TEACHERS’ VIEWS OF RECIPROCAL TEACHING AS A TOOL FOR TEACHING READING COMPREHENSION

Abstract

Reciprocal Teaching is an approach to reading first designed by Palincsar and Brown (1984). It is built on predicting, questioning, clarifying and summarising – four strategies used by competent readers. It is an approach found in many books on teaching reading, yet is relatively unknown in countries like Singapore, and perhaps Malaysia too. This paper centres on a research study conducted with some teachers in Singaporean Secondary Schools. It reviews what literature says about Reciprocal Teaching and the Thinkaloud protocol which is used together with the former. It also details the research methodology, presents and discusses the views of the teacher-participants on Reciprocal Teaching before they were introduced to it, and after they taught using the teaching package designed for them.