CHAPTER 1

THE PROBLEM AND ITS SCOPE

Rationale

One of the most famous reinforcement of the students in terms of ways of

memorizing class lessons is the chocolates. In fact, there are several notions that the

students use it as a medium to understand well the lessons taught in school.

According to a Special article in 2017, Effects of Chocolate on Cognitive Function

and Mood by Andrew Scholey and Lauren Owen, chocolate originates from Mexico,

where an ancient tribe called the Olmecs was the first to domesticate the plant and use

the beans and named it “Kakawa” or cacao. The Toltecs emerged to challenge the

empire of the Mayans and also saw cacao as a divine gift, believing the god Quetzalcoatl

had given the bean to humans and taught them how to cultivate it. Chocolate is a typical

sweet, usually brown, food preparation of Theobroma cacao seeds, roasted and ground,

often flavored, as with vanilla. It is made in a form of liquid, paste or in a block or used

as a flavoring ingredient in other sweet foods (K. Harita, 2014).

Chocolate contains a number of ingredients that have the potential to influence

neurocognitive function. Among these are carbohydrates, which have known behavioral

effects. However, given the large body of literature on the effects of carbohydrates and

glucose on cognition for purposes of this review the potential neurocognitive effects of

carbohydrates in chocolate are restricted to the effects of carbohydrates in chocolate

1
craving. It was not possible to include carbohydrates effect in this systematic review

(Scholey and Owen, 2017).

There are many studies that make chocolate a blessing in improving human

intelligence. But in a new review published in May 2017 Edition of Frontiers in Nutrition

analyzed the evidence to date that Flavanols (found in dark chocolate and cocoa) may

not benefit human function and just make it as a misconception. It is concluded while

they are making a study and found that chocolate doesn’t affect writing and reading

skills of the respondents. Another 2015 article, ‘Why Students Love Chocolate?’ found

out that dark chocolates were used by the students as a support when they are going to

have examination in school to get good scores.

Misconception or not, it is determined and possible that intelligence or other

measures of high brain function are actually improved by the consumption of chocolate

(Shmerling, 2014).Chocolate as a fortified support of the students in terms of achieving

cognitive developments, this study aims to find out the effects of Dark Chocolates

among mixed-age pupils of Upper Elementary Department in Rosemont Hills Montessori

College (RHMC).

2
Theoretical Background

The researchers will use the Schema Theory of John Piaget in 1936. The theory

found out the concept of schema (plural: schemata) to understand the interaction of

key factors affecting the comprehension process created and approved by the linguists,

cognitive psychologists, and psycholinguists. Simply put, schema theory states that all

knowledge is organized into units. Within these units of knowledge, or schemata, is

stored information. A schema, then, is a generalized description or a conceptual system

for understanding knowledge-how knowledge is represented and how it is used.

According to this theory, schemata represent knowledge about concepts: objects and

the relationships they have with other objects, situations, events, sequences of events,

actions, and sequences of actions (Brewer, 2014).

This study will also use Cognitive Development Theory of Jean Piaget in 1936

wherein it contributes a stage theory of a child’s cognitive development, detailed

observational studies of cognition in children, and a series of simple but ingenious test

to reveal different cognitive abilities. This theory explains how a child constructs a

mental model of the world. He disagreed with the idea that intelligence was a fixed trait,

and regarded cognitive development as a process which occurs due to biological

maturation and interaction with the environment (Mcleud, 2018).

Aside from the two theories of Jean Piaget, the researchers will also use Social

Learning Theory of Albert Bandura in 1977 which he believes that humans are active

information processors and think about the relationship between their behavior and its

3
consequences. Observational learning could not occur unless cognitive processes were

at work. These mental factors mediate (i.e., intervene) in the learning process to

determine whether a new response is acquired. Aside from these, it is also stated that

individuals do not automatically observe the behavior of a model and imitate it. Thus,

there is some thought prior to imitation, and this consideration is called meditational

processes. This occurs between observing the behavior (stimulus) and imitating it or not

(response). The theory states more to modeling skills of an individual where it refers to

a social-influence process whereby observation of another performing a behavior

influences the likelihood of a person to engage on the same thing.

Related Literature

Chocolates contain ingredients that would benefit human body. According to a

review of chocolate's health effects published in the Netherlands Journal of Medicine in

2016, it's not all bad news. John Thomas, the author of this book, point to the discovery

that cocoa, the key ingredient in chocolate, contains biologically active phenolic

compounds.

This has changed people's views on chocolate, and it has stimulated research

into how it might impact aging, and conditions such as oxidative stress, blood pressure

regulation, and atherosclerosis. Chocolate's antioxidant potential may have a range of

health benefits. The higher the cocoa content, as in dark chocolate, the more benefits

4
there are. Dark chocolate may also contain less fat and sugar, but it is important to

check the label. Eating chocolate may have the following benefits:

 lowering cholesterol levels

 preventing cognitive decline

 reducing the risk of cardiovascular problems

It is important to note that the possible health benefits mentioned above came

from single studies. More research is needed to confirm that eating chocolate can really

improve people's health. In addition, chocolate bars do not contain only cocoa. The

benefits and risks of any other ingredients, such as sugar and fat, need to be considered.

According to an article of Annie Price in 2018, ‘8 Awesome Health Benefits of

Dark Chocolate’, there are eight health benefits dark chocolate has to offer. The average

American consumes roughly 12 pounds of chocolate each year, and over $75 billion is

spent annually worldwide on chocolate. There is a lot of chocolate eating going on

regularly, which is why I want to help you make the smart, healthy choice. That way you

can have your chocolate without guilt and with health benefits of dark chocolate to

boot:

1. Protection from Disease-Causing Free Radicals

2. Potential Cancer Prevention

3. Improved Heart Health

4. Good for Overall Cholesterol Profile

5. Changes in Cognitive Function

5
6. Blood Pressure and Blood Sugar Aid

7. Antioxidant-Rich Superfood

8. Potential Vision Booster

According to an article of Mark Stibich in 2018, The health benefits of Dark

Chocolate, Chocolate is made from plants, which means it contains many of the health

benefits of dark vegetables as part of your anti-aging diet. These benefits are

from flavonoids, which act as antioxidants. Antioxidants protect the body from aging

caused by free radicals, which can cause damage that leads to heart disease. Dark

chocolate contains a large number of antioxidants (nearly 8 times the number found in

strawberries). Flavonoids also help relax blood pressure through the production of nitric

oxide and balance certain hormones in the body. In fact, cocoa and chocolate products

have been used as medicine in many cultures for centuries. There are health benefits in

Dark Chocolate. Dark chocolate is good for your heart. A small bar of it every day can

help keep your heart and cardiovascular system running well. Two heart health benefits

of dark chocolate are:

 Lower blood pressure: Studies have shown that consuming a small bar of dark

chocolate every day can reduce blood pressure in individuals with high blood

pressure.

 Lower cholesterol: Dark chocolate has also been shown to reduce LDL cholesterol

(the bad cholesterol) by up to 10 percent; And the other benefits are:

 It stimulates endorphin production, which gives a feeling of pleasure.

6
 It contains serotonin, which acts as an anti-depressant.

 It contains theobromine, caffeine and other substances which are stimulants.

Related Studies

According to an experimental study of Clare Collins in 2016 entitled ‘Does eating

chocolate improve your brain function?’, dark chocolates are thought to improve

alertness and so can improve brain function. The 968 participants of the study were

from the Syracuse University. The participants undertake questionnaires and physical

examinations at various intervals so researchers can determine changes associated with

ageing, the development of heart disease and also cognitive performance. the

participants reported how often during the week they ate a variety of foods, including

chocolate, meat, eggs, breads, rice, fruit, vegetables, dairy, nuts and beverages such as

tea, coffee, water, fruit juice and alcohol. Chocolate was not differentiated according to

whether it was dark, milk or white chocolate. The participants reported their food intake

retrospectively via a questionnaire. The researchers compared those who never or

rarely ate chocolate (337 people) and those who ate chocolate at least once a week (631

people). Participants were given various brain function tests – including remembering

where things were spatial memory, abstract reasoning, working memory and attention.

The relationships between chocolate intake and performance on the cognitive tasks

were then analyzed. The results from people who had dementia were excluded, as this

is a serious cognitive impairment, as were people who had experienced a stroke, as this

7
would skew the results. The participants reported that they ate chocolate more than

once a week performed better in most of the cognitive tests, particularly on their

“visual-spatial memory and organization” score. There was no relationship with working

memory. More women were self-reported chocolate eaters, so this could bias the

results. Women often perform better than men in certain tests of cognitive function,

particularly in the elderly. The chocolate-eating group was less likely to have high blood

pressure or diabetes and had lower fasting blood glucose levels (indicative of pre-

diabetes) than non-chocolate-eating participants. However, chocolate eaters had higher

cholesterol, including low-density lipoprotein (bad) cholesterol, which is associated with

poorer cardiovascular health. Chocolate is often demonized due to the high sugar and

fat content in chocolate bars and its association with “guilty pleasure”. But cocoa (or

chocolate in its raw form) actually contains lots of compounds that act in the brain. In

particular, cocoa contains flavonoids, which are found in fruits such as grapes and

apples. Cocoa also contains caffeine and theobromine, which are the stimulants found

in coffee and tea. These natural compounds are thought to improve alertness and so

can improve brain function.

According to an experimental study conducted by Sarah Berry in 2014 in an

article entitled, ‘Could eating chocolate save your memory?’, chocolates can increase

mental understanding where 30 volunteers from University of California were given a

compound in chocolate, called flavanol mixed in hot cocoa drinks. The volunteers were

then asked to count backwards in groups of three from a random number between 800

and 999 generated by a computer. The findings show that they could do the calculations

8
more quickly and more accurately after they had been given the drink. However, the

same was not true when the volunteers were asked to count backwards in groups of

seven, which the researchers described as a more complex task, requiring a slightly

different part of the brain. The findings also show that the volunteers did not feel tired

while doing the calculations. All this happened with only 500mg of flavanol found in

chocolates.

In a study conducted by the scientist from University of Düsseldorfand in the

year 2014, the scientists had randomly given some dark chocolate drink to a group of 37

healthy volunteers. They named their study ‘Can Chocolate Increase Brain

Cognition?’They conducted brain imaging and memory tests on the volunteers aged

between 50 and 69, before and after the three-month study. According to the lead

author, when they imaged their research subjects' brains, they found noticeable

improvements in the function of the dentate gyrus in those who consumed the high-

cocoa-flavanol drink. The group on the high-flavanol drink also performed better in the

memory test. According to a senior author Dr. Scott Small, a professor of neurology, in

his statement he said that if a participant had the memory of a typical 60-year-old at the

beginning of the study, after three months, that person on average had the memory of a

typical 30 or 40-year-old. Other experts have called the study's findings "promising" but

pointed out that it was a "very small" study so needs to be conducted on a larger scale

or low in flavanols.

9
Conceptual Framework

Schema Theory (Jean Piaget, 1936)

Cognitive Development Theory (Jean Piaget, 1936)
Social Learning Theory (Albert Bandura, 1977)

Impact of Dark Chocolates to the Mixed Age

Upper Elementary Pupils in RHMC

Chocolates

R1: With Chocolate R2: W/o Chocolate

Reading Comprehension Test Examination

Analyze the collected data

Findings, Conclusions, and

Recommendation

Fg. 1 Schematic Diagram

The researchers will use the theories of Jean Piaget and Albert Bandura; Schema

Theory (1936), Cognitive Development Theory (1936), and Social Learning Theory (1977)

to the mixed-aged upper elementary pupils of RHMC. The test examination will be two

10
weeks and on the first week, 30 respondents, equally divided, will be used to participate

in this study. Fifteen will have the intervention and the rest will not have. After the

experimentation of reading a story, both groups will take the examination. This will do

for about 1 hour each day for 5 days on the first week. On the other week, same process

but the group who took on eating dark chocolates will be the group who will not eat,

and the group who did not eat dark chocolates will be the one to eat. This will be on the

same process on the experimentation and examination on the second week of the

study. The researcher will consume 10 days for data gathering, 10 different stories and

sets of questions for the examination, and 50 pieces of Goya Dark Chocolate for the

experimentation. After two weeks of data gathering, the researchers will analyze the

gathered data and will test their hypothetical statement by making conclusions. Thus,

the researchers can now have their part in recommendation.

11
The Problem

Statement of the Problem

Chocolates became a controversial reinforcement of the students nowadays in

terms of memorizing things while eating it. In fact, they really believe that something

has changed in their skills such as memorization, understanding, and cognitive abilities.

This study aims to answer out if eating dark chocolates will help student’s reading

comprehension.

The following questions are generated by the researches as a guide to what they

want to find out after the study.

1. What is the percentage of the pupils performance in:

1.1 With Chocolate condition and passed the reading comprehension test examination;

1.2 With Chocolate condition and did not passed the reading comprehension test

examination;

1.3 Without Chocolate condition and passed the reading comprehension test

examination;

1.4 Without Chocolate condition and did not passed the reading comprehension test

examination.

12
2. Is there any significant difference between the ability of the pupils’ who are eating

dark chocolates and the pupils who are not eating dark chocolates in terms of their

reading comprehension skills?

3. Is there any significant difference between the scores of the pupils who ate dark

chocolates and the pupils who did not eat dark chocolates?

Research Hypothesis

Ho1 There is no significant difference between the scores of the pupils who ate dark

chocolates and the pupils who did not eat dark chocolates.

Ho2 There is no significant difference between the ability of the pupils’ who are

eating dark chocolates and the pupils who are not eating dark chocolates in terms of

their reading comprehension skills.

Significance of the Study

The researchers strongly believe that this study about chocolates as a help in a

student’s reading comprehension will be a great help to the following:

The Mixed-age Upper-elementary pupils of RHMC will be given helpful

information if eating dark chocolates will help them in their class.

13
 The Mixed-age Upper Elementary teachers and faculty members of RHMC will

be given an idea if they can use dark chocolates inside classes to help their students.

Also, it will make them aware about the effects chocolate give either as if they can also

use it for the teachers and faculty members.

The Department of Education will be delighted for they will be given information

about chocolates if they can add it to their articles in their curriculum.

The Department of Health will be benefited for it will lead them to further

studies engaging everyone to the effects of chocolates.

The Future Researchers will have further investigations having strong evidences

about Dark Chocolates.

Scope and Delimitation

The researchers ought to find out the effects of eating dark chocolates in the

reading comprehension of the mixed aged pupils grades 4, 5 and 6. The researchers

would like to involve the whole Danao City but is only able to induct this study in RHMC.

Among the whole population of RHMC, the researchers will only use 30 pupils of

Mixed-age Upper Elementary Department. The study covers only ten days having

maximum of 2 hours each day. The researchers will ask the profile including the name

and the grade level and their answer towards the test examination and experimentation

and will only test their reading comprehension through the use of the data gathering

tool which is the researcher’s made questionnaire. In addition, the identicalness of the

14
respondents are known to be dynamic and confidential and such, was highly cover by

the researcher to be in secure for the exclusive use of the researcher and will not be

shared.

Definition of Terms

Dark Chocolates – It is a tool that is being tested by the researchers upon knowing its

effect on reading comprehension.

Fingers – It is the measurement for identifying the amount of dark chocolate that will be

given to the study participants.

Flavonol – It is a compound found in all dark chocolates and is scientifically proven to be

helpful in the human body.

Mixed-Age Upper Elementary Pupils – It is composed of three grade levels which are

grades 4, 5, and 6 to be specific.

Reading Articles – It is one of the researcher’s instruments in this study which will be

given amongst pupils to test their reading comprehension.

Rosemont Hills Montessori College (RHMC) – It is where the researchers will conduct

the study.

15
 Chapter 2

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the research design, research environment, research

subjects, research procedure, research instrument, and statistical treatment of the

study.

Research Design

In our data gathering, the researchers will use Post Test Only Design. The Post

Test Only Design is simple and straightforward. This type of design can be done with one

group (no comparison group), or two groups (with comparison group) of participants.

The participants received a treatment or intervention and will be tested onwards. In this

study, the participants will undergo an experiment by eating and not eating dark

chocolates while reading a story. After the experimentation, the participants will answer

some questions based on the story to test whether dark chocolates help reading

comprehension, or not. In order for the experiment to be both reliable and valid, it is

important that this design will be helpful in getting data.

Research Environment

The researchers will conduct their study inside Rosemont Hills Montessori

College that is located at Deca Homes, Sabang, Danao City. It is convenient to the

researchers and it is a good place to conduct the study because there are a variety of

16
year levels in choosing respondents. Aside from its convenience, this school is an

English-speaking school and will be relevant because the study is all about reading

comprehension and the respondents will read English stories.

Fg.2 Location Map of Research Environment

Research Subjects

The respondents of this study are the mixed-age upper elementary pupils of

Rosemont Hills Montessori College. The researchers choose mixed-age in order to

qualify the random sampling technique. Aside, they chose these types of respondents

because the researchers believe them to be at concrete-operational stage, one of the

stages of Piaget’s Cognitive Development theory in order to justify it.

Research Procedure

The researchers will first go to the school’s executive office and asks for

permission to make the experiment for the mixed-age pupils of upper elementary

17
department of RHMC. The researchers will use random sampling technique. The

researchers will give the pupils a number different to one another and have a shuffling

method to know who will eat dark chocolates for the first week. Then if granted, the

researchers will make use the first week to give an experiment to the pupils by giving

the half, a chocolate, and the other half will not have while reading a whole story. Then

the research respondents will answer the questions regarding to their understanding on

the story. This will happen for five days, consecutively. After the first week, the students

who have eaten the chocolate will be the control group while the other half will now be

the students who will eat the chocolates on the second week. Then they are going to

undergo the same process. Then after the two-week experiment, the researchers will

analyze the given data, make conclusions, and have their research recommendation.

Research Instrument

The researchers will prepare ten different English stories to be given to the

pupils as a reading material. They will provide also ten researcher-made questionnaires

based on the story. The first part of the questionnaire is where the respondents will put

their profile like their name, age, date, and their score after they answer the reading

comprehension test questions. The next part is the story-based questions made by the

researchers where they will answer to test their comprehension on reading. The

researchers also will prepare dark chocolates for the intervention and as a testing

material to know its effect in the child’s cognitive function.

18
Statistical Treatment

The following are the formulas the researchers will use in analyzing data.

A. Simple Percentage Formula

To analyze the percentage of the scores of the respondents, the Simple

Percentage Formula will be utilized:

𝑓
𝑅= ∗ 100
𝑛

where:

f- frequency

n- total number of respondents

R- percentage rate

B. Mean

The mean will be applied in order to get the performance of pupils in their

reading comprehension. The researchers will use this formula:

∑𝑋
𝑀= 𝑁

where:

M= mean

∑= summation

X= scores attained by the students

N= total

19
Correlated (or Paired) T Test: The correlated T test is performed when the samples typically
consist of matched pairs of similar units, or when there are cases of repeated measures. For
example, there may be instances of same patients being tested repeatedly - before and after
taking a particular treatment. In such cases, each patient is being used as a control sample
against themselves. This method can also applies on cases where the samples are related in
some manner or have matching characteristics, like a comparative analysis involving children,
parents or siblings. Correlated or paired T tests are of dependent type, as these involve cases
where the two sets of samples are related.

The formula for computing the t-value and degrees of freedom for paired T test is:

mean1 and mean2 are the average values of each of the sample sets,
while var1 and var2 represent the variance of each of the sample sets.

The remaining two types belong to the independent T tests. The samples of these types are
selected independent of each other – that is, the data sets in the two groups don’t refer to the
same values. They include cases like a group of 100 patients being split into two sets of 50 each.
One of the groups becomes the control group and is given placebo, while the other group gets

20
the prescribed treatment. This constitutes two independent sample groups which are unpaired
with each other.

Equal Variance (or pooled) T Test: The equal variance T test is used when the number of
samples in each groups is the same, or the variance of the two data sets is similar. The following
formula is used for calculating t-value and degrees of freedom for equal variance T test:

Unequal Variance T Test: The unequal variance T test is used when the number of samples in
each group is different and the variance of the two data sets is also different. This test is also
called the Welch's t-test. The following formula is used for calculating t-value and degrees of
freedom for unequal variance T test:

Determining the Right T Test to Use

The following flowchart can be used to determine which T test should be used based on the
characteristics of the sample sets. The key items to be considered include whether the sample
records are similar, the number of data records in each sample set, and the variance of each
sample set.

21
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22
Schema Theory Linguists, cognitive psychologists, and psycholinguists have used the

concept of schema (plural: schemata) to understand the interaction of key factors

affecting the comprehension process. Simply put, schema theory states that all

knowledge is organized into units. Within these units of knowledge, or schemata, is

stored information. A schema, then, is a generalized description or a conceptual system

for understanding knowledge-how knowledge is represented and how it is used.

According to this theory, schemata represent knowledge about concepts: objects and

23
the relationships they have with other objects, situations, events, sequences of events,

actions, and sequences of actions. A simple example is to think of your schema for dog.

Within that schema you most likely have knowledge about dogs in general (bark, four

legs, teeth, hair, tails) and probably information about specific dogs, such as collies (long

hair, large, Lassie) or springer spaniels (English, docked tails, liver and white or black and

white, Millie). You may also think of dogs within the greater context of animals and

other living things; that is, dogs breathe, need food, and reproduce. Your knowledge of

dogs might also include the fact that they are mammals and thus are warm-blooded and

bear their young as opposed to laying eggs. Depending upon your personal experience,

the knowledge of a dog as a pet (domesticated and loyal) or as an animal to fear (likely

to bite or attack) may be a part of your schema. And so it goes with the development of

a schema. Each new experience incorporates more information into one's schema. What

does all this have to do with reading comprehension? Individuals have schemata for

everything. Long before students come to school, they develop schemata (units of

knowledge) about everything they experience. Schemata become theories about reality.

These theories not only affect the way information is interpreted, thus affecting

comprehension, but also continue to change as new information is received. As stated

by Rumelhart (1980), schemata can represent knowledge at all levels-from ideologies

and cultural truths to knowledge about the meaning of a particular word, to knowledge

about what patterns of excitations are associated with what letters of the alphabet. We

have schemata to represent all levels of our experience, at all levels of abstraction.

Finally, our schemata are our knowledge. All of our generic knowledge is embedded in

24
schemata. (p. 41) The importance of schema theory to reading comprehension also lies

in how the reader uses schemata. This issue has not yet been resolved by research,

although investigators agree that some mechanism activates just those schemata most

relevant to the reader's task. Reading Comprehension as Cognitive-Based Processing

There are several models based on cognitive processing (see Ruddell, Ruddell, & Singer,

1994, p. 813). For example, the LaBerge-Samuels Model of Automatic Information

Processing (Samuels, 1994) emphasizes internal aspects of attention as crucial to

comprehension. Samuels(1994, pp. 818-819) defines three characteristics of internal

attention. The first, alertness, is the reader's active attempt to access relevant schemata

involving letter-sound relationships, syntactic knowledge, and word meanings.

Selectivity, the second characteristic, refers to the reader's ability to attend selectively

to only that information requiring processing. The third characteristic, limited capacity,

refers to the fact that our human brain has a limited amount of cognitive energy

available for use in processing information. In other words, if a reader's cognitive energy

is focused on decoding and attention cannot be directed at integrating, relating, and

combining the meanings of the words decoded, then comprehension will suffer.

"Automaticity in information processing, then, simply means that information is

processed with little attention" (Samuels, 1994, p. 823). Comprehension difficulties

occur when the reader cannot rapidly and automatically access the concepts and

knowledge stored in the schemata. One other example of a cognitive-based model is

Rumelhart's (1994) Interactive Model. Information from several knowledge sources

(schemata for letter-sound relationships, word meanings, syntactic relationships, event

25
sequences, and so forth) are considered simultaneously. The implication is that when

information from one source, such as word recognition, is deficient, the reader will rely

on information from another source, for example, contextual clues or previous

experience. Stanovich (1980) terms the latter kind of processing interactive-

compensatory because the reader (any reader) compensates for deficiencies in one or

more of the knowledge sources by using information from remaining knowledge

sources. Those sources that are more concerned with concepts and semantic

relationships are termed higherlevel stimuli; sources dealing with the print itself, that is

phonics, sight words, and other word-attack skills, are termed lower level stimuli. The

interactive-compensatory model implies that the reader will rely on higher-level

processes when lower-level processes are inadequate, and vice versa. Stanovich (1980)

extensively reviews research demonstrating such compensation in both good and poor

readers. Reading Comprehension as Sociocognitive Processing A sociocognitive

processing model takes a constructivist view of reading comprehension; that is, the

reader, the text, the teacher, and the classroom community are all involved in the

construction of meaning. Ruddell and Ruddell (1994, p. 813) state, "The role of the

classroom's social context and the influence of the teacher on the reader's meaning

negotiation and construction are central to this model [developed by R. B. Ruddell and

N. J. Unrau] as it explores the notion that participants in literacy events form and reform

meanings in a hermeneutic [interpretation] circle." In other words, this model views

comprehension as a process that involves meaning negotiation among text, readers,

teachers, and other members of the classroom community. Schema for text meanings,

26
academic tasks, sources of authority (i.e., residing within the text, the reader, the

teacher, the classroom community, or some interaction of these), and sociocultural

settings are all brought to the negotiation task. The teacher's role is one of

orchestration of the instructional setting, and being knowledgeable about

teaching/learning strategies and about the world. Reading Comprehension as

Transactional The transactional model takes into account the dynamic nature of

language and both aesthetic and cognitive aspects of reading. According to Rosenblatt

(1994, p. 1063), "Every reading act is an event, or a transaction involving a particular

reader and a particular pattern of signs, a text, and occurring at a particular time in a

particular context. Instead of two fixed entities acting on one another, the reader and

the text are two aspects of a total dynamic situation. The 'meaning' does not reside

ready-made 'in' the text or 'in' the reader but happens or comes into being during the

transaction between reader and text." Thus, text without a reader is merely a set of

marks capable of being interpreted as written language. However, when a reader

transacts with the text, meaning happens. Schemata are not viewed as static but rather

as active, developing, and ever changing. As readers transact with text they are changed

or transformed, as is the text. Similarly, "the same text takes on different meanings in

transactions with different readers or even with the same reader in different contexts or

times" (Rosenblatt, 1994, p. 1078). Reading Comprehension as Transactional-

Sociopsycholinguistic Building on Rosenblatt's transactional model, Goodman (1994)

conceptualizes literacy processing as including reading, writing, and written texts. He

states, Texts are constructed by authors to be comprehended by readers. The meaning

27
is in the author and the reader. The text has a potential to evoke meaning but has no

meaning in itself; meaning is not a characteristic of texts. This does not mean the

characteristics of the text are unimportant or that either writer or reader are

independent of them. How well the writer constructs the text and how well the reader

reconstructs it and constructs meaning will influence comprehension. But meaning does

not pass between writer and reader. It is represented by a writer in a text and

constructed from a text by a reader. Characteristics of writer, text, and reader will all

influence the resultant meaning. (p. 1103) In a transactional-sociopsycholinguistic view,

the reader has a highly active role. It is the individual transactions between a reader and

the text characteristics that result in meaning. These characteristics include physical

characteristics such as orthographythe alphabetic system, spelling, punctuation; format

characteristics such as paragraphing, lists, schedules, bibliographies; macrostructure or

text grammar such as that found in telephone books, recipe books, newspapers, and

letters; and wording of texts such as the differences found in narrative and expository

text. Understanding is limited, however, by the reader's schemata, making what the

reader brings to the text as important as the text itself. The writer also plays an

important role in comprehension. Additionally, readers' and writers' schemata are

changed through transactions with the text as meaning is constructed. Readers'

schemata are changed as new knowledge is assimilated and accommodated. Writers'

schemata are changed as new ways of organizing text to express meaning are

developed. According to Goodman (1994): How well the writer knows the audience and

has built the text to suit that audience makes a major difference in text predictability

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and comprehension. However, since comprehension results from reader-text

transactions, what the reader knows, who the reader is, what values guide the reader,

and what purposes or interests the reader has will play vital roles in the reading process.

It follows that what is comprehended from a given text varies among readers. Meaning

is ultimately created by each reader. (p. 1127) Reading Comprehension as Influenced by

Attitude Mathewson's (1994) Model of Attitude Influence upon Reading and Learning to

Read is derived from the area of social psychology. This model attempts to explain the

roles of affect and cognition in reading comprehension. The core of the attitude-

influence model explains that a reader's whole attitude toward reading (i.e., prevailing

feelings and evaluative beliefs about reading and action readiness for reading) will

influence the intention to read, in turn influencing reading behavior. Intention to read is

proposed as the primary mediator between attitude and reading. Intention is defined as

"commitment to a plan for achieving one or more reading purposes at a more or less

specified time in the future" (Mathewson, 1994, p. 1135). All other moderator variables

(e.g., extrinsic motivation, involvement, prior knowledge, and purpose) are viewed as

affecting the attitudereading relationship by influencing the intention to read.

Therefore, classroom environments that include well-stocked libraries, magazines,

reading tables, and areas with comfortable chairs will enhance students' intentions to

read. Mathewson (1994, p. 1148) states, "Favorable attitudes toward reading thus

sustain intention to read and reading as long as readers continue to be satisfied with

reading outcomes."

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Brewer, W. F. (2014). State University. Retrieved from Net Industries:

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K. Harita, L. K. (2014). Health Benefits of Dark Chocolate.

Mcleud, S. (2018). Simply Psychology. Retrieved from Creative Commons:

https://www.simplypsychology.org/piaget.html

Price, A. (2018). 8 Awesome Health Benefits of Dark Chocolate.

Reichelt, A. (2016). Does Eating Chocolate Improve your Brain Function?

Shmerling, R. H. (2014). Your Brain on Chocolate.

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Thomas, J. (2015). Netherland's Journal of Medicine.

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