ABSTRACT
This chapter describes Reciprocal Teaching (RT), a program across the curriculum, developed by Annemarie Palincsar and Ann Brown. It is based on four major comprehension skills – predicting, summarizing, questioning and clarifying, each modeled by the teacher through dialogue. Students/pupils practice using each skill prior to running their own reciprocal reading group. Research showed RT led to sizable gains on criterion-referenced tests of comprehension, reliable maintenance over time, generalization to classroom comprehension tests and improvement in standardized comprehension scores. The median effect size favoring RT on standardized tests was 0.32; on experimenter-developed comprehension tests it was 0.88. Theoretical underpinnings were Vygotsky's zone of proximal development, proleptic teaching and expert scaffolding. RT was an example of “cognitive apprenticeship”. The structure of RT included (a) elaborating or commenting on another student's summary, (b) suggesting other questions, (c) commenting on another’s predictions (d) requesting clarification of material they did not understand, and (e) helping to resolve misunderstandings. An example Is given of the dialogue occurring during RT in action. Training for RT is described and locations for obtaining training listed. Extensions of RT are summarized – it has spread to other subjects, higher education and other countries. References and Bibliography conclude the chapter.
