By Sarah Chambers RECIPROCAL TEACHING

Where the Strategy was found Presented by The Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat Ontario Department of Education.

Description of the strategy A cooperative learning method. A form of dialogue where the teacher models the steps of the dialogue and encourages students to assume the role of the teacher in a group or in pairs. (Teaching/Learning Companion).

Process Prediction – students predict what the text will be about. After reading the text, students confirm or reject their predictions. Questioning – students pose questions that they would like to have answered by the text Clarification – students clarify parts of the text or words that are unfamiliar or confusing Summarization – Students list the main ideas of the text in brief sentences.

Background Designed by Annemarie Palincsar and Laura Klenk. They believe that since it is helpful to connect students’ background experiences with text, reciprocal teaching can be used in diverse classrooms and communities. Their program was designed for students considered at risk for academic failure and many of the students in their studies were identified as remedial or special education. It is used to justify reasons, resolve differences, and listen actively to another person’s point of view.

Research Palincsar & Klenk began research on the RT strategy in The research included students on the elementary and secondary levels who were successful at decoding but scored poorly on tests of reading comprehension. Substantial changes in dialogue, improvements in the writing of summaries, generating text-related questions, and identifying discrepancies in texts were some results of their research. (Reciprocal Teaching, Center for Multicultural the University of Washington)

Research The strategy is also supported by research which proves that cooperative learning “produces greater academic learning, better intergroup relations among Black, White and Hispanic students, enhanced self-esteem, and improved relationships between mainstreamed academically handicapped students and normal-progress students” (Eric Digest, No. 20).

Why did you select this strategy? It promotes unity and respect among students from different backgrounds and abilities and can be used on many educational levels.

References Cooperative learning in social studies education: What does the research say? Eric Digest No. 20. Retrieved from Reciprocal teaching. Center for Multicultural Education. Retrieved from Summarization 6 Reciprocal Teaching Pt 1 and 2. Retrieved from Teaching/learning companion. The Ontario Curriculum Unit Planner. Retrieved from documents/telrsta2002.pdf