Internet Reciprocal Teaching

A Research-Based Model for Teaching the

New Literacies of Online Reading Comprehension

W. Ian O’Byrne J. Greg McVerry

University of Connecticut University of Connecticut
wiobyrne@gmail.com jgregmcverry@gmail.com

Internet reciprocal teaching is an adaptation of reciprocal teaching (Palincsar & Brown,

1984), a widely used approach to teaching strategic comprehension of texts. Reciprocal
teaching revolves around four global comprehension strategies: predicting, questioning,
clarifying, and summarizing. The teacher explains these strategies to small groups using a
shared text, first modeling their use, and then asking students to lead the groups.

Internet reciprocal teaching builds on the same principles; however, the teacher first
instructs students in a whole-class setting with each person constructing his or her own text
while building the online reading comprehension strategies of questioning, locating,
evaluating, synthesizing, and communicating.

Reciprocal teaching and Internet reciprocal teaching share core values. The gradual release
of responsibility to students is central to both approaches. In Internet reciprocal teaching,
there are three specific phases, discussed below. When the majority of students demonstrate
proficiency with the skills taught in Phase 1, instruction moves into Phase 2, and finally into
Phase 3. Group discussion and sharing of strategies are also integral to both approaches.

For more information please visit the following webpages:

McVerry, J.G., Zawilinski, L., & O’Byrne, W. I. (2009). Internet Reciprocal Teaching:
Sextant for navigating the C’s of change. Educational Leadership, 67(1).
http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational_leadership/sept09/vol67/num01/Navigating_t
he_Cs_of_Change.aspx#video

The TICA Research Project page:

http://www.newliteracies.uconn.edu/iesproject/index.html

Access these materials at http://www.scribd.com/wiobyrne

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 Internet Reciprocal Teaching

New Literacies of Online Reading Comprehension

Question

What good online readers know about asking questions:

 I know what a really good question is
 I know that revising the question, when I get new information, often makes it
better
 I know that I need to remember my question and not get distracted




What are three skills or strategies that students need to know?

What are two activities that I already teach that I could adapt to build these skills?

What is one skill my students already have that could be used?

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 Internet Reciprocal Teaching

New Literacies of Online Reading Comprehension

Locate

What good online readers know about locating information:

 I know how different search engines work
 I know simple search strategies for making my search more specific
 I know advanced search strategies and when they could be useful




What are three skills or strategies that students need to know?

What are two activities that I already teach that I could adapt to build these skills?

What is one skill my students already have that could be used?

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 Internet Reciprocal Teaching

New Literacies of Online Reading Comprehension

Evaluate

What good online readers know about evaluating information:

 Relevancy: I know when information meets my needs
 Credibility: I know how to tell when information can be trusted
 Stance: I am a “healthy skeptic” when it comes to online information




What are three skills or strategies that students need to know?

What are two activities that I already teach that I could adapt to build these skills?

What is one skill my students already have that could be used?

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 Internet Reciprocal Teaching

New Literacies of Online Reading Comprehension

Synthesize

What good online readers know about synthesizing information:

 I know how to construct the information I need as I read
 I know which information to ignore
 I know how to piece information together and make inferences when needed
 I know when I have my answer




What are three skills or strategies that students need to know?

What are two activities that I already teach that I could adapt to build these skills?

What is one skill my students already have that could be used?

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 Internet Reciprocal Teaching

New Literacies of Online Reading Comprehension

Communicate

What good online readers know about communicating information:

 I know how to use the tool I have selected
 I know the discursive elements of the communication tool I’m using
 I know how to construct a clear and unambiguous message so the recipient
knows what I mean




What are three skills that students need to know?

What are two activities that I already teach that I could adapt to build these skills?

What is one skill my students already have that could be used?

TICA Basic Skills Checklist

The students in my class know how to:

Computer Basics Comment

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 Turn a computer on/off
 Use the mouse/track pad
 Follow classroom and school rules for computer use
 Open programs and files using icons and/or the Start Menu (PC)
 Log on and log off from individual file space
 Create/open a new folder/file
 Open a word processor
 Open a word processing file
 Name a word processing file and save it
 Type a short entry in a word processing file
 Copy text
 Cut text
 Paste text
 Delete text
 Open a new window
 Open a new tab
Web Searching Basics
 Open a search engine
 Type key words in the correct location of a search engine
 Type addresses in the address window
 Use the refresh button
 Use the “BACK” button
 Use a search engine for simple key word searches
General Navigation Basics
 Maximize/minimize windows
 Open and quit applications
 Toggle between windows
E-mail Skills
 Locate and open an e-mail program
 Attach documents to e-mail messages
 Compose, edit and send email messages
 Receive and reply to messages

TICA Phase II Checklist1

Most of the students and all of the groups in my class know how to:

Understand and Develop Questions Lesson Evidence and

Comments

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 Teacher-Generated Questions
Use strategies to ensure initial understanding of the question such as:
 rereading the question to make sure they understand it.
 paraphrasing the question.

 taking notes on the question.
 thinking about the needs of the person who asked the question.

Use strategies to monitor an understanding of the question such as:

 knowing when to review the question.

 checking an answer in relation to the question to ensure it is complete.

Student-Generated Questions
Determine what a useful question is, based on a variety of factors that include interest,
 audience, purpose, and the nature of the inquiry activity.

Determine a clear topic and focus for questions to guide the search for information.

Modify questions, when appropriate, using strategies such as the following:
 narrowing the focus of the question.
  expanding the focus of the question.
 developing a new question that is more appropriate.

Lesson Evidence and

Locate Information
Comments
Locating Information By Using A Search Engine And Its Results Page
Locate at least one search engine.

Use key words in a search window on a browser that has this.

Use several of the following search engine strategies during key word entry:
 topic and focus
 quotation marks
 single and multiple key word entries
  phrases for key word entry
 paraphrases and synonyms
 Boolean
 advanced search tool

Copy and paste key words and phases into the search engine window while searching
 for information.

Read search engine results effectively to determine the most useful resource for a task
using strategies such as:
 knowing which portions of a search results page are sponsored, containing
commercially placed links, and which are not.
 skimming the main results before reading more narrowly
 reading summaries carefully and inferring meaning in the search engine
 results page to determine the best possible site to visit
 understanding the meaning of bold face terms in the results
 understanding the meaning of URLs in search results (.com, .org, .edu, .net)
 knowing when the first item is not the best item for a question
 monitoring the extent to which a search results page matches the information
needs.
 knowing how to use the history pull down menu.
 Select from a variety of search engine strategies to locate useful resources when an
initial search is unsuccessful:
 Knows the use and meaning of the "Did you mean...?" feature in google.
 Monitors and knows when an initial search is not successful.

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  Adjusts search engine key words according to the results of a search.
 narrows the search.
 expands the search.
 reads search results to discover the correct vocabulary and then use this more
appropriate vocabulary in a new search.
 Shifts to another search engine.

Bookmark a site and access it later.


Use specialized search engines for images, videos, and other media sources.

Locating Information Within A Website
Quickly determine if a site is potentially useful and worth more careful reading

Read more carefully at a site to determine if the required information is located there.

Predict information behind a link accurately to make efficient choices about where
 information is located.

Use structural knowledge of a web page to help locate information, including the use
 of directories.

Recognize when you have left a site and know how to return back to the original site.

Know how to open a second browser window to locate information, without losing the
 initial web page.

Know how to use an internal search engine to locate information at a site.


Lesson Evidence and
Critically Evaluate Information
Comments
Bias and Stance
Recognize that all websites have an agenda, perspective, or bias.

Identify bias, given a website with a clear bias.

Identify the author of a website whenever visiting an important new site.

Use information about the author of a site to determine how information will be biased
 at that site.

Reliability
Investigate multiple sources to compare and contrast the reliability of information.

Identify several markers that may affect reliability such as:
 Is this a commercial site?
 Is the author an authoritative source (e.g., professor, scientist, librarian,
etc.)?
 Does the website have links that are broken?
  Does the information make sense?
 Does the author include links to other reliable websites?
 Does the website contain numerous typos?
 Does the URL provide any clues to reliability?
 Do the images or videos appear to be altered?

Understand that Wikipedia is a reasonable, but imperfect, portal of information.



 Identify the general purpose of a website (entertainment, educational, commercial,

persuasive, exchange of information, social, etc.).

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 Identify the form of a website (e.g. blog, forum, advertisement, informational website,
commercial website, government website, etc.). and use this information when

considering reliability.

Lesson Evidence and

Synthesize Information
Comments
Synthesize information from multiple media sources including written prose, audio,
 visual, video, and/or tables and graphs.

Separate relevant information from irrelevant information.


Organize Information effectively.

Manage multiple sources both on and offline including:
 Choose tools to meet the needs of managing information (file folders,
electronic file folders, notebooks, email, etc.)
 Cite sources

 Take notes with paper & pencil, when appropriate.
 Take notes with a word processor, when appropriate.
 Type notes using short cut strokes such as highlight/cut/copy/paste

Lesson Evidence and

Communicate Information
Comments
Understands that messages have consequences and will influence how others react.

Uses online and offline writing/editing tools such as a word processor, spell checker,
 dictionary, thesaurus, outlining tool, pdf, spreadsheet, concept mapping software, etc.

Uses a wide array of Internet-based forms of communication, such as:

 email and attachments
 blogs
 wikis
  Google Docs
 instant messaging
 websites
 presentation software

Is aware of the audience and the relationship between audience, purpose, medium,
 message.

Knows how to include multiple-media sources within messages.


Uses formatting such as headings and subheadings to communicate the organization of
 information within informational text.

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 As the teacher, I consistently support the development of these
dispositions among the students in my class:2

My Lesson Evidence
Dispositions
and Comments
Persistence
I support the willingness to sustain effort especially when things become difficult
 and/or when a strategy appears not to be successful.

Flexibility
I support students in keeping in mind alternative strategies for accomplishing goals,

continually look for more effective and efficient ways of working online

Collaboration
I encourage students to regularly seek out support and tp support others while working

online.

Critical Stance
I support students in developing a healthy skepticism to information online, regularly

questioning its source, reliability, stance, and accuracy.

Reflection
I support students and encourage them to self-monitor and self-regulate during online

literacy and learning tasks,

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11
These skills and strategies inform and guide instruction during Phase Two but they are not intended to limit instruction.
New skill and strategy needs will emerge within each classroom. Each teacher must respond to (and document) those
additional skill and strategy needs during the year.

22
The evaluation of dispositions will be done from the teacher side, checking to make certain that these are included during
instruction, largely because it is hard to evaluate if each student has these dispositions in place and regularly uses them.

How might I begin planning for IRT lessons?

 Unit model based on curriculum topics and state standards
 3-4 weeks on a topic (e.g., short story, poetry, response to literature, author study)
 Plan IRT strategy sessions 2-3 times a week
 Introduce mini-assessments at end of each cycle to determine whether students can apply
the strategy effectively.
 Begin cycle again with new curriculum topic
 Strategy model based on Internet introducing reading strategies that emerge from students and
learning contexts
 Twice a week a new strategy is introduced and practiced
 The strategy may dovetail with the curriculum or stand alone
 Strategies are introduced in a pre-planned sequence with time to explore implementation
while reading or completing a project
 Introduce mini-assessments at end of each cycle to determine whether students can apply
the strategy effectively.
 Begin cycle again with new curriculum topic
 Telecollaborative Project model based on sharing and exchanging ideas collaboratively with
another class
 Through joining projects or developing projects, strategies needed for the exchange of ideas
are emphasized
o Examples include: participation in a book club, collection of writings to be
published on line, joint editing of a wiki, blogs or shared website sites to use for
collecting and disseminating ideas.
 Combination model based on a combination of the above approaches
 Implement a Unit Model for a portion of time, a Strategy Model for a portion of time, and a
Telecollaborative Model for a portion of time.
 Strategies emerge according to the reading context and instructional situation

What principles of enactment will lead to success in implementation?

 Start simple, begin with what students are familiar with, such as email communication
 Carefully structure lessons at the beginning to provide adequate opportunities for modeling
 Allow strategies to emerge from student discussions but if they don’t, demonstrate useful
strategies that you feel are most important.
 Over time, fully utilize students as informants and teachers
 Kids won’t be fully competent at first, but over time, strategy discussions will become
richer and more applicable for all involved.