Running head: METACOGNITIVE STRATEGIES TO SUPPORT TIER 3 1

Metacognitive Strategies to Support Tier 3

Victoria MacDonald

University of South Florida

METACOGNITIVE STRATEGIES TO SUPPORT TIER 3 2

Background

To gain the bigger picture of this semester, I started off in a new school, with a new CT

(collaborating teacher), and a different group of students and so it turns out a new wondering.

With the change I was lucky enough to get the same grade, however with a completely different

philosophy in teaching style I may as well been put on a different planet. With the change in

teaching style and group of students came a whole new set of questions, which led to my

wondering now. Focusing in on the school and classroom, the demographics are similar to my

old internship school. In my third grade classroom we have 22 students. We have 4 students who

have 504 plans, 4 students that are ESE, 1 student considered ELL, and 5 students with medical

plans. We teach all subjects with the same set of students including reading, writing, math,

science and social studies. There is a heavy focus on English language arts because of the 3rd

grade retention if they do not pass the end of the year tests.

According to the data collected by the staff within the school from past years testing, the

students who are not within the white level in IRLA, but in lower levels like red, these

students are more likely to fail the end of the year tests. Students who have already been retained

and are in risk of being retained again or that have been in a 2R reading level for a long time

without moving up were put into Tier 3 groups with me and another intern. These students need

help with understanding breaking apart words, vocabulary and comprehension to move forward

into the white level in IRLA. After working with these students for a week I noticed that these

students were not thinking about what they were reading, about the questions I ask or even

coming up with their own thoughts about stories. They do not think about what they know or

why they know it. This is something that I worked on with students in the past who did not think

about their thinking. They struggle to move forward because they do not understand that they are
METACOGNITIVE STRATEGIES TO SUPPORT TIER 3 3

not understanding the content or the thinking processes. Therefore, the purpose of my inquiry

was to teach metacognitive strategies to students to help them move from 2R to white level

readers.

Wondering

Literature Connections

To learn more about my wondering, I consulted the literature by finding articles off of the

USF library database. I found articles by using key words such as metacognition, vocabulary and

comprehension support, reading small groups in elementary, and motivating struggling readers. I

focused my findings by making sure it was the full text, peer reviewed articles and available in

the library collection. From the articles I learned that metacognition strategies do support reading

comprehension and vocabulary. There are many strategies to try based off the articles to help

support students in these areas that I will explicitly teach over the course of 6 weeks. In addition,

I looked up that consistent small groups should improve student success in reading which is my

current goal with this inquiry. Many of the students in the small group are highly unmotivated

and continuously asks can I go back to my classroom? Do I have to be here? Therefore, based

off the article Motivation: Do struggling students need more? I will try to include things that

they can already do well to try to show the students they can do well in this area.

Article Citation Key Quotes and ideas related to your Ideas for taking action in your

wondering classroom
Karpicke, D., Butler, - Our survey results point to the - During group reading

C., & Roediger III, L. conclusion that many students do time (tier 3 group) I will

(2009). not view retrieval practice as a have the students read

METACOGNITIVE STRATEGIES TO SUPPORT TIER 3 4

Metacognitive strategy that promotes learning. and discuss while they

- During reading and summary time
strategies in student have their text. Then
spend more time using recall
learning: Do students summarize and I wont
methods without text versus letting
practise retrieval let them look back into
them go into the text to remember
when they study on the passage to recall.
events in the story.
their After incisal recall, then

own? Memory, 17(4), let students go back into

471479. the text for more details.

Boulware-Gooden, - Think about their thinking - I will start using these

- Strategies from article:
R., Carreker, S., - Ask questions before they read and strategies during small

Thornhill, A. and have them answer. I can jot down group reading time (tier 3

Joshi, R. M. (2007), their responses. They read the group).

- I will monitor their
Instruction of passage and they comment on the
progress based off the
Metacognitive questions and connections they
question answers before
Strategies Enhances make to the text quietly. Then we
reading, after reading and
Reading discuss the questions again.
- After reading talk about the main how well they understand
Comprehension and
idea, supporting details, and then the story with main idea
Vocabulary
additional details. While using a structure and summary
Achievement of
pyramid visual representation. reports.
Third-Grade - Write out the summary in as little

Students. The words possible while capturing the

Reading Teacher, 61: essence of the story. ( I will act as

7077. the scribe until they can do it on

METACOGNITIVE STRATEGIES TO SUPPORT TIER 3 5

their own).
Cubukcu, F. (2008). - Teach all these different
- Using strengths: While reading, I
Enhancing strategies to the students
exploit my personal strengths in
vocabulary and practice them. In
order to better understand the text. If
development and hoping that the students
I am a good reader, I focus on the
reading will use them while they
text; if I am good at figures and
comprehension are reading to support
diagrams, I focus on that
through their understanding.
information.
metacognitive

strategies. Issues In - Inferring meaning (through word

Educational analysis or other strategies): While I

Research, 18(1), 1- am reading, I try to determine the

11. meaning of unknown words that

http://www.iier.org.au seem critical to the meaning of the

/iier18/cubukcu.html text.

- Using background

information: While I am reading, I

reconsider and revise my

background knowledge about the

topic, based on the text's content.

- Evaluating: As I am reading, I

evaluate the text to determine

whether it contributes to my
METACOGNITIVE STRATEGIES TO SUPPORT TIER 3 6

knowledge/understanding of the

subject.

- Searching according to the goals: I

search out information relevant to

my reading goals.

- Reading goals: I evaluate whether

what I am reading is relevant to my

reading goals.

- Distinguishing: As I am reading, I

distinguish between information that

I already know and new

information.

- Deciding on the difficulty: I note

how hard or easy a text is to read.

- Revising: While I am reading, I

reconsider and revise my prior

questions about the topic, based on

the text's content.

- Guessing the later topics: I

anticipate information that will be

METACOGNITIVE STRATEGIES TO SUPPORT TIER 3 7

presented later in the text.

- Different strategies to use during

small group to help improve

vocabulary and comprehension.

Gaffner, J., Johnson, - Students who received the yearlong - Continuously having

K., Torres-Elias, A., treatment (n = 16) improved more small group reading time

& Dryden, L. (2014). substantially (p = .005) than those everyday over a period of

Guided Reading in who received the semester-only time should help the

First-Fourth Grade: treatment (n = 21), with treatment students improve their

Theory to duration accounting for 21% of the reading skills.

Practice. Texas variance between groups (in terms

Journal Of Literacy of FP-BAS reading levels and ISIP-

Education, 2(2), 117- ERA scores).

- Continuous small group support for
126.
reading helps students have quicker

gains.

HEBERT, C. R. - Find things that they are good at and - I hope I can bring

(1999). Motivation: build up from there. Sometimes as something that each

Do struggling teachers we focus on what they still student likes to do in the

students need need to learn students end up feeling group and involve that

more?. Reading like they will never get it or be able into the small group time.

Today, 16(4), 18. to do something. (Survey things they enjoy

METACOGNITIVE STRATEGIES TO SUPPORT TIER 3 8

doing.)

The first three articles have a common topic of metacognition because that will be the

focus of my teaching strategies throughout this semester. They all support the idea that using

metacognitive strategies supports reading in different ways. I am hoping to use some of these

strategies to support students in reading comprehension and vocabulary. By reading these articles

it has helped me to form a more focused and structured small group time to work with my three

students. I have different strategies to try each week to build on another in hopes that they will be

able to break down the text themselves without as much outside support.

Another concept I looked up was how small groups over a period of time should help

students in reading. I pulled this article because these students should be growing anyways just

from the continuous support, however I hope that the metacognitive strategies will give them a

little more support than just reteach. The students I am working with have a hard time thinking

that they can do this work or will try to answer without really thinking about the questions.

Therefore, I found an article that deals with motivation, this article states that I must find

something they are good at and work from there. I hope that I can include this into my small

groups that way each students feels themselves succeeding in the group. Thus, the actions I

decided to take based on the literature were to add metacognitive strategies into daily small

groups, while working in a way that is also motivation for each individual.

Methods/Procedures

To gain insight into my wondering, I started by making a plan for the first 2 weeks of my

30 minute tier 3 instruction group and it was to gather information on the students as learners and
METACOGNITIVE STRATEGIES TO SUPPORT TIER 3 9

get to know them as people. The groups original focus was supposed to be on phonics and

decoding multi-syllabic words, however I could see a shift in the students needs. The students

all seemed to be reading fluently with some error with uncommon errors, however they could not

answer many questions about the text that they read. This led to where I focused on in my

research and how I could help support them as learners. By gaining information about

metacognition, I found that there was a connection to how that relates to reading comprehension

and vocabulary, and I knew I was headed in the right direction to support my tier 3 group

students. I also then gathered information on how consistent group work in the long term

supports a students growth in reading. That what a teacher focuses on might depend on how a

child is motivated. For example, if a teacher only focuses on what a child cannot do, the student

will feel like they cannot do anything and will not try. However, when a teacher focuses on what

the students can accomplish the student will be more motivated to put in effort to something that

they are not excelling at.

I planned to teach the metacognitive strategies in chunks and focus on certain skills for a

few weeks then move on to a different strategy. The first strategies I focused on were from

Instruction of Metacognitive Strategies Enhances Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary

Achievement of Third-Grade Students by Boulware-Gooden, R., Carreker, S., Thornhill, A. and

Joshi, R. M. These strategies included a connections piece where they had to make connections

from the text based off question that were asked before they began to read, a main idea pyramid

that we created as a group, and a short summary that was written as a group. The first week of

these skills included me explicitly teaching and modeling what these strategies looked like and

what the expectations were. The second week moved towards a more whole group approach to

the practice and there were many discussions had about the text, but also about how to use the
METACOGNITIVE STRATEGIES TO SUPPORT TIER 3 10

strategy to better understand the text. The last week was almost at independent practice, however

because the strategies stayed group based there was still a lot of prompting and discussions

needed. Throughout this three-week section I took data in the form of student work, like answers

from the text questions, pictures of the main idea pyramids, and written summaries that the group

came up with together. By looking through this data I could see a huge disconnect between what

the students were able to answer about the text and the depth of our discussions. It looks like

they are not making many connections about our discussions and the questions in the text, based

off how many incorrect answers they had. Based off the anecdotal notes that I took during this

period I noted that the students were having a hard time reading and following directions, both

oral and written directions. It had me wondering if the students didnt understand the directions

and the questions asked in the text.

(2017, February). Student A, Student work 1.

Wesley Chapel, Fl.

METACOGNITIVE STRATEGIES TO SUPPORT TIER 3 11

2017, February). Student B, Student work 1. Wesley

Chapel, Fl.

(2017, February). Student C, Student work 1.

Wesley Chapel, Fl.

METACOGNITIVE STRATEGIES TO SUPPORT TIER 3 12

(2017, February). Main Idea Pyramid 2. Wesley

Chapel, Fl.

Moving forward for the next two weeks I focused on a summarizing strategy from

Metacognitive strategies in student learning: Do students practice retrieval when they study on

their own? by Karpicke, D., Butler, C., & Roediger III, L. While the article focused on how

recall studying effected college students in their schooling, I am bringing that down to the

elementary level of consistent recall to help the students better understand the text. When

explaining this strategy to the students, I had them read a short passage and after every paragraph

I would have them give me a one sentence summary of that paragraph. They would then have to

explain the whole passage using their short summaries put together. The first week we

accomplished this mostly through group discussion, but by the second week I moved them

towards independent practice and they reached mastery at different levels. I collected data

through student work in the form of their summaries and question and answers. At this point I

felt like the students were making some gains based off the discussions we held and I could tell

something was working for them. I also collected data in the form of notes from my peers. I was
METACOGNITIVE STRATEGIES TO SUPPORT TIER 3 13

not sure if I was collecting enough evidence to support my question and they lead me to add a

stronger focus on vocabulary and the students input on what strategies were working for them.

So during this two-week period I added a vocabulary section from readworks.org. Where the

students read part of a passage and then have to figure out the vocabulary based off prior

knowledge and context clues independently. This is how we started group time off for about 10

minutes. When I asked the students about what was helping them better understand text the

students mentioned discussions, visuals, and being able to write down quick thoughts or

summaries. I then made sure to make more discussion and talk time in the group with less

independent work and also different ways for them to write out their thoughts to help their own

thinking.

(2017, March). Student A, Student work,

Vocabulary 1. Wesley Chapel, Fl.

METACOGNITIVE STRATEGIES TO SUPPORT TIER 3 14

The last two weeks of the group time was focused on a randomized more personal set of

strategies that works best for the individual. The list of strategies I got from Enhancing

vocabulary development and reading comprehension through metacognitive strategies by

Cubukcu, F. The first week included the continuation of the vocabulary focus and then teaching

to these strategies. The final week included the students working and discussing the text while

answering questions about the text independently. Based off the anecdotal notes the three

different students all had different strengths that they preferred to use to help them better

understand the text to be able to answer questions about the text. I took data when I asked the

students what strategy(ies) they used to answer the questions about the text. I gathered student

work, which shows what they answered on questions about the text.

Throughout the whole process every Friday I only had the students to assess them using

DIBBLES oral reading fluency booklet 6th edition. The students had one minute three times to

complete the passage, then without the text they had to recall as much information as they could

within a minute. This will be my continuous way of understanding their growth in reading

fluency and comprehension, which in hope I will see growth. The students are pulled

independently during their normal group time, which makes for an easy Friday which they seem

to enjoy. Another form of data that was collected was students Independent Reading Level

Assessment (IRLA) scores. This is something that the students teachers do on the computer that

can show the students levels over a period of time. This will also help show how the students

have made comprehension and vocabulary progress or if they are still not meeting standards.
METACOGNITIVE STRATEGIES TO SUPPORT TIER 3 15

(2017, February). DIBBLES example. Wesley Chapel, Fl.

(2017, February). DIBBLES example. Wesley Chapel, Fl.

METACOGNITIVE STRATEGIES TO SUPPORT TIER 3 16

(2017, February). DIBBLES example. Wesley Chapel,

Fl.

Findings

As a result of analyzing my data, three important things I learned include:

Consistent small groups supports students in reading comprehension.

Explicitly teaching students to use metacognitive skills that work best for each

student improves comprehension.

Reviewing in context vocabulary throughout new text everyday created little growth

in vocabulary skills for this set of students.

Based off the data collection, consistent small groups support students in reading

comprehension. This data shows a gaining period of comprehension after working with the

students every day for 9 weeks. This correlates with the literature that states that continuous

small groups for support helps students make quicker gains (Gaffner, Johnson, Torres-Elias, &

Dryden, 2014).
METACOGNITIVE STRATEGIES TO SUPPORT TIER 3 17

The data supports this learning statement through student work. Throughout the tier 3 group

process I had students answer reading comprehension questions which resulted in percentage

grades. For example, Student A started with a 50% on a task which with support she reached

100% on the same task, however the next task she got a 25%, then 50%, 100%, and finally a 0%

on the finally task (also, found in chart in appendix b). There were gains made and then when the

question dug deeper into understanding the text she still couldnt understand the question. This

same student however made gains within IRLA from the time period I was working everyday

with her, while she was making slow gains before that period the data shows she made larger

gains during the period I worked with her.

Student B with those same comprehension questions made scores in order of date given of:

25%, 50%, 100%, 100%, and 100% (also, found in a chart in appendix b). This student also

made some gains in IRLA during the months that I worked with her, however these gains are

smaller. Smaller gains in the white level (on grade level) of IRLA are to be expected because of

the fact that students should/normally take a year to move through all the standards that are

connected with the white level. Student B also, constantly was able to retell stories from the

DIBBLES readings every week with an average of 47 words per minute of retelling. She made

gains and fell behind in the retelling portion which correlates with her ability to read the text as

well.

Student C destroyed most of the student work data until the last 2 data points of collection

which resulted in a 66% and then a 100% (also, found in a chart in appendix b). This student

varied in ability all throughout the period I worked with him depending on behavior and

difficulty of text. This student also made significant gains during the period I worked with him in

IRLA, however it looks as if he was starting on the uphill trend before I started working directly
METACOGNITIVE STRATEGIES TO SUPPORT TIER 3 18

with this student every day. Student C also had a high retell rate during DIBBLES of an average

of 50 words per minute.

Explicitly teaching students to use metacognitive skills that work best for each student

improves comprehension. The data supports the idea that when students can work with

something they are good with first they will grow in areas that they struggle with, in comparison

to focusing in on what they cannot do (Herberth, 1999).

Based off the student interview conducted during the middle of the 9 weeks, the students

were able to pin-point different strategies that helped them understand the text best, out of the

different skills we learned together as a group and from skills they learned outside of the group.

For example, Student B stated that just taking her time to read over the passages and maybe read

it a second time helps her understand the text better. In comparison, Student A, who stated that

focusing on pictures or writing short summaries about the text while she is reading helps her

remember and understand the text which is a strategy that we learned together as a group. Then

when the group focus was on skills that each student wanted to work with/ felt best helped them,

the students improved more dramatically. This can be displayed through the student work

percentages again. The students learned different ways to think about texts and what worked best

for themselves and I encouraged each student to lean on that skill to answer questions. So

especially towards the end their scores for the majority improved (percentages found in a chart in

appendix b).

I gathered antidotal notes on the students on their behavior in the group each week based

off their attention for the week, how much they participated, and how much they seemed to use

the strategies. According to the data, the students seemed to have gotten better with participation

and also how much they used strategies on their own. The correlation between their behaviors
METACOGNITIVE STRATEGIES TO SUPPORT TIER 3 19

between each other related with how much they used strategies. They didnt want each other to

know how much they used a support strategy at seemingly random moments from the outside

looking in.

Reviewing in context vocabulary throughout new text everyday created little growth in

vocabulary skills for this set of students. Based off the vocabulary assessments the students were

and still are in the failing marks for vocabulary understanding based off text, however the

students made slight progress, show in the Vocabulary Assessments Chart (appendix b). Also

demonstrating the slight gains in vocabulary understanding is Student B and Student C based off

their IRLA levels. To get into the white level of IRLA students have to be able to explain what 5

words mean without using the word in the explanation, then students are constantly assessed

from their texts. They need to show a better understanding of more complex words inside their

reading books. Therefore, the students had to of made gains in their vocabulary understanding to

get into and make gains in the white reading level of IRLA. However, while the students are

making slight gains the students do still need a lot of prompting and redirection to work their

way through to understand a new word based off the text.

Conclusion

References

Boulware-Gooden, R., Carreker, S., Thornhill, A. and Joshi, R. M. (2007), Instruction of

Metacognitive Strategies Enhances Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary

Achievement of Third-Grade Students. The Reading Teacher, 61: 7077.

METACOGNITIVE STRATEGIES TO SUPPORT TIER 3 20

Cubukcu, F. (2008). Enhancing vocabulary development and reading comprehension through

metacognitive strategies. Issues In Educational Research, 18(1), 1-11.

http://www.iier.org.au

/iier18/cubukcu.html

Gaffner, J., Johnson, K., Torres-Elias, A., & Dryden, L. (2014). Guided Reading in First-Fourth

Grade: Theory to Practice. Texas Journal Of Literacy Education, 2(2), 117-126.

HEBERT, C. R. (1999). Motivation: Do struggling students need more?. Reading Today, 16(4),

18.

Karpicke, D., Butler, C., & Roediger III, L. (2009). Metacognitive strategies in student learning:

Do students practise retrieval when they study on their own? Memory, 17(4), 471479.

Appendix A

Appendix B

Student Work- Comprehension Questions Percentages

1 2 3 4 5
Student A 50% 25% 50% 100% 0%
(100%
with
support)
Student B 25% 50% 100% 100% 100%
Student C 67% 100%

IRLA Growth- Student A

METACOGNITIVE STRATEGIES TO SUPPORT TIER 3 21

IRLA Growth- Student B

IRLA Growth- Student C

Vocabulary Assessments
Chart
Student A 0%
Student B 55%
Student C 34%