Running Head: Learning to Read: A Cognitive Perspective

Learning to Read: a Cognitive Perspective

Ben Downs
EDFN 7314 Cognition and Instruction
University of Arkansas at Little Rock

Learning to Read: A Cognitive Perspective

My earliest awareness of reading was from the classic reader See Spot Run. I dont
remember how old I was, or in which grade, but I do remember being able to understand that the
words were describing the pictures that accompanied the text. Thinking back on this memory
with the perspective of this course in mind, perhaps I was beginning to develop a concept known
as metalinguistic awareness, which describes an explicit awareness of my use of language, at
least in terms of reading (Bruning, Schraw & Norby, 2011).
Decades later as a fully grown adult working through the challenges of a graduate level
program, my awareness regarding learning has evolved far beyond the metalinguistic awareness
of language, into a more universal awareness of learning in general that is referred to as
metacognition (Bruning, Schraw & Norby, 2011, page 7). Like metalinguistic awareness,
metacognition is an explicit awareness, but in a more general sense, so that I have become well
tuned in to my thinking and how to use that information most effectively to regulate how I
learn during instruction. Like metacognition, but limited to language, metalinguistic awareness
signals an explicit knowledge that we have about language, and about how it is used.
I have enjoyed being a strong reader for as long as I can remember, but I cant say when
or how I actually learned to read. In this paper, however, I will be discussing three main ideas
that are considered as essential components of learning to read, and attempt to relate them to a
cognitive psychology approach to instruction.
The first is the social component of learning to read. Well before he began learning to
read in an official capacity, I clearly recall Harrison, our son, having an impressive vocabulary,
albeit related to buses and construction vehicles. We spent many hours teaching him how to
label the world around him, and even before his first spoken words, he had learned to indicate his
wants and needs through sign language, taught to him early on my wife who is a nationally

Learning to Read: A Cognitive Perspective

certified sign language interpreter. During these experiences, she would concentrate on teaching
Harrison using iconic signs, such as pictures of a cat, a dog, or a house, in efforts to provide a
tool to help Harrison remember the respective signs. He spent countless hours with family, who
helped him practice his words, and worked hard to teach him new words. A cognitive
psychology term that seems to blend well into this model of learning about language is the
concept of social cognition, which describes how our experience with our peers, and as children,
time spent with adults helps to shape how we think and learn about the world around us. Barbara
Rogoff et al argue, that, during these experiences with family, friends, and in his community,
Harrison was an apprentice in thinking, meaning that the social component of learning that the
interactions with adults, in this case, Harrisons family and friends, help him to think about his
learning from a social perspective, and they help him to reach beyond what he knows to be
familiar and form new ideas and understanding (Rogoff, Paradise, Arauz, Correa-Chavez, &
Angelillo, 2003). Each encounter of being read to in his social network (family, church, and
library) provided Harrison with an opportunity to practice intent participation, where he actively
participates, through interactions and through learning, in the experience.
Even within the confines of our immediate family, reading to Harrison was a very high
priority, which would typically happen multiple times on a daily basis. These reading activities
would include interactive sessions where Harrison would point to different pictures of different
kinds of vehicles, animals, etc. and give their correct name. Research suggests that these kinds
of social activities with family and in our community, are directly correlated with improved
literacy (Bruning, Schraw & Norby, 2011, page 237). Further, research suggests that verbal
interactions with pre-school children is directly correlated with early test score differences
between students from different socio-economic levels and racial backgrounds (Salkind, 2013).

Learning to Read: A Cognitive Perspective

When learning to read, one must also consider that prior knowledge, or some experience
plays a key role in learning to read. During a recent conversation with my father, he made a
comment that I think well illustrates the role our experience plays in helping us to understand,
and to a deeper level perhaps, experience more fully what the author is intending to convey.
The conversation was about golf. We are both golf enthusiasts, and most of the time,
during a weekend visit, golf is usually playing on my fathers television in the background. For
those who have not really experienced the challenge of this sport, watching golf on television is
often thought to be boring. But my father and I, we have experienced the crispness in the air
before an early round of golf, the smell of the grass on the course, the peaceful sound of the
birds, the quietness of the game, the comradery, and the hope and anticipation of new
strategies for an improved game.
When you have experienced golf at this level, it rewards you with a layer of appreciation
to watch others play that can only fully be enjoyed by one who has experiences the pleasures of
the sport. I think the same can be said for reading. The prior knowledge that we blend with
what we read, guides our comprehension of the new material (Anderson, 1984; Ruddell, 1994).
For example, when Harrison recently read the book Mission to Mars, his prior experience of
attending a lecture by astronaut Buzz Aldrin, who authored the book, most certainly helped to
guide Harrisons comprehension. This experience then, served later as prior knowledge, when
Harrison began reading The Martian, gifted to him by a family member. This book, although
classified as fiction, contains information that is based on actual science of what we know about
space exploration and about preparations for upcoming missions to this planet. Even when
extracurricular field trips for example may not be possible for a classroom, teachers can still help

Learning to Read: A Cognitive Perspective

students construct their learning by helping them to understand meanings and contexts when they
are reading.
It is important to understand that when we are learning to read, we are actively moving
the information from our visual sensory system, and into our working memory, where it is
combined with our long term memory through the activation of prior knowledge. During this
time, however, our memory, or capacity for holding on to the information is significantly limited.
In 1956, George Miller, credited by many as the founder of cognitive psychology, published an
article titled The Magical Number Seven: Plus or minus two (Miller, 1956). In this historical
article, Miller suggested loosely that most adults can hold on to seven bits of information at any
given time. More information, according to Miller, exceeds working memory, causing cognitive
overload to occur (Mayer, 2009). When cognitive overload occurs, meaningful learning, or in
this case, reading comprehension, is no longer able to occur.
Armed with this information, teachers can implement strategies to prevent information
overload for their students. From my personal experiences, one pitfall is that as teachers,
lecturers, authors, etc., we assume that our students (or audience) are familiar with certain
concepts and terms used during teaching. I think that, as teachers in the live classroom, we have
to remember to find ways to help students trigger their general knowledge when teaching
students to read. Using familiar frames of reference can be an effective strategy for reducing the
load on working memory (Bruning, Schraw & Norby, 2011, page 246).
As students continue to advance in their reading abilities, they can break down the words
and sentences into smaller, meaningful phrases or propositions. Propositions are considered to
be one of the building blocks of cognition and they help us to comprehend what we are reading.
Propositions, by definition, are the smallest unit of meaning that can basically stand on its own

Learning to Read: A Cognitive Perspective

(Bruning, Schraw & Norby, 2011, page 47), and are most related to declarative knowledge. An
additional feature of propositions are that they can be classified as either being true or false.
In conclusion, learning to read is an incredible achievement for a young child, but it is
important to understand that children begin learning long before they enter a classroom. Literacy
is directly correlated with the use of language in a childs social network. Research suggests a
very strong literacy benefit which occurs when young children are introduced to social uses of
language in our homes, with our families and friends, and in our communities.

Learning to Read: A Cognitive Perspective

References
Anderson, R.C. (1984). Role of the readers schema in comprehension, learning and memory. In
R.C. Anderson, J. Osborn, & R.J. Tierney (Eds.), Learning to read in American schools:
Basal readers and content texts (pp. 243-258). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum
Bruning, R. H., Schraw, G. J., & Norby, M. M. (2011). Cognitive psychology and instruction
(5th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education, inc.
Mayer, R. E. (2009). Multimedia learning. New York City: Cambridge University Press.
Miller, G. A. (1956). The magical number seven, plus or minus two: Some Limits on our
capacity for processing information. The Psychological Review, 81-97. Retrieved from
www.musanim.com/miller1956
Rogoff, B., Paradise, R., Arauz, R.M., Correa-Chaves, M., & Angelillo, C. (2003). Firsthand
learning through even participation. Annual Review of Psychology, 54, 175-203
Ruddell, M.R. (1994). Vocabulary knowledge and comprehension: A comprehension-process
view of complex literacy relationships. In R.B. Ruddell, M.R. Ruddell & H. Singer (Eds.),
Theoretical models and processes of reading (4th ed., pp. 414-447). Newark, DE: International
Reading Association
Salkind, N. J. (2013). Test & measurement for people who (think they) hate tests & measurement
(2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, inc.

References
Mayer, R. E. (2009). Multimedia learning. New York City: Cambridge University Press.

Learning to Read: A Cognitive Perspective

Miller, G. A. (1956). The magical number seven, plus or minus two: Some Limits on our
capacity for processing information. The Psychological Review, 81-97. Retrieved from
www.musanim.com/miller1956