw a clear mental picture of the text Note changes in thoughts, feelings, and understandings. ATESL PD Session 2016 13
- 14. Schema Theory Application on Reading Activities 3) "Post-Reading activities" enable the learners to: Summarize the content in a few sentences Discuss critically and pose questions Become critically aware of how effective their thinking is to gain deeper connections to themselves, other texts/concepts and the external world. Integrate new information with the existing knowledge Extend schema and build background knowledge Express new understanding and catch the missing parts of the mental picture. ATESL PD Session 2016 14
- 15. Schema Theory Limitations Despite the popularity of schema theory application on the reading skill, the opponents of the theory criticized it for its limitations (Hudson, 1982; Carrell & Wallace in Carrell, 1988). ESL learners may get the meaning without successfully utilizing "syntactic, semantic or discourse constrains" (Hudson, 1982, p.186). The overuse of schema theory may lead to the neglect of other language areas and skills (Eskey, 1988). ATESL PD Session 2016 15
- 16. Schema Theory Limitations Goodman in Carrell and Eisterhold (1983) described the reading process as a "psycholinguistic guessing game" in which proficient readers minimize their dependence on the linguistic items by incorporating background knowledge to make guessing and predictions about the text. The lack of prior knowledge contributes considerably to the problems in reading comprehension. ATESL PD Session 2016 16
- 17. References Barlett, F.C. (1932). Remembering: A Study in Experimental and Social Psychology. London: New Psychological Linguistics. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Education Publication. Carrell, P.L. & Eisterhold, J.C. (1983). Schema Theory and ESL Reading Pedagogy, in Carrell, P.L., Devine, J. &Eskey, D.E. (eds.) (1988) Interactive Approaches to Second Language Reading. Cambridge: CUP. Eskey, D.E. (1988). Holding in the Bottom: An Interactive Approach to the language problems of second language readers, in Carrell, P.L., Devine, J. &Eskey, D.E. (eds.) (1988) Interactive Approaches to Second Language Reading. Cambridge: CUP. ATESL PD Session 2016 17
- 18. References Hudson, T. (1982). The Effects of Induced Schemata on the Short Circuit in L2 Reading: Non-decoding Factors in L2 Reading Performance, in Carrell, P.L., Devine, J. &Eskey, D.E. (eds.) (1988) Interactive Approaches to Second Language Reading. Cambridge: CUP. Nunan, D. (1999). Second Language Teaching and Learning. Boston: Heinle &Heinemann. Piaget, J. (1928). The Child's Conception of the World. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. Rumelhart, D. (1980). Schemata: The building Blocks Cognition, in R. J. Spiro, B.C. Bruce & W. F. Brewer. (Eds.), Theoretical Issues in Reading Comprehension. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. ATESL PD Session 2016 18
Editor's Notes
- -Frederic Bartlett is a British psychologist and the first professor of experimental psychology at the University of Cambridge.
- -According to the concept of schema theory, past reactions and experiences lead to the construction of mental frameworks that help us construct new knowledge and make sense of new experiences (Bartlett, 1932; Nunan, 1999). -
- -Jean Piaget is a Swiss psychologist and genetic epistemologist. He is famous for his theory of cognitive development. -Schema example: My child first develops a schema for a horse. She knows that a horse is a large animal with four legs, hair and a tail. When she encounters a cow for the first time, she may call it a horse. It fits with her schema for the characteristics of the horse as a large animal with hair, four legs, and a tail. In this case, I have to tell her that this is a different animal called a cow, so she will modify her existing schema for a horse and create a new schema for a cow. -The processes through which schemas are adjusted or changed are known as assimilation and accommodation.
- -Schema enables the learners to make predictions for more successful interaction that results in successful interpretations of the written text.
- Formal schemata refers to the structure and literary types of a text. The reader uses his/her schematic representations of the text such as short stories, poems, novels, newspaper articles, and academic articles to help understand the information in the text. For example, the formal schemata for a short story is the underlying structure that consists of a setting, characters, plot, and a reaction. Of course different genres have different structure. Carrell (1984) pointed out that the knowledge of what type of the text is can facilitate reading comprehension; however, the lack of such kind of knowledge will to some extent, hinder the readers’ understanding of the written text. Nevertheless, Carrell (1984) pointed out that formal schemata offer less power in the reading comprehension compared with the linguistic and content schemata. -Linguistic schemata refer to the reader’s linguistic knowledge of grammar, vocabulary, idioms, and expressions. Linguistic schemata play a substantial role in comprehending the text. Without linguistic schemata, the reader could not decode and understand the text. In other words, the effective decoding skills are vey important for the comprehensive understanding of the text. - Content schemata refer to the reader’s background knowledge of the content area of the written text (Carrell & Eisterhold, 1983). Content schemata are largely culture-specific.
- -Top-down model emphasizes the importance of schemata, and the readers’ prior knowledge contribution to the text. Schema theory attempts to describe the efficiency of prior knowledge as it affects the reader’s comprehension of the text. According to this model, the reader uses his/her prediction of meaning by using context clues and combining them with background knowledge.
- -After selecting a reading text, the following three stages of activities are typically used to activate and build students' schemata. -While schema activation and building can occur in all three stages, the pre-reading stage deserves a special attention since it is here where student's schemata will be achieved.