ABSTRACT

Students' increased comprehension achievement is the goal. Putting comprehension first in the literacy program and in content area instruction would clearly be a step in the right direction. Making comprehension the priority requires developing teachers' knowledge and pedagogical expertise. This chapter focuses on this knowledge base and, in particular, the roles that Comprehension Problem Solving (CPS), inquiry, and a big idea focus play in understanding verbal and non-verbal, print and non-print texts. Comprehension Problem Solving is a part of an inquiry-based approach to comprehension. It acknowledges that the ultimate goal of comprehension instruction is for learners to know how, when, where, and why to use problem-solving strategies to understand, whether they are reading for pleasure or for information. CPS is all about problem solving and inquiry. Both of these concepts are labels used universally to describe thinking processes employed by intelligent people. CPS coordinates thinking for the purpose of making sense of texts during reading, viewing, and listening.