ABSTRACT
When Pressley first began studying comprehension in the middle 1970s, few others were interested in the topic. There was slightly greater interest in memory for text, reflecting that researchers, trained in basic memory using traditional paradigms (paired-associate learning, serial list learning), had found connections between their previous work and a form of learning that more realistically connected to the demands on students. Even so, educational practitioners offered advisement to high school and college students to use study skills, such as SQ3R, which entailed skimming a text, asking questions based on the title or headers or pictures, reading the text, attempting to recite it, and then reviewing it. Sometimes a fourth “R” was added: rereading of the text. The study skills techniques, however, had not been subjected to empirical research, and when they were examined, they were not convincingly validated as causing large improvements in reading achievement. In short, in the 1970s, there was not much science for those who wished to improve the comprehension of students.
