S9 E4: Comprehension is not a skill, with Hugh Catts, Ph.D.

Science of Reading: The Podcast

In this episode Susan Lambert is joined by Hugh Catts, Ph.D., professor at Florida State University, to break down what comprehension is and bust some myths around what it isn’t. With a family history of dyslexia, he has a personal connection to the topic that led him into research in language sciences and language disorders. He discusses how his findings moved him away from viewing comprehension as simply a “component of reading” but rather something entirely separate—a condition created over time, defined by purpose, and influenced by prior knowledge. Together, Susan and Hugh address many comprehension-related contexts, such as the simple view of reading, the five pillars of reading, and comprehension’s relationship to knowledge building. Hugh also gives listeners practical advice for helping students suss out their comprehension before reading, and he clarifies why understanding the standard of coherence is important.
Show notes:

• Follow Hugh on X: @CattsHugh

Quotes:
“If I was going to define comprehension, it's not a single thing. I mean, that's the problem. We want it to be a single thing, but it depends upon what you're reading and why you're reading it.” –Hugh Catts, Ph.D.
“What comprehension is is the interaction of what you bring into that reading situation and what you already know about it and your motivation and purpose to comprehend it.” –Hugh Catts, Ph.D.

“There's just not enough mental reserve to be able to build that meaning that quickly. So it helps tremendously that you have some knowledge about it beforehand. That knowledge gives you a place to put information. So when you read about something, it gives you storage for the information. It's kind of like a cubby hole that you put the mail in, in an office.” ––Hugh Catts, Ph.D.

Episode timestamps*
02:00 Introduction: Who is Hugh Catts?
03:00 Personal Connection to Dyslexia
07:00 Rethinking comprehension as a component of reading
11:00 Vocabulary and comprehension
15:00 Comprehension as a condition you create
16:00 Language comprehension and the simple view of reading
19:00 Differences in types of comprehension
26:00 What comprehension is and isn’t
32:00 Thinking deeply
39:00 Background knowledge and comprehension
42:00 Automatic inferencing
50:00 Final thoughts
*Timestamps are approximate, rounded to nearest minute