Reciprocal Teaching with Buddy to Improve Metacognitive Strategies of a High School Student with Reading Comprehension Difficulties

Abstract

Reading is a complicated activity that involves cognitive and metacognitive strategies. Metacognitive strategies can be used to understand a text. Metacognitive strategies can help individuals to regulate their knowledge, manipulate information, and reflect understanding, to capture the meaning of the text. The objective of this research is to examine whether intervention program with reciprocal teaching carried out by a buddy can improve metacognitive strategies used by the student. This research is conducted using single-subject design to a high school student with reading comprehension difficulties. The program consisted of four phases, i.e. preparation, baseline, treatment, and evaluation. During the baseline phase, metacognitive strategies were measured. During the treatment phase, the subject received learning program with reciprocal teaching and buddy reading. His metacognitive strategies were measured afterward. The result showed that there was an improvement in the variety and type of metacognitive strategies used by the subject while reading. This research cannot determine whether the reading difficulties are tackled. However the difficulties to understand are slightly overcome.