Research regarding the academic reading load experienced by first year students at universities in South Africa indicated that students are woefully under-prepared to deal with this load as they have limited reading experiences and strategies. This led to the implementation of an academic reading programme at a university of technology. In order to measure the impact of this academic reading programme, a sequential explanatory mixed-method model was designed to determine if the reading programme had led to any significant gains in reading speed and reading comprehension. The results of the empirical study indicated that the academic reading programme improved reading speed whilst maintaining comprehension.
Research indicates that both local and international first year students struggle with the reading load that is required at tertiary level (Van Schalkwyk
In October 2009, four faculty members attended a training course in reading instruction. This led to the development of an academic reading strategy instruction programme for first year students, which was implemented in 2010. This initial programme was implemented for the first years, who were able to attend it on a voluntary basis. It addressed comprehension skills, particularly those used in the completion of comprehension tests and identifying main ideas in texts, as well as reading speed through eye exercises that the students had to do during class and at home. However, the accurate measurement and monitoring of students’ reading speed proved to be a problem. The students also seemed to struggle with the transfer of what they had learned in the comprehension component of the programme to their studies. By the end of the first two years the lecturers realised that the improvement of reading at all levels across the curriculum, whether the participants were weak readers or strong readers, was not covered in the existing programme and that it had to be changed to accommodate the needs of the students.
In order to monitor students’ reading speed and immediate comprehension more accurately, we invested in the programme
Traditional definitions of reading comprehension often focus on successful decoding and the ability to answer questions after reading (Zimmermann & Hutchins
For the purpose of this article, Snow's definition of reading comprehension will be used: ‘… the process of simultaneously extracting and constructing meaning through interaction and involvement with written language’ (Snow
Research over the past three decades has shown that explicit instruction in reading comprehension strategies is invaluable in the development of proficient readers (Zimmermann & Hutchins
Research has shown that explicit instruction strategy use stands central in effective comprehension instruction (Block, Gambrell & Pressley
Klopper (
Pressley (
Student and teacher transactions with text are the heart of this form of instruction, with classroom discourse consisting of teachers providing support and guidance to students as they attempt to use strategies to learn regular elementary content. (Pressley et al.
This form of instruction is recommended by Keene and Zimmerman (
The following components, in this order, are essential to this form of reading strategy instruction:
A comprehensive explanation of the focus strategy and how it is to be used.
Modelling of the focus strategy by the teacher.
Scaffolded instruction, where students practice the use of the strategy with help and guidance from the teacher.
With the gradual release of responsibility from teacher to student, the students become more confident in the use of the strategy.
Independent strategy use where students use the focus strategy on their own in a variety of contexts.
It can therefore be stated that transactional strategy instruction is a method of instruction that supports the development of self-regulating readers who can actively use strategies used by proficient readers to construct meaning from a text within a variety of contexts (Pressley
Klopper (
The Metacognitive Teaching Framework (MTF).
In 2012/2013, the academic reading programme (see
Academic reading program.
According to the Metacognitive Teaching Framework, the following strategies were chosen for the explicit reading strategy instruction and use of strategy component (see
The students attended two lesson periods of 45 minutes contact time each week, which were used for the explicit instruction component of the programme. The first few lessons formed a unit consisting of an introduction to metacognition, as well as the five strategies that were to be covered during the year. Once the working definitions of the reading strategies had been formulated, the following strategy instruction cycle was followed, using the Metacognitive Teaching Framework:
Period 1: The explicit instruction of a strategy, e.g. prediction, questioning, association, monitoring of understanding or summarising, using transactional instruction (cf.-Conceptual framework). Approximately 5 weeks were spent on each strategy.
Period 2: Exercises were done, focusing on how the strategies are interwoven and work together to create understanding. The aim of these exercises was to help students with the integration of the different strategies for the construction of meaning and for them to realise that strategies do not stand in isolation (as might be deduced from the instruction of a focus strategy). The exercises we used were:
‘Reciprocal Teaching’. While reading through a text, each student is given the role of predictor, questioner, summariser, connecter or clarifier to act out. While one reads the text out loud, they all then work together and play their part to understand the text fully (Stricklin ‘Question Answer Relationship’. Students learn that there is a relationship between a question and where the answer is found. For higher order thinking questions the answers may come directly from the text as well as indirectly and various other information sources (Raphael, Highfield & Au The implementation of ‘R5’. This is a process where students have time to (1) Read and Relax in class, (2) Reflect and (3) Respond in a journal to what they have read, (4) Rap 1, where they talk in pairs about their use of strategy, and (5) Rap 2, where the pairs give feedback to the class about each other's use of each strategy (Kelly & Clausen-Grace
Transactional strategy instruction is used throughout the programme, where the lecturer demonstrates a strategy, works through it with the students and then leaves the students to work in pairs and eventually alone. The texts are specifically chosen to engender working from simple to complex reading strategies, where the initial text is an easier text and the participants work up to reading a difficult text, often a subject related academic text. Here, texts in English are often used indicating that the taught strategies are applied to varying levels of academic difficulty.
As mentioned in the description of the background and development of the project, the computer- based reading and language programme ‘
The program has 15 levels of content, with the expectancy that first year students should be able to read on level 13 with an ‘on the line’ comprehension level of 80%. In the beginning of the year, each student does a calibration exercise on level 12 in order to determine the participant's reading level. This level was chosen for calibration according to the
The aim of this study was to determine the effect of an academic reading programme on the reading comprehension and reading speed of the first year Bachelor of Education (B. Ed) (Intermediate and Senior phase) students at a University of Technology in the Western Cape. In order to meet the aim of this study, a sequential explanatory mixed-method was designed (Ivankova, Cresswell & Stick
The purpose of this research design was to seek elaboration, enhancement, illustration and clarification of results from the quantitative design with results from the qualitative design (also called complementarity). In essence, the two data sets were compared in order to generate complementary insights that created a bigger picture (Sydenstricker-Neto
The sequential explanatory mixed-method design.
A sequential explanatory mixed-method design (Brannen
Has the academic reading programme improved the students’ reading speed and reading comprehension? The following sub-questions were also posed:
Does a relationship exist between the number of reading exercises completed and the increase in words per minute (reading speed) and reading comprehension?
What are the students’ perceptions of the reading programme and the strategy instruction they receive?
What do students find beneficial when using this programme?
What challenges do students face when participating in this programme?
The participants in this study comprised all the B. Ed (Intermediate and Senior Phase) first year students (
Two instruments were used to collect the data from the participants in this study in order to answer the research questions that had been posed. The first instrument was a quantitative pre-test post-test assessment of the participants’ reading comprehension and reading speed. The second instrument was a qualitative online questionnaire, which employed open-ended questions in order to identify the benefits and challenges experienced by the students.
The quantitative phase of this study involved gathering data (reading speed and reading comprehension scores) from the reading programme ‘
The data from the qualitative questionnaire were analysed using Atlas.ti, which formatted the codes into themes. The researcher was then able to analyse and discuss the codified categories in order to organise, identify and synthesise the themes and sub-themes found in the data. Atlas.ti is acknowledged as a reliable software program that is capable of consistent qualitative data-analysis (Smit
In order to ensure validity in the quantitative phase of this study, the following measures were taken. Test Validity, or face validity was ensured by taking into account the degree to which our test or other measuring device is truly measuring what we intended it to measure (Vos et al.,
In order to test reliability, any other researcher should be able to conduct the same research, using the same instrument, with the same setting, conditions and constraints, yielding the same results (Blaxter, Hughes & Tight
In qualitative research, credibility, dependability and confirmability are sought to ensure that the qualitative research process is reliable and dependent (Shenton
Within the arena of qualitative research, validity is described as credibility (Struwig & Stead
Strength of expertise: The strength of these researchers’ expertise lies in the fact that they have all taught reading strategies at schools and at university.
There was rigorous monitoring of progress and meetings with supervisors.
Thorough review of literature to determine the aim of the study and to verify the results.
Thorough description of the phenomenon that was being studied so that it can be understood within the relative context.
Using a recognised research method or design.
Honesty of the participants is encouraged by the fact that they are not forced to participate and that the researchers were open and sincere with them (pp. 65–68).
The dependability of the study indicates the degree to which a study measures the consequentiality of the data (Shenton
Verification of the transcriptions of the questionnaire can be produced.
In-depth discussions with experts in the field of academic reading resulted in agreement on the codes that would be used for the analysis of the data in Atlas.ti.
Confirmability of the study indicates the neutrality of the data set (Poggenpoel & Myburgh
Adherence to relevant ethical aspects of research, which are embodied in individual and professional codes of conduct of a specific university in the Western Cape, were accounted for during the development and conduct of the empirical investigation. The rights and expectations of participants were respected, anonymity and confidentiality were granted, deception was avoided and the purpose of the research was made clear to the participants. The research was also conducted in such a manner so as to minimise any intrusion or disruption to the educational welfare of the participants. Permission was obtained from the university's ethics committee in order to conduct this research.
The only risk of harm that was identified was the following: students’ dignity may have been compromised due to the fact that the students’ may not have wanted their reading levels broadcast for all to see. As such, reading scores were held in confidence and measures of improvement or failure were not disclosed to anyone other than the participants. The questionnaire was also filled in anonymously in order to protect the dignity of the student.
The participants were recruited from the first year ISP group for 2013. There were 93 students in this group. All the participants took part in the pre and post-test of reading results as part of their course work. The qualitative questionnaire was filled in voluntarily and it was explained to the participants that they only had to fill in the online questionnaire (at the end of the year), which was placed on the university's LMS (Learning management system) Blackboard.
There was a specific plan in place for the protection of data, in order to ensure the confidentiality and anonymity of the participants in this study. The plan was as follows: the use of unique identifiers instead of names, storing all data in a locked file, care in disposing of all information that could identify a participant, securing confidentiality statements from all researchers. All participants also had to fill in a consent form, indicating that they were willing to take part in this research project.
At the outset of this research project, the researchers’ aim was to determine if the academic reading programme led to an improvement in the participants’ reading speed and reading comprehension. This aim was inherent in research question 1 which asked: has the reading programme improved the students’ reading speed and reading comprehension? Pre-test and post-test means were calculated and are presented in
Inferential statistics (
Variable | Mean | Minimum | Maximum | Standard deviation | Median | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pre-test | Post-test | Pre-test | Post-test | Pre-test | Post-test | Pre-test | Post-test | Pre-test | Post-test | |
Words per minute | 154.12 | 226.30 | 75.0 | 106.0 | 304.0 | 584.0 | 35.8410 | 91.1216 | 150 | 200 |
Comprehension | 68.28 | 66.38 | 30.0 | 30.0 | 100 | 100 | 17.1707 | 17.0191 | 70 | 70 |
Exercises completed | 46.23 | 24.0 | 70.0 | 8.8295 | 48 |
The results show the pre-test reading speed mean (154.12) and the post-test reading speed mean (226.30) whilst the pre-test comprehension mean (68.28) and the post-test (66.38) indicate that, although the reading speed improved significantly, reading comprehension remained the same. The words per minute gains thus show that the gain in the post-test is highly significant (
Spearman's rho calculations of correlation between variables.
Correlations (Spearman's rho [ |
Method | Number of exercises | Words increase | Comprehension difference |
---|---|---|---|---|
Number of exercises | Correlation Coefficient | 1.000 | .222* | .120 |
- | .032 | .254 | ||
93 | 93 | 93 | ||
Words Increase | Correlation Coefficient | .222* | 1.000 | −.035 |
.032 | - | .740 | ||
93 | 93 | 93 | ||
Comprehension difference | Correlation Coefficient | .120 | −.035 | 1.000 |
.254 | .740 | - | ||
93 | 93 | 93 |
*, Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).
**, Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
Coding categories for open-ended questionnaire.
Category or Theme | Explanation | Results |
---|---|---|
Strategy instruction | Comments related to a preference for strategy instruction | The majority of participants strategy instruction |
Positive experiences
Increased reading speeds Increased opportunities to learns Improved comprehensions Ability to question and think |
Comments related to positive experiences | The majority of students indicated that they had a positive experience |
Challengess
Times Levels Workload |
Comments related to challenges experienced by the participants | - |
Mixed experiences | Comments related to mixed experiences or non-committal reactions | - |
Recommendations | Comments related to aspects of the programme that the participants would like to change | - |
The average number of reading exercises completed by the participants was 46 (see
Correlations were conducted in order to determine if the number of exercises completed by the participants had any impact on their reading speed and reading comprehension (see
The final three research questions were exploratory in nature and sought to investigate the participants’ views on the implementation, preferences, benefits and challenges experienced by these participants whilst enrolled in the reading programme.
After the qualitative data had been analysed and coded in order to determine the categories of the data, the following themes and sub-themes emerged and are summarised in
The themes which emerged from the analysis of the qualitative data allowed the researchers to answer research question 3, which asked if a difference could be discerned between the students’ perceptions of the academic reading programme and the strategy instruction they received. The first theme which emerged from the coding of the data was that of a preference for strategy instruction. The majority of the participants who answered the survey questions indicated that they preferred the strategy instruction component of the reading programme. The following statements attest to this fact:
‘I enjoyed the classes and I really enjoyed seeing how other people think and differ to me’.
‘I really enjoyed the contact time more because the lecturer helped us with things we struggled with or explained things like associations to us’.
‘The part with the different focus strategies. The strategy instruction’.
‘The practical was the nicest part’.
‘I enjoyed learning how my brain works and to hear how other students in my group think’.
Research question 4's objective was to determine which aspects of the reading programme the participants found most beneficial or useful. The participants found that their reading speed had increased:
‘It has made me a faster reader. I can work through the content of subjects much faster than I could at school’.
‘It made me a faster reader’.
‘It was really nice to see how fast I really read and with comprehension. I could monitor my speed and pick up where I was still struggling’.
‘It helps a person to work faster and to summarise good information for projects and enables you to remember information for tests’.
They had improved opportunities to learn:
‘It taught me new reading strategies and improved my learning’.
‘This programme opened my eyes and I realised that there is more to reading than just that and I want to use this in schools so that the children's language and reading comprehension will improve’.
‘Leesnet has taught me many things about reading that I did not know before’.
Improved comprehension capabilities was another benefit noted by the participants:
‘I can read between the lines and it is easier to answer questions about the text after the fact’.
‘Leesnet has improved my comprehension and I have learned to make assumptions from words that I struggled with’.
‘I read faster and with more understanding’.
They were better able to concentrate and remain focused while reading:
‘I now read with more concentration and insight’.
‘I understand what I read better because I can focus on reading with comprehension’.
‘It has helped me with my concentration and to concentrate while reading’.
A further benefit identified by the participants was that their ability to question and think about what they were reading had improved:
‘I think about how I think and have taught myself to question things and if there is something that I don’t understand, I look it up. I must know what it is about so that I can improve my general knowledge’.
In an attempt to identify any challenges or limitations of the reading programme ‘Leesnet’, the researchers posed research question 5 which asked: What do students find challenging when using this programme? The themes related to the challenges which were identified by the participants included – the fact that the programme was time consuming:
‘It is difficult to choose between time spent in the class and learning for a test’.
‘There is not always time for this in our busy schedules’.
‘Readers are Leaders is time consuming’.
Students who are stronger readers did not find benefit in this programme and this was highlighted by the negativity that some of them articulated in their comments. These students indicated that the level of academic difficulty was too easy:
‘I feel that these strategies must be taught to primary school learners. It also feels to me that we are treated like children who know nothing. Many students did not even arrive for the classes and those that did received no advantage’.
The fact that the students struggled with the increased workload in an already full academic timetable:
‘It feels as if it is extra work and we already have so much work to do’.
‘The workload was huge and people like me prefer to spend time exercising and not spending time on something I really have no interest in. I am also a slow reader because I want to understand the words I read. This results in the fact that I often spend too much time reading a text in a test. I also have to repeat the work I did in classes each day that this made that I spent less time on my studies. I would have preferred to use my free periods for summarising and not Leesnet’.
Some participants indicated that they had mixed feelings regarding the academic reading programme. These participants were able to admit that there were beneficial aspects inherent in the programme but that there were elements that fell short of their expectations. The following statements elucidate this phenomenon:
‘Positive – it did help with reading and learning Negative – the classes were slightly boring because we did the same work over and over’.
‘Generally speaking it was positive but the classes made me negative because there were students who attended every class but gained no real benefits from it’.
‘In the beginning it was enjoyable but later in the year, especially towards the end, it held no more value for me’.
The participants were then asked for recommendations to improve the quality and implementation of the reading programme. The recommendations were categorised into three broad themes: a request to implement the reading programme across the curriculum, the use of time and level of academic engagement.
The recommendation regarding the use of reading strategies across the curriculum was the most common theme identified:
‘We should use the strategies in all classes. If feels to me that ‘Leesnet’ only helped me in that class and then I forgot about them’.
‘More application in the classroom and how to use the strategies.
The focus strategies must be applied in class time’.
The following statements relate to the theme of time:
‘I would make the time spent in class less. Fewer reading pieces and more of our own reading pieces’.
‘Fewer exercises per semester. It is time consuming’.
‘I would use less activities because students do not have time anymore’.
Another recommendation was that the level of academic engagement of the texts be improved:
‘That computer programme – it is as if it is made for a two year old and not a university student’.
‘The reading pieces on the computer, must be more interesting and what the students would be interested in’.
‘Readers are leaders is absolute nonsense. The programme is meant for grade 1's’.
‘I would only use the programme in primary school. I feel that when a person is at university they should have mastered this’.
‘We should be reading academic texts’.
The analysis of the data gleaned from this research project regarding the impact of the academic reading programme indicates that the words per minute gains in the post-test is highly significant (
A significant correlation was found between the number of reading exercises completed and the increase in reading speed (words per minute), indicating that an increase in the number of exercises completed by the participants will lead to an increase in their reading speed.
The benefits of the academic reading programme as perceived by the participants lies in the fact that the reading programme works. Participants indicated that their reading speed had increased, that they had improved opportunities to learn; they indicated that their comprehension capabilities had improved and that they were better able to concentrate and remain focused whilst reading, A further benefit identified by the participants was that their ability to question and think about what they were reading had improved.
It must be noted that this academic reading programme has been implemented for those students who do not have the prerequisite reading skills needed for the reading load at university level and as such, should be seen as a bridging programme that is aimed at addressing the articulation gap that exists for these specific students. Although there is concrete evidence that the academic reading programme improves the reading speed of the participants whilst maintaining comprehension, the majority of the participants indicated that they preferred the strategy instruction component of the reading programme. The reasons for this preference lie in the challenges identified in the research. The implementation of the reading programme places additional burdens on the participants in relation to the fact that it is very time consuming, it increases the workload of the participants, who feel that their academic timetable is already very full and that the level of academic difficulty of the texts is not challenging enough. Some participants indicated that they had mixed feelings regarding the reading programme. These participants were able to admit that there were beneficial aspects inherent in the programme but that there were elements (i.e. time-consuming) that fell short of their expectations.
The following limitations were identified in this study:
Only half (
No distinction was made between first language speakers and second language speakers. This constitutes a shortcoming in this study as second language speakers may not have been fully represented.
This study used a convenience sample and cannot be generalised to the general population, which is a limitation of this study.
In order to meet the specific needs of the participants using this specific academic reading programme, two specific recommendations have been made after careful analysis of the data:
The incorporation of academic texts into the academic reading programme
The integration of academic reading strategies across the curriculum.
In order to implement the second recommendation, a third recommendation has been made:
That there is collaboration with all academic staff members, across all subjects, in order to ensure that the specific academic reading skills are integrated across the curriculum. In order to create a culture of academic reading on this campus:
The value of the academic reading programme must be stressed, and that
The significance of strategy instruction be emphasised, as well as the importance of the reading programme ‘
The authors declare that they have no financial or personal relationships which may have inappropriately influenced them in writing this article.
C.L. (Cape Peninsula University of Technology) was the project leader and was responsible for experimental (both quantitative and qualitative) and project design. B.K. (Cape Peninsula University of Technology) was responsible for the review of literature, conceptual design and experimental testing. S.C. (Cape Peninsula University of Technology) made conceptual contributions and statistical calculations were performed by Corrie Uys (Cape Peninsula University of Technology).