An Evaluation of Two Approaches for Teaching Reading Comprehension Strategies in the Primary Years Using Science Information Texts
Reutzel, D. Ray; Smith, John A.; Fawson, Parker C. (2005). Early Childhood Research Quarterly, v20 n3 p276-305 2005. Retrieved from: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ723885
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examining80Students, grade2
Grant Competition
Review Details
Reviewed: February 2024
- Grant Competition (findings for Transactional Strategies Instruction (TSI))
- Randomized Controlled Trial
- Meets WWC standards without reservations because it is a cluster randomized controlled trial with low cluster-level attrition and individual-level non-response.
This review may not reflect the full body of research evidence for this intervention.
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Findings
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Science Content Knowledge Acquisition Test |
Transactional Strategies Instruction (TSI) vs. Single Strategy Instruction (SSI) |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
32.45 |
22.67 |
Yes |
|
|
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Oral retellings of familiar text passages - subordinate idea units (details) |
Transactional Strategies Instruction (TSI) vs. Single Strategy Instruction (SSI) |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
9.79 |
5.87 |
Yes |
|
|
|
Oral retellings of unfamiliar text passages - subordinate idea units (details) |
Transactional Strategies Instruction (TSI) vs. Single Strategy Instruction (SSI) |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
6.16 |
5.07 |
No |
-- | |
|
Oral retellings of unfamiliar text passages - super-ordinate idea units |
Transactional Strategies Instruction (TSI) vs. Single Strategy Instruction (SSI) |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
1.47 |
1.03 |
No |
-- | |
|
Oral retellings of familiar text passages - super-ordinate idea units |
Transactional Strategies Instruction (TSI) vs. Single Strategy Instruction (SSI) |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
2.50 |
2.40 |
No |
-- |
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test - Fourth Edition |
Transactional Strategies Instruction (TSI) vs. Single Strategy Instruction (SSI) |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
32.00 |
30.90 |
No |
-- |
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Sample Characteristics
Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.
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Utah
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Race Other or unknown 35% White 65% -
Ethnicity Other or unknown 100% -
Eligible for Free and Reduced Price Lunch Other or unknown 100%
Study Details
Setting
The study occurred in four second-grade classrooms in one school in Utah.
Study sample
The study occurred in one school, which is designated a high-poverty, low-performing school. About 35 percent of the students were non-white (African-American, Asian, and Hispanic). More than half of the children in the school qualified for free or reduced-price lunch.
Intervention Group
The Transactional Strategies Instruction (TSI) focuses on teaching a “set” or “family” of transacted comprehension strategies within a collaborative, interactive, and engaging routine. Learners are initially taught each individual cognitive comprehension strategy in the set and then quickly helped to coordinate the use of this set of strategies while interacting over multiple texts over time. TSI teachers teach a “set” of eight comprehension strategies: (1) activating background knowledge, (2) text structure, (3) prediction, (4) goal setting, (5) asking questions, (6) imagery, (7) monitoring, and (8) summarizing. The intervention lasts 1 semester and lessons typically take about 35–40 minutes per day, implemented 3 days per week.
Comparison Group
The Single Strategy Instruction (SSI) intervention involves teaching a series of comprehension strategies, one-at-a-time with a great deal of time and attention devoted to each. Within each 13-day instructional cycle, teachers spend 5 days modeling a single cognitive comprehension strategy using the first of three science information big books. Over the next 5–6 days, teachers gradually release the responsibility for using the single cognitive comprehension strategy through interactive discussions during readings of the second and third science books. For the final 2–3 days of the 13-day instructional cycle, the teachers engage students in small group and independent applications of the single cognitive comprehension strategy during re-readings of the second and third books. Teachers typically complete the reading of a single book each week for approximately 80–120 total minutes of instructional time focused on the application of a single cognitive comprehension strategy. The intervention lasts 1 semester.
Support for implementation
Teachers in both groups were observed weekly by one member of the research team and monthly by three members of the research team. Teachers kept reflection and planning journals and written lesson plans. Teachers also met at least monthly to debrief and reflect with a member of the research team and attended weekly study groups to prepare comprehension lessons with the assistance of the school-based reading coach.
Improving Reading Comprehension in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade
Review Details
Reviewed: September 2010
Improving Reading Comprehension in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade Practice Guide- Randomized Controlled Trial
- Meets WWC standards without reservations
This review may not reflect the full body of research evidence for this intervention.
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Findings
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Sample Characteristics
Study sample characteristics were not reported.-
Race Other or unknown 35%
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