This article describes a study in which intrinsic motivation in students in regards to reading comprehension is studied. The study tested the idea that through presenting the students with situational interest, they would be able to create intrinsic motivation in the students, and therefore this would increase the students reading comprehension. For example, a student would do a simple lab experiment about chemical reactions and interest would be generated on this topic. The student would then read about the same types of chemical reactions. This student would then be able to form connections between the situation and the reading, and would gain better insight and develop a better sense of reading comprehension.
This topic is extremely interesting and useful to those in the field of education. This is a very important topic because there is so much weight being placed on standardized test scores, which more often than not, include reading comprehension. This article provides great insight into ways to increase reading compression in students through creating situations that create interest. Teachers who are looking to improve standardized test score and reading comprehension in students will be able to use this article to create lesson plans that use situational interest to increase motivation, and therefore increasing reading comprehension skills. This article also does a nice job of providing specific and realistic examples of ways to create extrinsic motivation in students, such as using pizza parties as rewards. This article could benefit from showing more mathematical evidence on the effectiveness of the method, rather than relying on verbally descriptive data.
This article connects greatly to the topic of diagnosing and treating reading comprehension problems because it directly addresses a way to increase reading comprehension in otherwise uninterested students. This article gives great suggestions for ways to increase motivation in students, and through getting the students engaged and involved, they are more likely to be interested in the reading material, and will therefore understand and comprehend it better. This article would be easily translated into the classroom because it provides a step by step plan for teachers to follow. Setting reading goals, providing interesting texts, and using hands on activities to spark interest are all methods that are described in this article that I believe I would want to use in the classroom.
References
Gutherie, J., Wigfield, A., Humenick, N., Perencevich, K., Taboada, A.,and Barbosa,A. (2006). Influences of Stimulating Tasks on Reading Motivation and Comprehension. The Journal of Educational Research. 99(4). 232-245.
