Reciprocal teaching (RT) is a strategy used to help students improve their comprehension of a given text. It is based on the principles of cooperative learning and scaffolding, which are both approaches used to foster student engagement and learning. RT was first developed by Palincsar and Brown (1984), who described it as a four-part process consisting of summarizing, questioning, clarifying, and predicting. This article will discuss the key components of RT and its effectiveness in improving student comprehension.
RT is a process that involves four distinct, yet interrelated, activities. The first step is summarizing, which involves students writing a brief summary of the text. This helps the student to focus on the main ideas and recall the text’s content. The second step is questioning, whereby students generate questions about the text. This encourages students to think more deeply and critically about the text. The third step is clarifying, which involves students discussing and resolving any misunderstandings about the text. Finally, the fourth step is predicting, which involves students making guesses about the future direction of the text.
Research has consistently shown that RT is an effective strategy for improving student comprehension. Studies have found that students who use RT are able to recall a greater amount of information from the text and demonstrate improved understanding of the text’s content (Carnine, Silbert, Kameenui, & Tarver, 1997; O’Connor, 2005). Additionally, research has suggested that RT may be particularly beneficial for students who struggle with reading comprehension (Carnine et al., 1997).
In conclusion, RT is a useful strategy for helping students improve their comprehension of a given text. It involves four distinct activities – summarizing, questioning, clarifying, and predicting – and research has consistently shown that it is an effective approach for improving student comprehension.
References
Carnine, D., Silbert, J., Kameenui, E. J., & Tarver, S. G. (1997). Direct Instruction Reading (3rd ed.). Columbus, OH: Merrill.
O’Connor, R. E. (2005). Disciplinary literacy and reciprocal teaching. Educational Psychology Review, 17(1), 19–39. doi:10.1007/s10648-005-3783-z
Palincsar, A. S., & Brown, A. L. (1984). Reciprocal teaching of comprehension-fostering and comprehension-monitoring activities. Cognition and Instruction, 1(2), 117–175. doi:10.1207/s1532690xci0102_1