Reciprocal Reading: a training programme for teachers aimed at improving reading skills of pupils
| ISRCTN | ISRCTN81582662 |
|---|---|
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN81582662 |
| Secondary identifying numbers | Reciprocal reading trial |
- Submission date
- 15/06/2017
- Registration date
- 23/06/2017
- Last edited
- 12/08/2022
- Recruitment status
- No longer recruiting
- Overall study status
- Completed
- Condition category
- Other
Plain English summary of protocol
Background and study aims
Reading comprehension is a foundational skill for learning and there is currently international focus on explicitly targeting pupils' reading comprehension skills. Reciprocal reading is a programme that targets pupils’ ability to use active strategies to enhance their understanding of what they are reading. This is done by teaching pupils to use four strategies – summarising, questioning, predicting and clarifying. After using these strategies in dialogue with an adult and their peers, pupils carry out learning tasks to consolidate their understanding of what they have read. The programme aims to explicitly teach reading comprehension strategies in order to improve reading skills. The programme can be used with whole-classes or with targeted groups of pupils who are weak at reading comprehension, but who have relatively stronger reading decoding skills. The aim of this study is to find out whether the FFT Reciprocal Reading programme has an impact on children’s reading skills. It also examines factors associated with the delivery of the programme by speaking to teachers and pupils about their experiences.
Who can participate?
State-funded primary schools in England which have not previously received the Fischer Family Trust literacy package of training (external and internal) to deliver Reciprocal Reading and which are not currently involved in any other EEF KS2 literacy trials. Pupils entering Year 4 in the 2017/18 academic year are considered as potential participants for the whole-class programme and pupils entering Year 5 and 6 in the 2017/18 academic year who have poor comprehension skills, but stronger decoding skills (as selected by teachers), are eligible for the targeted programme.
What does the study involve?
Participating schools are randomly allocated to either the intervention group, which receives the reciprocal reading training programme, or a control group, who do not receive the training programme. Teachers and teaching assistants of Year 4, 5 and 6 classes in the schools which deliver the FFT Reciprocal Reading programme receive two external training sessions from Fischer Family Trust, as well as three internal follow-up sessions. Teachers and teaching assistants use their training to deliver the programme over two terms. The Fischer Family Trust (FFT) Reciprocal Reading programme is delivered by teachers or teaching assistants over the course of two school terms. In the whole-class version sessions are delivered once a week and in the targeted version sessions are delivered twice a week, for 20-30 minutes. Teachers are asked to complete a reading test with participating pupils before the programme is started (May to July 2017). After two terms (April to June 2018) the participating pupils complete another reading test. Interviews are also carried out with teaching staff and pupils and there are observations of the programme being delivered in a sample of the schools. The data is analysed to answer the question of whether the FFT Reciprocal Reading programme impacts children’s reading skills.
What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
Benefits to participating schools include the provision of training, materials and ongoing support for the delivery of the FFT Reciprocal Reading programme during the 2017/18 school year. There are no risks associated with participating.
Where is the study run from?
The evaluation is run by an independent evaluation team based at Queen’s University Belfast. The programme delivery is managed and supported by the charity Fischer Family Trust Literacy based in Middlesbrough (UK).
When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
January 2017 to December 2018
Who is funding the study?
Education Endowment Foundation (UK)
Who is the main contact?
Dr Liam O’Hare
Contact information
Public
School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work
Queen's University
69-71 University Street
Belfast
BT7 1HL
United Kingdom
Study information
| Study design | Cluster randomised controlled trial |
|---|---|
| Primary study design | Interventional |
| Secondary study design | Cluster randomised trial |
| Study setting(s) | School |
| Study type | Other |
| Participant information sheet | No participant information sheet available |
| Scientific title | A cluster randomised controlled trial of Reciprocal Reading: a training programme for teachers aimed at improving reading skills of pupils |
| Study objectives | 1. Does the universal Reciprocal Reading approach impact pupil reading outcomes? 2. Does the targeted Reciprocal Reading approach impact pupil reading outcomes? |
| Ethics approval(s) | School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work Research Ethics Committee, Queen’s University Belfast, 16/02/2017 |
| Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied | Literacy attainment |
| Intervention | Participating schools are randomised (minimisation via QMinim programme) to either the intervention group, which receives the reciprocal reading training programme, or a control group, whom will not receive the training programme. Teachers and teaching assistants of Year 4, 5 and 6 classes in the schools which deliver the FFT Reciprocal Reading programme will receive two external training sessions from Fischer Family Trust, as well as three internal follow-up sessions. Training for the whole-class and targeted programme is similar. Training for the whole-class and targeted programme is similar. Teachers and teaching assistants engage initially in one full day’s training with FFT which covers the following: background to reciprocal reading, rationale and evidence for the programme, understanding the four reciprocal reading strategies; what reading comprehension involves, why it is difficult and what weak comprehenders do, vocabulary and comprehension monitoring, what reciprocal readers do; whole-school issues including the benefits of consistent comprehension practices and policy-building; the ‘simple view of reading’ as a way to identify which children might benefit most from reciprocal reading; managing the practical implementation of the programme including planning and recording techniques; observation of training video illustrating the intervention with discussion of potential barriers to engagement; preparing a reciprocal reading session and implementing it in the training context; practicalities and discussion of what can and cannot be adapted. The programme is then implemented in school by the trained professionals for half a term after which a consultation visit from FFT takes place. Practitioners are supported to reflect on and audit their practice. At the start of the second term of the academic year there is a second full training day which includes the following: modelling of a reciprocal reading session; demonstration of activities to follow-up reciprocal reading sessions (book journal activities); discussion of implementation experiences; how to introduce challenge into sessions using questioning and modelling, text choices and follow-up activities; discussion of check-list for implementation; understanding the role of the teacher as facilitator; feedback to students; pupil self-evaluation. A further visit from FFT will include observation of lesson implementation. A third consultation visit in the final term of the academic year will address whole-school ethos and culture around comprehension, further auditing of implementation of the programme and consideration of the potential for programme to impact across the curriculum. Teachers and teaching assistants deliver the programme over two terms. Pupils entering Year 4 in the 2017/18 academic year will be considered as potential participants for the whole-class programme and pupils entering Year 5 and 6 in the 2017/18 academic year who have poor comprehension skills, but stronger decoding skills (as selected by teachers), will be eligible for the targeted programme. In the whole-class version sessions are delivered once a week and in the targeted version sessions are delivered twice a week, for 20-30 minutes. Teachers are asked to complete a reading test (New Group Reading Test - Granada Learning) with participating pupils before the programme is implemented (May to July 2017). After two terms (April to June 2018) the participating pupils will complete another reading test (New Group Reading Test). Interviews are also carried out with teaching staff and pupils and there will be observations of the programme being delivered in a sample of the schools. The data will be analysed to answer the question of whether the FFT Reciprocal Reading programme impacts children’s reading skills. |
| Intervention type | Behavioural |
| Primary outcome measure | Reading comprehension, measured using New Group Reading Test scores at baseline and 6-8 months (exact timing will vary by school) |
| Secondary outcome measures | Reading and decoding, measured using New Group Reading Test scores at baseline and 6-8 months (exact timing will vary by school) |
| Overall study start date | 01/01/2017 |
| Completion date | 31/12/2018 |
Eligibility
| Participant type(s) | Other |
|---|---|
| Age group | Child |
| Sex | Both |
| Target number of participants | 6200 in 100 schools |
| Key inclusion criteria | 1. State-funded primary schools in England which have not previously received the Fischer Family Trust literacy package of training (external and internal) to deliver Reciprocal Reading and which are not currently involved in any other EEF Key Stage 2 literacy trials 2. Pupils entering Year 4 in the 2017/18 academic year will be considered as potential participants for the whole-class programme 3. Pupils entering Year 5 and 6 in the 2017/18 academic year who have poor comprehension skills, but stronger decoding skills (as selected by teachers), will be eligible for the targeted programme |
| Key exclusion criteria | 1. Schools not in England 2. Non state-funded schools 3. Schools which are involved in other EEF Key Stage 2 literacy trials 4. Schools which have previously received the Fischer Family Trust literacy package of training to deliver Reciprocal Reading |
| Date of first enrolment | 01/01/2017 |
| Date of final enrolment | 30/06/2017 |
Locations
Countries of recruitment
- Northern Ireland
- United Kingdom
Study participating centre
69-71 University Street
Belfast
BT7 1HL
United Kingdom
Sponsor information
University/education
University Road
Belfast
Belfast
BT7 1NN
Northern Ireland
United Kingdom
| Phone | +44 (0)28 9097 5973 |
|---|---|
| L.OHare@qub.ac.uk | |
| Website | http://www.qub.ac.uk/research-centres/cesi/ |
"ROR" |
https://ror.org/00hswnk62 |
Funders
Funder type
Charity
No information available
Results and Publications
| Intention to publish date | 31/12/2018 |
|---|---|
| Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to share | No |
| IPD sharing plan summary | Stored in repository |
| Publication and dissemination plan | The final evaluation report will be openly available on the funders’ website (https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/) and on the evaluator’s website (http://www.qub.ac.uk/research-centres/cesi/). |
| IPD sharing plan | The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study will be stored in a repository (Fischer Family Trust Data lab, http://educationdatalab.org.uk/) and will be available in Summer 2019. Consent from the participants was included in the ethics consent. Scores for the Granada New Group Reading Test are anonymized at the point of UP (unique pupil number). |
Study outputs
| Output type | Details | Date created | Date added | Peer reviewed? | Patient-facing? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Funder report results | final report | 09/12/2019 | No | No | |
| Protocol article | 01/01/2018 | 12/08/2022 | Yes | No |
Editorial Notes
12/08/2022: Publication reference added.
09/12/2019: Added link to final report (not peer reviewed)
