Scaffolding the academic language of complex text: an intervention for late secondary students

Abstract

BackgroundLate secondary‐level students (those in their final 2 years of secondary school) preparing for the demands of university and careers increasingly face texts written in academic language. Unfortunately, few intervention studies show how instruction can improve their reading achievement.MethodsThe 152 student participants (16–17 years old, U.S. Grade 11) were randomly assigned either to small groups receiving scaffolded instruction while reading complex texts or to a business‐as‐usual control condition. The intervention instruction included tutors supporting students' paraphrasing skills while scaffolding their academic language. Measures included pre‐test and post‐tests of standardised reading comprehension and tutors' reports of the scaffolds they used in each session. Multi‐level regression modelling estimated the causal effect of the intervention (RQ1) and the associations between the types of scaffolds and the comprehension outcome (RQ2).ResultsFor RQ1, assignment to the intervention significantly predicted a 1.20‐point increase in a standardised test widely used for entrance into U.S. universities, which includes a reading comprehension subtest reading scores (d = 0.16). No significant interactions were found by pre‐test scores, race, eligibility for school lunch subsidy or learning disabilities. For RQ2, the scaffolds measure explained 11% of the outcome variance, suggesting that scaffolding contributes significantly to comprehension outcomes. Specifically, rereading scaffolds significantly predicted lower post‐test scores, while syntax and structure scaffolds predicted higher post‐test scores.ConclusionsThis intervention presents a model for future interventions with this understudied population. A focus on complex texts with scaffolding designed to account for the complexity of academic language may be effective in supporting late secondary students' reading comprehension. In addition, certain kinds of scaffolding may be differentially effective if educators help students unpack complicated syntax and attend to the structural features of complex texts.

Informing the Science of Reading: Students’ Awareness of Sentence‐Level Information Is Important for Reading Comprehension

“…Indeed, Karasinski (2016) demonstrated that skill in evaluating syntax was uniquely related to understanding science texts, beyond other aspects of language skills. Similarly, instruction in syntax combined with that in scaffolding text structure was connected to improved understanding of academic texts (Reynolds, 2021).…”

Systematic Review on Quality Indicators of Randomised Controlled Trial Reading Intervention Studies for Students in Years 7–12

“…Studies that included students with a disability or ELLs were required to provide additional information regarding the school setting. Ten studies met this requirement by providing additional information, such as the percentage of the school population receiving special education services or describing the type of program for ELLs or students with a disability (Bemboom & McMaster, 2013; Clarke et al, 2017; Gorard et al, 2014, 2015; O’Connor et al, 2017; Reynolds, 2021; Swanson et al, 2017; Vaughn et al, 2012, 2015; Williams & Vaughn, 2020).…”

“…O’Connor et al (2017) included students who received special education services and reported the percentage of identified disabilities within this group. Reynolds (2021) was the only study that did not describe a disability or the risk status of the participants.…”

“…Teacher assistants acted as the intervention agent in two studies (Clarke et al, 2017; Sibieta, 2016). Tutors were trained to implement the intervention in Denton et al (2017) and Reynolds (2021). A special education teacher delivered the intervention in one study (O’Connor et al, 2017).…”

What is an ELA text set? Surveying and integrating cognitive, critical and disciplinary lenses

“…In this view, the target text is the apex of the text set's design. This view connects to a larger line of instructional research on defining features of complex texts and preparing students with cognitive strategies and instructional support to handle the linguistic and conceptual challenges of reading such text (Amendum et al, 2018;Lupo, et al, 2019;Mesmer et al, 2012;Reynolds, 2021). Theoretically, text complexity as an explicit goal could help strengthen students' cognitive reading abilities and build them as lifelong readers.…”