Making the Invisible Visible - Using Equalities as Metaphors of Critical Thinking and Reading Comprehension

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Dipper

Quasiexperimental research investigates how “Equalities as Metaphors” instruction influences grade 7 students’ critical thinking and reading comprehension compared with traditional language arts teaching. A nonrandom sample of 43 students from one elementary school in Northern New Jersey participated, with 21 assigned to the intervention group and 22 to the control group. Pretest-posttest results using a nonrandom control-group t-test show instruction affects both outcomes regardless of method, yet the intervention group significantly outperforms the control group. The study recommends expanding the approach across a full instructional year.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages10

Reading Time25 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Study purpose and participants

Instructional conditions and assessment

Findings and recommendation

Anatolian Journal of Education e-ISSN: 2547-9652 April 2022 ● Vol. 7, No.1 [www.e-aje.net](www.e-aje.net)[ ](www.e-aje.net)pp. 197-206 Making the Invisible Visible: Using Equalities as Metaphors of Critical Thinking and Reading Comprehension Anthony Collins Dr. University of Phoenix, USA, [anthonycollins1102@email.phoenix.edu](anthonycollins1102@email.phoenix.edu) Critical thinkers and proficient readers use a composite of similar cognitive skills that are challenging to assess and difficult to cultivate. Therefore, students and teachers require an instructional model that demonstrates the acuity involved in these proficiencies. This quasiexperimental study aimed to investigate the impact of Equalities as Metaphors instruction on the critical thinking and reading comprehension achievement of grade 7 students during and after language arts instruction versus traditional teaching methods. A nonrandom sample of 43 grade 7 students from one elementary school in Northern New Jersey participated in the study. Students placed in the intervention group (n = 21) received Equalities as Metaphors instruction. The control group (n = 22) received traditional language arts instruction. The teacher used grade 7 textbooks with supplementary materials for language arts instruction in both groups. Following the pretest-posttest nonrandom control group design, t-test results indicated that language arts instruction affected the critical thinking and reading comprehension achievement of grade 7 students regardless of teaching method (i.e., traditional versus Equalities as Metaphors instruction) . However, the intervention group significantly outperformed the control group. The researcher recommended using Equalities as Metaphors instruction on a larger sample throughout an instructional year. Keywords: critical thinking, reading comprehension, metaphor, mathematical thinking, equalities, Cognitive theory INTRODUCTION The United States government enacted several educational initiatives to measure critical thinking and reading comprehension capability to improve student achievement. The initiatives included No Child Left Behind, Race to the Top, and Common Core State Standards legislative acts, demonstrating the United States Governments' desire to provide quality learning and teaching results for the nations'children. Despite the Governments' efforts, these legislative acts failed to improve student learning, teaching, or standardized test scores (James et al., 2016) . Leaders in the educational field interested in developing students capable of making judgments about reading content based on presented evidence and reasoning should include the best teaching practices that impart critical thinking (Karademir & Ulucinar, 2017) . Cognitive models that help students synthesize related thinking and reading comprehension skills improve student analysis (Zubaidah et al., 2018) . Language and mathematics share conceptual commonalities and interchangeable verbiage that increase critical thinking, writing, and reading comprehension (Bosse et al., 2018; Seo, 2009) . Traditional thinking holds that mathematics comprises facts, operations, and quantification absent of linguistic themes. However, the ability to make unbiased judgments, which are the hallmarks of critical thinking, joins the skills needed to engage in mathematics and literature (Sriraman, 2004) . Students trained to think critically apply skills required to see beneath disparate objects or ideas to uncover the equal value that unites them (Yousefi & Mohammadi, 2016) . Citation: Collins, A. (2022) . Making the invisible visible: Using equalities as metaphors of critical thinking and reading comprehension. Anatolian Journal of Education, 7(1), 197-206. [https://doi.org/10.29333/aje.2022.7115a](https://doi.org/10.29333/aje.2022.7115a) 198 Making the Invisible Visible: Using Equalities as … Educational leaders identified critical thinking skills as essential for students to thr

FAQs

What instructional approach does the study evaluate?

The study evaluates instruction using “Equalities as Metaphors” to support critical thinking and reading comprehension during language arts lessons.

How was the study designed and who participated?

A quasiexperimental, nonrandom control-group design was used. Forty-three grade 7 students from one elementary school in Northern New Jersey participated, with 21 in the intervention group and 22 in the control group.

What were the main findings about student achievement?

T-test results indicated that language arts instruction affected critical thinking and reading comprehension regardless of teaching method; however, the intervention group significantly outperformed the control group.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Dipper