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Sociocultural Learning Theory
Sociocultural Learning Theory was introduced by Leo Vygotsky, a Russian psychologist in the 1920's and 1930's. Sociocultural Theory suggests that people's expereinces at home, at school, and in their communities can influence their reading development. Weakness- Students from diverse cultural backgrounds may engage with reading activities in ways that are not valued by schools and that teachers consider unacceptable. -
Sociocultural Learning Theory
Strength- When students read books or are asked to engage in reading activities they can draw on previous social & cultural experiences to help them understand what they should do and why. Interesting Fact- Students' views of reading and the purpose of it, are often shaped at home before they enter kindergarten. -
Schema Theory
Schema Theory- 1932 Psychologist Frederic Bartlett proposes this schema theory. Schema Theory is based on the notion that past expereinces lead to the creation of mental frameworks that help a reader make sense of new expereinces. Weakness- Reading comprehension is likely to be limited if a person does not possess sufficient background information for the information being presented. Strength- Students can draw on their own knowledge of the world to help them understand what they read. -
Schema Theory
Interesting Fact- How well people can understand what they read is connected to the topic being presented and the amount of knowledge they have on it. -
Traditional Theory or Bottoms-Up
Strength- Bottom-Up theories of the reading process explain the decoding part of the reading process, extremely well. Interesting Fact- A widely accepted instructional program that incorporates several bottom-up principles is the phonic approach to reading. -
Identity Theory
Identity Theory was formulated by Henri Tajfel & John Turner in the 1970's & 1980's. Identity Theory suggests that how students read texts and apply reading instruction will be connected to how they identify themselves as readers and how they want to be identified by others. Strength- Students who are identified as good readers or who show they are trying to become good readers are more likely to receive additional personalized help. -
Identity Theory
Weakness- Students who identify themselves as poor readers may disengage from reading because they are afraid that doing so will publicly reveal their weaknesses and allow a negative identity to be assigned to them. Teachers may interpret students' decisions as a desire not to learn and may respond by limiting the personal help they provide. Interesting Fact- In school, teachers often communicate what it means to be identified as a good or poor reader. -
Traditional Theory or Bottoms-Up
Traditional Theory or Bottoms-Up was developed in the1950's-1960's. One of the strongest advocates of the bottom-up approach was James Gibson. Traditional Theory, or bottom up processing is a theory which focused on the printed form of a text. Weakness- In the beginning stages it gives little emphasis to the influences of the reader's world knowledge, contextual information, and other higher-order processing strategies.
