A Plan to Increase Students’ Reading Comprehension Through The Use of Reciprocal Teaching Strategies
Date of Award
2004
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Fischler Graduate School of Education and Human Services
Advisor
Carolyn S. Buckenmaier
Committee Member
Anne Joslin
Committee Member
Maryellen Maher
Keywords
achievement, comprehension, grade level, primary reading, reading achievement, reading comprehension, reading instruction, reading specialist, reading strategies, reciprocal teaching, reciprocal teaching strategies, Scholastic Reading Inventory, students, teacher training, Thomas Stone Elementary School, third grade students
Abstract
This applied dissertation was designed to determine if the use of reciprocal teaching strategies would increase the reading comprehension of the 3rd-grade students at Thomas Stone Elementary School. At the end of 2002-2003 school year, the reading comprehension of the 2nd-grade students was measured using the Scholastic Reading Inventory. The results of this assessment revealed that only 24% of the students were functioning on or above grade level.
The researcher selected the primary reading specialist, who was already proficient in the use of reciprocal teaching strategies, to train 3rd-grade students to use reciprocal teaching strategies to increase their reading comprehension skills. Students were encouraged to use these strategies consistently in an effort to increase their reading comprehension skills to on or above grade level as measured by the Scholastic Reading Inventory.
An analysis of the data revealed that 16% of the below-grade-level students who were taught the reciprocal teaching strategies increased their reading comprehension skills to on or above grade level. Although all students did not make enough progress to be considered on or above grade level, 45% of the students made significant progress (i.e., a gain of 100 points or more).
The researcher recommends that reciprocal teaching strategies be used to enhance students’ reading comprehension and that all classroom teachers be trained in the use of reciprocal teaching strategies in order for the maximum number of students to benefit from this intervention.