Doctor of Philosophy / Curriculum and Instruction Programs / F. Todd Goodson / The purpose for this study is to look at the effects of a specific comprehension
strategy—Reciprocal Teaching (RT; Palincsar & Brown, 1983,1984) on the performance of
intermediate elementary students in the intermediate elementary grades on a standardized
literacy assessment. The study was carried out in two implementation stages: a pilot with a
small sample of fourth graders and a full-scale study with third, fourth, and fifth graders in
a suburban public school district in the Midwest. The pilot study was implemented in two
fourth grade classrooms, a total of 39 students, nine of which met the criterial for the
experimental group who scored below the 25th percentile on an AIMSweb Maze 2016 fall
benchmark. The full-scale study consisted of 269 students in grades three, four, and five
across the same district, except for the fourth graders who previously were involved in the
pilot. There were 71 students who met the criteria for the experimental group of scores
below the 25th percentile on an AIMSweb Maze 2016 winter benchmark; however, after
signed consent forms were returned, 59 participated. The students in the experimental
group participated in intervention utilizing RT for approximately four weeks in Tier II
small groups, instructed by classroom teachers at each elementary school.
Regression discontinuity was used to determine the effect of RT on the students’
comprehension as indicated by their spring benchmark scores. The results of the pilot study
showed a significant main effect in the scores along the regression line, indicating a
positive effect for the intervention. Regression discontinuity analysis between groups
indicated that a significant main effect exists for the intervention group. The full-scale
study examined the effects per grade level for all students and with a set caliper for
students whose scores were four points above and below the cut-off point, or winter 2016
benchmark, for the grade level. The results of the full-scale study focusing on all scores
showed a significant main effect in the scores along the regression line, indicating a
positive effect for the intervention for all grades; the effect was significant for all grades,
but mostly for fourth and fifth graders. Regression discontinuity analysis between groups
indicated that a significant main effect exists for the intervention group. When looking at
scores within the caliper of four points above or below the benchmark, all scores showed a
significant main effect in the scores along the regression line, indicating a positive effect
for the intervention for all grades. Regression discontinuity analysis between groups
indicated that a significant main effect exists for the intervention group within the caliper at
each grade level.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:KSU/oai:krex.k-state.edu:2097/38424 |
| Date | January 1900 |
| Creators | Roop, Theodora |
| Publisher | Kansas State University |
| Source Sets | K-State Research Exchange |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
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