Connecticut Mastery Test (Language Arts) and the Cognitive Strategies Promoted By Instrumental Enrichment
David S. Martin, Ph.D., for IC&TA November 2006
The following chart “maps” the skills assessed by the Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT) for Language Arts against the cognitive strategies that are explicitly taught in the Instrumental Enrichment (I.E.) thinking-skills program, for elementary and higher grade levels.
Objectives From CMT: Cognitive Strategies Taught in I.E.:
A. Forming General Understanding
Find main idea
Systematic exploration; staying relevant
Identify important text elements (characters, events, etc.)
Labeling; projecting relationships; developing point-of-view ; developing temporal relationships
Selecting relevant information
Staying relevant
Make predictions
Finding relationships; hypothesizing
Use context clues
Projecting relationships
B. Developing Interpretation
Infer author’s patterns
Finding patterns; hypothesizing
Draw conclusions
Using logic; analyzing
Support conclusions
Using logic to prove a point; definding opionion; using metacognition
C. Making Reader-Text Connections
Connection between text and outside experience
Applying strategies to life situations; “bridging”
Personally respond to text
Expressing individual viewpoints
D. Examining Content and Structure
Analysis of author’s craft
Analyzing; usijng two or more sources of information; understanding sequence
Synthesize information to evaluate the text
Comparing; categorizing; judging explaining what makes sense and what does not
Be aware of author’s beliefs and character’s beliefs
Breaking egocentric communication; developing different points-of-view
E. Editing and Revising
Content and Organization
Making a plan; organizing unorganized data; sequencing
Syntax
Overcoming trial-and-error; labeling
Word Choice
Comparing; broadening mental field; being precise
Mechanical Corrections
Being precise; exploring systematically; following instructions
F. Writing Prompt
Describe
Using two or more sources of information; labeling
Explain
Elaborating; using logic
Use details
Being precise; projecting relationships
Organize
Organizing; creating patterns