Comparison of the effectiveness of comprehension and metacomprehension intervention programmes in poor comprehenders

Both comprehension training (CT) and metacomprehension training (MCT) have been shown to be effective in improving reading comprehension in poor comprehenders, but there has been no comparative analysis of their efficacy. This study compared CT and MCT with the objective of verifying their effectiveness in improving comprehension skills and determining which program produces the better results. Thirty elementary school students (average age = 9.35 years) and 30 middle school students (average age = 12.63 years) with deficits in reading comprehension and metacomprehension skills were assigned to three experimental conditions: CT, MCT and a control condition (C). Both training programs improved comprehension relative to the control group in both age groups, but MCT was more effective than CT. Training both cognitive skills and metacognitive skillsunderlying reading comprehension is the most effective way of improving reading in readers with poor comprehension.