Reading is perhaps one of the most important tools to gain knowledge. Forget school going students, sometimes many of the adults also fail to grasp sufficient information from the text that they read. Reading with understanding is a habit that needs to be imbibed in students at a young age. Young school going students need to be a taught the importance of concentrated and constructive reading, and hence teachers often make use of several reading techniques and teaching methods that aid the students. One such technique is the reciprocal teaching technique, which is a remedial technique, aimed at developing and enhancing reading comprehension. Also read about study techniques, for more information on this subject.

What exactly is the Reciprocal Teaching Technique?

According to Palincsar, who introduced this technique, the formal definition of reciprocal teaching is as follows: Reciprocal teaching refers to an instructional activity that takes place in the form of a dialog between teachers and students regarding segments of text which is structured by the use of four strategies: summarizing, question generating, clarifying, and predicting. According to Palinscar, during reciprocal teaching, the teacher and students take turns assuming the role of teacher in leading this dialog, which leads to an interesting group learning experience. Read the rest of this entry »