WWC review of this study

An investigation into the application of the reciprocal teaching procedure to enhance reading comprehension with educationally at-risk Vietnamese-American pupils (Doctoral dissertation, University of California–Berkeley, 1993).

Dao, M. N. T. H. (1993). Dissertation Abstracts International, 55(06A), 105–1470.

  • Randomized Controlled Trial
     examining 
    50
     Students
    , grades
    4-6

Reviewed: September 2010

No statistically significant positive
findings
Meets WWC standards without reservations
Comprehension outcomes—Indeterminate effect found for the domain
Outcome
measure
Comparison Period Sample Intervention
mean
Comparison
mean
Significant? Improvement
    index
Evidence
tier

Nelson comprehension test

Reciprocal Teaching vs. Business as usual

Posttest

Grade 4-6;
50 students

35.07

27.76

No

--


Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.

Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.


  • Female: 44%
    Male: 56%

  • Urban
    • B
    • A
    • C
    • D
    • E
    • F
    • G
    • I
    • H
    • J
    • K
    • L
    • P
    • M
    • N
    • O
    • Q
    • R
    • S
    • V
    • U
    • T
    • W
    • X
    • Z
    • Y
    • a
    • h
    • i
    • b
    • d
    • e
    • f
    • c
    • g
    • j
    • k
    • l
    • m
    • n
    • o
    • p
    • q
    • r
    • s
    • t
    • u
    • x
    • w
    • y

    California
  • Race
    Asian
    100%
  • Ethnicity
    Not Hispanic or Latino    
    100%

Setting

The study included two public schools from a school district in an urban area of northern California.

Study sample

Fifty-six fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade students from Vietnamese-American families with low socioeconomic status were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. Participating students were fluent in English. The experimental group was divided into four reading groups, each consisting of six to eight students. The control group was divided into three groups, each consisting of six to eight students. After attrition, the analysis sample included 50 students: 29 students in the experimental group, and 21 students in the control group.

Intervention Group

Four experimental subgroups received reciprocal teaching instruction using the school’s current reading materials. Each subgroup worked with the teacher to read and discuss a passage. When reciprocal teaching was first being implemented, the teacher assigned a passage to be read and played the role of the teacher or dialogue leader. The teacher and students read silently, and the teacher modeled comprehension-monitoring strategies by asking a question on the main idea, summarizing the content, discussing, clarifying any difficulties, and making a prediction about future content. Over time, students were encouraged to assume the role of dialogue leader/teacher with the teacher’s support. The intervention was carried out over 20 consecutive days of instruction.

Comparison Group

The control group received the regular reading curriculum. Instructional activities in the three control subgroups included asking students to read aloud, asking vocabulary questions, asking questions based on the questions appearing at the end of the text, and assigning a paper-and-pencil task that required students to answer questions, draw a picture, or write a short paragraph.

Outcome descriptions

For both the pretest and the posttest, students took the paragraph subtest of the Nelson Reading Comprehension Test. For the pretest, students also took the reading comprehension subtest of the California Test of Basic Skills. For a more detailed description of these outcome measures, see Appendix A2.

Support for implementation

The teacher was credentialed and trained in reciprocal teaching. Details on teacher training were not provided.

 

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