1

WEST VISAYAS STATE UNIVERSITY

Calinog Campus
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
GRADUATE SCHOOL
Calinog, Iloilo

Study Buddy: A Learning Approach to Improve the Reading Comprehension of Grade 9 students
of Calinog National Comprehensive High School

An Action Research Proposal Presented to

The Faculty of the College of Education

(Graduate School)

West Visayas State University – Calinog Campus

Calinog, Iloilo

In Partial Fulfilment

of the Requirements for the Course

Doctor of Education

Major in Educational Management

By

FRANCIS JAY P. ALITE

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WEST VISAYAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Calinog Campus
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
GRADUATE SCHOOL
Calinog, Iloilo

December 2022

To be successful in life, one must process the skill of reading. Reading is an activity

performed to develop an understanding of a subject or topic. As a receptive and active process,

reading makes an individual updated and informed. It is a dynamic process in which the reader

is searching for connections of ideas in the text. Reading requires the utilization of many mental

processes as information is collected, processed and analyzed. Also, reading is a source of

enjoyment for individuals (Li and Wilhelm, 2008).

While reading is a very important part of an individual’s personal and educational

growth, it is the concept of comprehension that may be even more important. Reading in and

of itself is not enough: in addition, an individual need to be able to breakdown, to analyze, and

to re-organize ideas and information. A person needs the ability to understand what the writer

is attempting to communicate.

According to the National Research Council’s Committee on Prevention of Reading

Difficulties in Young Children (1998), reading is needed for success in our society. If reading

success is not achieved, educational careers are negatively affected due to a lack of

understanding and inability to comprehend written material. Schools have the main

responsibility to ensure students learn to read and enjoy it through reading developmental

programs and curriculum. There is a constant struggle to find the best way for children to learn

to read and grow to be life-long readers.

Helping students improve reading fluency and comprehension is a challenge for

educators across the nation. The challenge becomes even greater when students also are
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WEST VISAYAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Calinog Campus
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
GRADUATE SCHOOL
Calinog, Iloilo

challenged with a learning disability which affects their aptitude to read. Increased reading

fluency contributes to improved reading comprehension skills. This study will be conducted to

establish the efficacy of peer studying and reading and its impact on increasing reading

comprehension. Previous studies have recognized the positive benefits of “Peer Assisted

Learning Strategies” (PALS) for nondisabled students. In addition, studies focused on the

benefits of repeated oral readings have noted an increase in reading fluency for non-disabled

students (Fuchs, Fuchs & Fuchs, 2005).

This researcher became interested in studying ways to increase reading fluency and

comprehension among learners since it has been the constant problem especially that our

education system shifted to a different mode of learning in response to the pandemic crisis.

Now that the learning is slowly going back to normal with the opening of schools and shifting to

limited face to face. The researcher is interested in trying to find strategic ways to improve the

reading skills of the learners especially in the comprehending what they have read. For her it is

very important because for almost 2 to 3 years the learners are doing modular learning with

little or sometime no supervision from adult. The result of the random reading test during their

home visitation showed a very poor reading and writing skills among their students in grade

nine. The majority of those diagnosed with poor reading ability and comprehension were found

out have no guidance in their modular learning, thus the struggle in reading is evident.

With this the researcher is interested and would like to expand that body of literature by

examining the impact of “Study Buddies in Reading” on reading comprehension. A Study Buddy

Program, a type of peer-tutoring strategy that can be used across various grade levels spanning
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WEST VISAYAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Calinog Campus
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
GRADUATE SCHOOL
Calinog, Iloilo

from kindergarten through grade 12, is one method used in schools as well as libraries to do

just this. As defined in this project, a Buddy Reading Program is a program that pairs older

students with younger students in a language art setting. The older students prepare a short

reading lesson and tutor the younger students in hopes of improving reading success.

This study buddy approach may be anchored on the Cooperative learning which is the

pedagogical practice of structuring learning activities so that dyads or small groups of students

work together in order to achieve the stated goal of the activity (Johnson & Johnson, 1999a;

Slavin, 1980; Slavin, 2011). Slavin (1980) contrasts cooperative activities with competitive and

individualistic learning activities. Competitive activities are structured in such a way that the

success of one student necessitates the relative failure of another student, whereas individual

activities are those structured so that the achievement of one student has no effect on the

achievement of other students. In comparison, cooperative activities are structured so that the

success of one student is dependent upon and promotes the success of others.

Student-content interaction is a primary reason why formal educational systems exist.

“Content” is simply the subject matter that is to be learned (Moore & Kearsley, 2005). In higher

education, student-content interaction can be scaled up quite dramatically, as evidenced by the

large enrolments in some required undergraduate, lecture-based classes at large universities.

On the other hand, as class size increases, effective student-teacher interaction becomes more

difficult. While Kuh (2003) has strongly advocated social engagement of learners as an

important retention factor, on-campus student-student interaction has come under scrutiny by

Arum and Roksa (2011) for failing to engage learners academically. They claim that student-
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WEST VISAYAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Calinog Campus
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
GRADUATE SCHOOL
Calinog, Iloilo

student social interaction does not necessarily promote academic achievement and more often

distracts from learning. This challenges faculty and instructional designers to ensure that

student-student learning activities are goal-focused and robustly constructed to promote

learning. Among the best guidelines for this come from the area of cooperative learning

(Johnson & Johnson, 1999a; Johnson & Johnson, 2002; Slavin, 1980; Slavin, 2011).

That is why it will be in this premise that this study will be conducted by the researcher.

To find out the effectiveness of study buddy approach in improving the reading comprehension

of the Grade 4 learners of Intapian Elementary School in the Municipality of Calinog.

The Research Questions/ The Problem

This action research aimed in finding out the effectiveness of study buddy learning

approach in improving the reading comprehension performance of Grade 9 in Calinog National

Comprehensive High School for the School, SY 2022-2023.

Specifically, it sought to answers the following questions:

1. What is the level of reading comprehension performance of the respondents before and

after using the Study buddy approach?

2. How does study-buddy approach improve the reading comprehension performance of

Grade nine learners?

3. What are the impacts of the experiences in conducting the study to the participants?
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WEST VISAYAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Calinog Campus
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
GRADUATE SCHOOL
Calinog, Iloilo

Specific Actions or Intervention

The action research design was used to determine the effectiveness of study buddy

learning approach in improving the reading comprehension performance of grade four learners.

This design involved a pretest measure followed by a treatment and a posttest for a single

group (Creswell, 2007). The researchers determined the effects of the treatment by comparing

the results of the pretest and posttest measures.

Study Buddy Approach

This study investigated the nature of student-student interactions through the study

buddy approach peer activity in order to improve the reading comprehension of the learners.

According to Slavin’s (2011) integrated model of cooperative learning, the study explored

various ways in which the study buddy activity led to increased social cohesion and motivation,

provided developmentally appropriate learning challenges, and promoted cognitive

restructuring.

This strategy will be implemented by the researcher in the first quarter of school year

2023 – 2024 to the Grade 9 learners of Calinog National Comprehensive High School. They will

be given in a form of activity that will be followed by the learners in their weekly home learning

plan. The grade nine learners will be grouped by pair by the researcher depending on their

location houses and schedule of face to face learning in school. The researcher will monitor the

progress of the learners through facebook messenger, text messages, and phone calls with

parents.
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WEST VISAYAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Calinog Campus
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
GRADUATE SCHOOL
Calinog, Iloilo

Data Sources

Subjects/ Respondents

This study involved the ten (10) purposively selected Grade 9 in Calinog National

Comprehensive High School for the School for the school year 2022-2023. Considering the

limitations in the delivery of education to the learners having only the limited face-to-face

classes, these grade four learners were grouped by pair base on their address and schedule of

face to face class in school. Learners that were paired are those household addresses are close

to each other and have the same schedule in limited face to face to ensure that they have time

as study buddies in home. The learners were guided by the weekly home learning plan,

designed by the researcher in which the schedule and activities to be done as study buddy were

followed when they are at home. Reading materials that are in line with the given activities as

well as supplementary materials were provided by the researcher to each pair/study buddies.

Only learners with identified study buddy were considered as participants of the study. The

duration of the study was observed for 2 to 3 weeks.

The consent and cooperation of the parents in monitoring process of the learner’s

activity were given importance. Since the learner are both interacting with each other,

necessary health protocol was still followed in the conduct of the study.
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WEST VISAYAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Calinog Campus
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
GRADUATE SCHOOL
Calinog, Iloilo

Research Instrument

This study made use of PHIL-IRI as means of measuring the reading comprehension of

the learners before and after the intervention. Philippine Informal Reading Inventory which is

also known as "Phil-IRI" is an assessment tool that is designed to determine a student's reading

skill. It is composed of graded passages that can be also used in combination with other reliable

tools of assessment. You can download the 2018 Phil-IRI manual after the preface.

The Philippine Informal Reading Inventory (Phil-IRI) is an initiative of the Bureau of

Learning Delivery, Department of Education that directly addresses its thrust to make every

Filipino child a reader. It is anchored on the flagship program of the Department: “Every Child A

Reader Program,” which aims to make every Filipino child a reader and a writer at his/her grade

level. 

Semi structured interview and observation was used to gather data on the study-buddy

approach improve the reading comprehension performance of Grade IV learners and impacts of

the experiences in conducting the study to the participants.

Data Gathering Procedure

In this study, the data were gathered from the results of the pretest and posttest given

to the participants before and after the intervention using the PHIL IRI.

Prior to the conduct of the study, the researcher secured permission from the office of

the School Principal to conduct the study. Informed consent were also given to the parents of

the learners. After which, the researcher identified and choose the learner participants using
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WEST VISAYAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Calinog Campus
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
GRADUATE SCHOOL
Calinog, Iloilo

purposive sampling. Prior to the conduct of the study, the learners were given instruction about

the intervention and were given reading materials and guided activity on how to conduct the

intervention (study buddy approach). Since the study were conducted during the

implementation of limited face to face. Strict observance of Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF)

protocol regarding health concerns, preventive measures will be undertaken such as social

distancing, wearing of face mask and face shields, hand washing, checking of temperature, log

book signing, sanitizing and disinfecting the classroom before and after the sessions. The study

was conducted during the first quarter for the school year 2022-2023. The pretest was given to

the learners before the intervention after which the posttest was administered to the same set

of learners after the intervention.

Data Analysis Procedure

The following statistical tools were used in the study:

Mean. This was used to determine the level of reading comprehension performance of

learners before and after the intervention. To determine the value of the descriptive variable

that were assessed, the researcher applied numerical values to particular descriptive data.

To determine the level of reading comprehension among the respondents the grading

scale of PHIL-IRI was adapted.

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WEST VISAYAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Calinog Campus
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
GRADUATE SCHOOL
Calinog, Iloilo

Score Description
79.51 – 100.00% Independent
58.51 – 79.50% Instructional
58.50% and below Frustration
Standard deviation. The standard deviation was used to determine the dispersion of the

scores of the mean.

Thematic Analysis. This was used to qualitatively analyzed interviews and observation of

the respondents as to how study-buddy approach improve the reading comprehension

performance of Grade 9 impacts of the experiences in conducting the study to the participants.

Results

Quantitative Result (Descriptive)

Question 1: What is the level of reading comprehension performance of the respondents

before and after using the Study buddy approach?

The result of the pre-test and post-test is shown in Table 1. For their level of reading

comprehension performance of the respondents before and after using the Study buddy

approach, the result of the pre-test score was “Instructional”, (M= 59.7), s.d. = 8.33). While

the post-test scores showed an “Instructional”, (M = 63.1, s.d.= 7.42) level.

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WEST VISAYAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Calinog Campus
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
GRADUATE SCHOOL
Calinog, Iloilo

Table 1. Pre-Test and Post-Test Mean of the Reading Comprehension before and after using

Study Buddy Approach

Category Mean Description Sd

PHIL-IRRI result

Pre-test 59.7 Instructional 8.33

Post-test 63.1 Instructional 7.42

Score Description
79.51 – 100.00% Independent
58.51 – 79.50% Instructional
58.50% and below Frustration

Qualitative Result (Thematic Analysis)

Question 2: How does study-buddy approach improve the reading comprehension

performance of Grade IV learners?

Based on the interviews and observation with the purposely selected students. The

following were the:

1. Boost Confidence in Reading

Since the reading activity is done by pair, for the participants having a partner whether in

studying or reading activity usually boost their confidence since they have someone to ask to in

times they don’t know something. For them, having someone beside them makes them feel
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WEST VISAYAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Calinog Campus
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
GRADUATE SCHOOL
Calinog, Iloilo

confident. As per observed, they are not afraid to make a mistake in reading activities since

both of them are of the same pace and both of them try to read and compares each other idea

in their reading activity. According to pair number 1 “Nami nga imaw ikaw magbasa, indi ikaw

mahuya kapin pa kon pareho man kamu abilidad magbasa” (Its nice to read with a companion, I

am not shy especially we are of the same phase in reading skills). Pair number 3 “Okay gid kon

may imaw, kag indi ako mahuya kag kadlawan kun sala akon pamasa… makapamangkutanay

pa kami nga duha…buligay.” (Its okay to have a partner, I do not shy away and no one will

laugh at me if I make mistake in reading… we can ask each other… I have help). According to

pair 4 “Kanami lang kon may upod kapin pa kon mayadanay kamo… daw indi ka matahap or

mahadlok.” (It was really nice to have a companion, especially when you are good together..

you will not feel anxious nor fear).

2. Encourage Motivation among Learners

Having a partner in reading for the participants motivates them. As observed and based on

the interview, they would stay for a long time reading with partners rather reading alone. For

them, by pairing with their reading buddy, reading activities will not be boring because they are

not alone and with their buddies encourage them to be at their best since there is someone

who support them. It was also observed that reading is worthwhile with their reading buddies

since, its is not usually reading only. Sometimes they have fun, exchanging jokes and

comparing ideas that they can relate in their reading material. According to pair 2 “Indi kami

dali matak-an ky may imaw kaw…. Kun ikaw lng abi daw kaboring magbasa. Manami my upod
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WEST VISAYAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Calinog Campus
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
GRADUATE SCHOOL
Calinog, Iloilo

kay indi ka magdali matapos basa…. ” (We don’t feel bored if we have reading buddy.. it is easy

for you to get bored if you are only alone. It is nice to have reading buddy so that you are not

in a hurry to finish reading). Pair 3 says that “Indi kataraka kon may reading buddy ka… mas

naganahan ka pa gani magbasa basta kilala mu lng kag sahuan mo.. mas malawid pasensiya

mu sa ginaubra mo kay waay ka natak.an.” (Its not boring if you have study buddy, you will

find more challenging/exiting to read especially with someone who you really like to be with).

And lastly according to pair 4, “Maimprove gid guro reading performance kon may reading

buddy mas nagadugang interes ko magbasa.” (My reading performance will surely increase

using reading buddy in learning. As to pair number 5, according to them “Sadya kon may imaw

ka magbasa, kon ikaw lang siguro waay lang buhay untat kana… pro kon may upod kaw,

malingaw kaw samtang gabasa.. kis-a gajoke.kanay kamo… kag gastorya parti sa nabasahan

nyo… (It is fun to have a partner in reading, if we are only alone in reading it will not take long

and you will quit. But if you have partner, you will be entertained while reading… sometimes we

exchange jokes and talks about what have we read.

Question 2: What are the impacts of the experiences in conducting the study to the

participants?

Social and Emotional Benefits

Based on the data gathered through observation and interview, it was found by the

researcher that having a study buddy have significant impact in the reading comprehension

performance of the learners. As mentioned earlier, it boosts the confidence and at the same
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WEST VISAYAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Calinog Campus
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
GRADUATE SCHOOL
Calinog, Iloilo

time encourage motivation among learners in reading. These are equally important and

essential in the formation of values in student learning which eventually leads to a significant

learning experience on the part of the learners. Furthermore, although study buddy approach

may prove to have a positive outcome on the learner’s reading performance there are also

negative outcomes in this learning approach.

Study buddy give opportunity for the learners. When students are given the freedom to

be better, to work for something bigger than themselves, and to mentor others, they can

thrive. Those who are not reading on grade level will have a chance to practice with picture

books that they wouldn’t otherwise pick up and to increase their confidence as they read.

As observed by the researcher, there are times especially when the pair is too

comfortable with each other they tend to be distracted with each other, joking around and

doing other things other than reading activity. They tend to be playful and lose focus on what

they are reading. According to pair 3, “…pero kis-a ang akon imaw gapakadlaw tana, gina-

langolango na amon ginabasa…. Makadlaw du manlang ako” (sometimes my buddy joke around

and make fun what we are reading…. I get distracted and laugh). Pair 4 also mentioned that

“Kon partner ka gani ka imaw ko may jan nga ginalain namon ang pamasa ka ginapabasa

kanamon kag kadlawan… (If we are partnered with my companion, there are times that we

change the words and make fun of it). Pair 5 also shared “ginasaway lang kami kon sobra na

ang lango lango namon sa ginapaubra kanamon… gauntat man kami dayon kag magpadayon”

(If we are reprimanded with our jokes during the activity… we stop and continue doing the

activity).
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WEST VISAYAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Calinog Campus
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
GRADUATE SCHOOL
Calinog, Iloilo

But in totality, having study buddy is very effective especially in the reading experience

of the students. The distraction observed can be a minimal problem and can be controlled by

close supervision of the teacher in doing the activity or parents and guardian at home.

Reflections, Implications, and Recommendations

Reflections and Implications

The study revealed that the study buddy learning showed positive result in approach in

improving the reading comprehension performance of the participants. Furthermore, the

qualitative result showed that boost confidence in reading and encourage motivation is how the

study-buddy approach improve the reading comprehension performance. Additionally, the

qualitative results also showed social and emotional benefits are the impacts of the experiences

in conducting the study to the participants. The result of the study is congruent to the theory of

Vygotsky ( 1986), in which he stated that learning can take place in a social setting. During

buddy reading, there is potential for students to engage in a social construction of knowledge

through student talk that is meaningful and authentic. Talk between students while buddy

reading was very powerful. According to Brown (2006), student talk is central to learning; it

was important to understand how children supported each other's learning through peer

discourse. In Brown's study (2006), students used talk to organize their activity so that they

could engage in it meaningfully. Talk supported these students in resolving word difficulties as

they either sounded out words together, used picture clues or told one another the unknown

words (Brown, 2006). Student talk during the activity of buddy reading aided in those ideas.
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WEST VISAYAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Calinog Campus
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
GRADUATE SCHOOL
Calinog, Iloilo

The result also agrees with the idea of Shcgar (2009), that during buddy reading there

is an increased opportunity for buddies to read aloud and be listened to, to follow an easy

procedure, and have the opportunity to receive positive reinforcement. If students did not

engage in a process of constructing knowledge and literacy skills through a social context they

might had never known how to hold a conversation based around literature. To be able to

break apart a book and talk about your likes and dislikes, themes, lessons, genres, author's

message and so on are higher level skills that all children should be able to develop. Being

exposed to this during buddy reading helped develop conversation pieces and vocabulary. It

helped them gain confidence as a reader and they started to feel comfortable as a reader. My

students in first grade were not only emergent in the areas of literacy development but

emergent in social skills and building relationships. Some students grew faster than others.

Buddy reading was a positive way for my students to get involved together and work together.

If buddy reading could not be included in my classroom I feared that the rich conversations

they created around books they had read would not exist.

Buddy reading did not only support students socially and emotionally but also

academically. Buddy reading lead to positive and better results in reading accuracy and

comprehension (Morgan, 1986). By allowing time for peers to discuss books and give their

opinions on books enabled them to open their mind to new ideas, lessons, and themes found in

books. According to Schmidt and Theurer (2008) reading buddies support young readers by

both decoding and talking about the books they read together, reinforcing the idea that reading

is more than identifying words.

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WEST VISAYAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Calinog Campus
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
GRADUATE SCHOOL
Calinog, Iloilo

Recommendations

Based on the findings and implications of this action research, it is therefore

recommended that:

1. The use of this approach should be encouraged in the reading program of the schools

especially dealing with students who are shy and lacks confidence.

2. It can be recommended also that this program be modified to include more sessions in

hopes that improvements in skills will show greater differences.

4. The Buddy Reading Program should be integrated to learner’s free time and in times where

all students are working on academic-related activities.

5. Research along this line is encouraged.

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WEST VISAYAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Calinog Campus
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
GRADUATE SCHOOL
Calinog, Iloilo

References

Brown, S. (2006). Investigating classroom discourse surrounding pattner reading. Early

Childhood Education Journal, 3-1( l ), 29-36.

Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five
Approaches (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Retrieved from
http://www.sagepub.com/booksProdDesc.nav?prodId=Book227517

Fuchs, D., & Fuchs, L. S. (2005). Peer-Assisted learning strategies: Promoting word recognition,
fluency, and reading comprehension in young children.

Johnson, D. W., & Johnson, R. T. (1999a). Learning together and alone: Cooperative,
competitive, and individualistic learning (5th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Johnson, D. W., & Johnson, R. T. (2002). Learning together and alone: Overview and meta-
analysis. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 22, 95-105. doi:10.1080/0218879020220110

Layton, C. A., & Koenig, A. J. (1998). Increasing reading fluency in elementary students with
low vision through repeated reading. Journal of vision impairment and blindness, 92(5).

Li, H., & Wilhelm, K. H. (2008). Exploring pedagogical reasoning: Reading strategy instruction
from two teachers perspectives. The Reading Matrix, 8(1), 96-110.

Slavin, R. E. (1980). Cooperative learning. Review of Educational Research, 50, 315-342.

Slavin, R. E. (2011). Instruction based on cooperative learning. In R. E. Mayer & P. A.

Alexander (Eds.), Handbook of research on learning and instruction (pp. 344-360). New
York: Routledge.

Shegar, C. (2009). Buddy reading in a Singaporean primary school: Implications for training and

research. RELC Journal, 40(2), 133-148

Schmidt, K. & Theurer, J. (2008). Coaching reading buddies for success. The Reading Teacher,

62(3), 261-264.

Vygotsky, L.S. ( 1962). Thoughts and language. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
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WEST VISAYAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Calinog Campus
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
GRADUATE SCHOOL
Calinog, Iloilo