1. Reciprocal Teaching: A Platform for Strategic ESL Instruction, Classroom Teacher Collaboration, & Renewal
John Helfeldt, Texas A&M University
Betty Helfeldt & Ann McMullin
College Station Independent School District, TX
52nd International Reading Association Convention
Toronto, 2007
Contact Info:

2. Reciprocal Teaching (RT)
Can you describe or define RT?
Do you use RT during reading instruction?
How intensively/extensively do you teach RT?
Have you encountered problems during implementation of RT?

3. RT widely researched and reported in journals (1984 – 2006)
Most studies support RT’s effectiveness
Vast majority of articles are reports of research
Focus on describing subjects, day treatments, data analyses & results
Far less written re: implementation of RT teaching procedure (Hacker & Tenant, 2002,Oczkus, 2003)

4. Far Fewer RT studies involving ESL S’s
Knight, Padron’ & Waxman (1985) Investigated Strategy use of ESL S’s
Monolingual S’s more strategic than ESL
Monolingual S’s used predicting, questioning, imaging
ESL S’s most concerned with S’s perceptions of teacher expectations

5. Findings & Implications
LEP S’s not taught strategies until English is fully mastered
ESL instruction centered on pronunciation, word meaning
Many teachers assume S’s aren’t able to comprehend L2 text until fluently speaking L2

6. RT instruction is beneficial for ESL S’s
Padron’ (1992) found that:
RT more beneficial than QAR and Controls
RT used summary and self generated questions more than other S’s
Gr. 5 more strategic than Gr. 3
LEP S’s should get strategy instruction along with other reading and language

7. Klingner & Vaughn (1996) found that:
7th & 8th Gr. ESL S’s benefited from RT
Greater range of S’s benefited than anticipated
Oral language proficiency benefited along with reading comprehension
Full proficiency not needed before implementing strategy instruction

8. Fung, Wilkinson, & Moore (2003) researched RT with 6th & 7th Gr
Fung, Wilkinson, & Moore (2003) researched RT with 6th & 7th Gr. Bilingual S’s
RT in L1 and L2 on alternating days
RT in L1 facilitated RT in L2
RT increased English Reading Comprehension

9. What do we know about implementing RT STRATEGY?
Pressley & Harris (1990):
Teach 1 or 2 strategies over several weeks
Provide S’s with understanding when & how to use strategy
Paris, Lipson, Wixson (1983)
Levels of strategic knowledge
Declarative, Procedural, Conditional

10. IT TAKES TIME!! & IT TAKES COMMITMENT!
Hacker & Tenant (2002)
Scarce data re: number of teachers using RT, but implementation problems are not uncommon
Teachers construct their own versions of RT over time
3 basic adaptations of RT
differing emphases on component strategies
Writing frequently added

11. Conclusion
Practice of RT changed over time and in response to many variables.
Future attempts to implement RT may meet with even greater success if teachers: receive adequate training in traditional RT, are encouraged to construct their own practice of RT using prior knowledge about it, are provided with sustained feedback from knowledgeable RT person.

12. What Stimulated Ann’s Involvement with RT?
ESL Students “savvy”, active learners in classroom

13. Why Reciprocal Teaching for ESL Students?

14. RT Addresses the ESL Domains

15. Speaking
Listening
Reading
Writing

17. Predicting 2-3 Weeks

18. Book Walks
Picture Walks
Graphic Organizers
Text Features

19. Clarifying 2-3 Weeks

20. Phonetic Spelling
Simplified Meanings
Illustrations
Concrete Objects

21. Questioning 2-3 Weeks

22. Begin with literal questions:
Who, When, Where

23. Utilize summary to develop question strategy

24. Utilize questions as an assessment of language proficiency

25. Why he like chicken?
Where dit Senora Amelia try to get a bicycle for Amelia?
What did all the stores say?
Did Senora Amelia get the bicycle?

26. The Five “W’s”

27. Who? Characters and Their Relationship

28. Summarization 2-3 Weeks Initially

29. When? Time – Period, context, etc.

30. Where? Place

31. What? Events or Happenings

32. Why? Reason for Events or Happenings

33. Teaching the 5 W’s:
Shared Reading for several weeks
Shared Writing for Several Weeks

34. Teaching the 5 W’s: Guided Reading &Writing for Several Weeks
Guided Reading & Writing Thereafter

35. Experienced a Sense of Renewal
Excitement
Energy
Renewal

36. Professional Collaboration
Modeling
Practice
Coaching
Validation

37. STUDENT ENGAGEMENT Eagerness to learn Confidence Flexibility
Cooperative learners
Examples of student work, student comments, principal’s comments, teacher’s comments, testing results!

38. Personal Construction of RT
Flexible Grouping (including whole class)
Student Writing Emphasized
Shared Reading
Guided Reading
Parent RT Academy

39. RT as “Springboard” Leadership in Professional Development
Working with other teachers
Enhanced Communication
Integrated Curriculum

40. But...does RT really work?

41. Impact on ESL Students Reading Proficiency Test in English
Oral Language Proficiency Test
Texas Assessment of Knowledge & Skills (TAKS)

42. Impact on Classroom Students
TAKS Results
93% S’s met standard
27% S’s commended level
7% did not meet standard (2 S’s)

43. Student Survey Responses
During 4th Gr. My reading attitude has been: 65% much better, 29% little better, 3% same, 3% much worse

44. The most helpful strategy: 41% ALL 19% clarifying, 19% summarizing 9% predicting, 6% questioning, 6% none
During 4th Gr. My ability to read science text is now: 57% much better, 37% little better, 3% same, 3% little worse

45. Observations, Comments, Anecdotes
Principal “Language Arts/Reading Class is the only place where some of these kids don’t cause problems or get in trouble.”
Teachers
Children
Parents

46. References
Fung, I., Wilkinson, I.A. & Moore, D. W. (2003). L1-assisted reciprocal teaching to improve ESL students’ comprehension of English expository text. Learning and Instruction, 13, (1), 1-31.
Hacker, D. J. & Tenent, A. (2002). Implementing reciprocal teaching in the classroom: Overcoming obstacles and making modifications. Journal of Educational Psychology, 94, (4),
Klingner, J.K. & Vaughn, S. (1996). Reciprocal teaching of reading comprehension strategies for students with learning disabilities who use English as a second language. The Elementary School Journal, 96, (3),
Knight, S. L., Padron’, Y. L. & Waxman, H. C. (1985). The cognitive reading strategies of ESL students. TESOL Quarterly, 19, (4),

47. Oczkus, L. D. (2003). Reciprocal teaching at work: Strategies for improving reading comprehension. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
Padron’, Y.L. (1992). The effect of strategy instruction on bilingual students’ cognitive strategy use in reading. Bilingual Research Journal, 16, (3&4),
Palincsar, A.S.& Brown, A.L. (1984). Reciprocal teaching of comprehension-fostering and comprehension monitoring activities. Cognition and Instruction, 2,
Paris, S.G., Lipson, M. Y. & Wixson, K.K. (1983). Becoming a strategic reader. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 8,
Pressley, M. & Harris, K. R. (1990) What we really know about strategy instruction. Educational Leadership, 48, (1),