Differential effects of reading strategy intervention for three levels of comprehenders: Focus on text comprehension and autonomous reading motivation

The present study aimed to explore whether reading strategy intervention directed by the principle of gradual release of responsibility (GRR) improves students' Chinese reading comprehension and autonomous reading motivation (ARM) and whether the intervention effectiveness varies for low, average, and high levels of comprehenders in secondary schools. A 2 × 2 crossover experimental intervention was set up, involving 1688 students from 30 classes of six lower secondary schools in China. They were randomly assigned to exposure to GRR-directed reading strategy intervention and then conventional reading instruction, or in reverse order. Students in the experimental phase received GRR-directed reading strategy instruction for 18 class sessions, whereas those in the control phase received conventional reading instruction in equal time. Hierarchical data collected at pretest, posttest, and follow-up test were analyzed with multilevel modeling. The results indicated that GRR-directed reading strategy instruction significantly improved students' Chinese reading comprehension and ARM. However, this teaching approach facilitated low, average, and high levels of comprehenders to significantly different extents. During the intervention, low-level comprehenders made greater progress in reading comprehension and ARM than average-level comprehenders, while average-level comprehenders made greater progress than high-level comprehenders. These findings suggest that an in-depth understanding of the effectiveness of GRR-directed reading strategy intervention requires consideration of different levels of comprehenders. Implications for reading teaching practice are discussed.