Protocol: An efficacy randomized controlled trial of Reciprocal Reading in high schools

TLDR: In this article, the authors present the research protocol for an efficacy randomized controlled trial of the Reciprocal Reading program in high schools, which is a workforce development program that supports teachers and teaching assistants to develop and deliver targeted reading comprehension instruction to high school students aged 11-13.

About: This article is published in International Journal of Educational Research.The article was published on 2019-01-01 and is currently open access. It has received 6 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Reciprocal teaching & Reading comprehension.

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Table 2: Measurement tools

Table 1: FFT Reciprocal Reading Program TIDieR checklist (Hoffman, Glasziou, Boutron, Milne, Perera, Moher, Altman, Barbour, Macdonald, Johnston, Lamb, Dixon-Wodds, McCulloch, Wyatt, Chan, & Michie, 2014).

Figure 1: Reciprocal Reading program Logic Model

Table 3. Gannt Chart of timescales

Frequently asked questions

Q1. What have the authors contributed in "Protocol: an efficacy randomized controlled trial of reciprocal reading in high schools" ?

This paper presents the research protocol for an efficacy randomized controlled trial of the Reciprocal Reading program in high schools. A process evaluation will measure fidelity to implementation and potential for scale-up. 

Q2. What is the purpose of the Reciprocal Reading program?

The Reciprocal Reading program involves a multi-strategy approach composed of four strategies to engage particular processes: predicting (making and exploring inferences), clarifying (critical evaluation), questioning (focusing on main ideas) and summarising (allocate attention and monitor understanding). 

Q3. What is the need for scaffolding in the Reciprocal Reading program?

The need for scaffolding during the modelling process in the Reciprocal Reading program is underpinned by Vygotsky’s theory (1978) of learning within the ‘zone of proximal development’ which requires mediation and carefully directed modelling/support in small groups of learners working together to make this scaffolded learning possible. 

Q4. What are the main factors for the assessment of the reciprocal reading program?

Teacher surveys and attendance at training, in addition to Reciprocal Reading teacher instruction dosage will be analysed as implementation factors/mediators for outcome change. 

Q5. What is the criteria for determining whether Reciprocal Reading is ready for a stage?

That high school teachers evaluate their use of Reciprocal Reading positively enough to conclude that it could be scaled up That use of Reciprocal Reading, when compared to a control group not using the technique, can result in a positive effect size for students using the technique. 

Q6. What are the main outcomes of Reciprocal Reading?

In order to achieve these outcomes teacher training is necessary to improve teacher knowledge, change professional practice of reading instruction, learn to scaffold student learning, and promote student collaboration during Reciprocal Reading. 

Q7. What is the role of external training in the Reciprocal Reading program?

In addition, external training is combined with inschool support visits by program trainers to work alongside teachers during instruction delivery. 

Q8. What is the impact of the Reciprocal Reading program?

A review of the impact of metacognitive strategies by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) suggests it has positive effects (ES+0.7) and that metacognitive development is most effective when instruction involves adult scaffolding and collaborative group work (Higgins, Katsipataki, Kokotsaki, Coleman, Major, & Coe, 2014). 

Q9. What is the effect size of the standardized tests?

Rosenshine and Meister (1994) found an effect size of +0.32 when standardized tests were used across sixteen studies with varying designs, and a more recent randomized controlled study in 41 schools in the UK showed a more modest positive effect of +0.09 (Crawford & Skipp, 2014). 

Q10. What is the main purpose of the Reciprocal Reading program?

In order to deliver this approach in the classroom, the Reciprocal Reading intervention must include high quality professional development based on evidence-informed theory, as recommended by research (Coe et al., 2014). 

Q11. How many children in England can read?

Reading is recognized as a key skill for success yet statistics from 2014 show that one in five children in England cannot read well by age 11 (Department for Education, 2015).