128 Julio & López The Reciprocal Teaching Model in the Development of Writing in Tenth Graders1 El modelo de enseñanza recíproco en el desarrollo de la habilidad de la escritura en estudiantes de décimo grado. Karen Julio Cárdenas and Margarita María López Pinzón2* Universidad de Caldas, Colombia Abstract This article presents an action research study. Its purpose was to determine the extent to which the Reciprocal Teaching model (RT), proposed by Palincscar and Brown (1984), impacts tenth grader’s English writing skills. The research work included: (1) A diagnostic stage to determine the participant’s initial difficulties in regards to their writing skills; (2) An action stage that consisted of the implementation of some workshops based on the RT model and focused on reading strategies, namely predicting, clarifying, questioning, and summarizing. (3) An evaluation stage where key findings indicated the usefulness of RT for building confidence in the students and for developing their writing skills as they were able to expand their vocabulary spectrum, reduce syntax errors, and improve the content, organization and punctuation of their writing. Findings also suggested that assessing writing performance through portfolios was useful to enhance the school curriculum because students engaged in their own learning and participated actively in the process. Keywords: curriculum; Reciprocal Teaching Model; reading strategies; portfolios; writing Resumen Este artículo presenta un estudio de Investigación-Acción cuyo propósito fue determinar en qué medida el modelo de Enseñanza Recíproca (ER), propuesto por Palincscar y Brown (1984), afecta las habilidades de escritura en inglés del décimo grado. Este trabajo de investigación incluyó: (1) Una etapa de diagnóstico para 1 Received: May 11th 2018/ Accepted: September 18th 2019 2 karenjulio_2108@hotmail.com; margarita.lopez@ucaldas.edu.co Gist Education and Learning Research Journal. ISSN 1692-5777. No.19 (July - December, 2019). pp. 128-147. No. 19 (July - December 2019) No. 19 (July - December 2019) 129 Julio & López determinar las dificultades iniciales del participante con respecto a sus habilidades de escritura; (2) Una etapa de acción que consistió en la implementación de algunos talleres basados en el modelo ER y se enfocó en cuatro estrategias de lectura como la predicción, clarificación, cuestionamiento y resumen. (3) una etapa de evaluación donde los principales hallazgos indicaron la utilidad de ER para generar confianza en los participantes y desarrollar sus habilidades de escritura, ya que pudieron ampliar su espectro de vocabulario, reducir los errores de sintaxis y mejorar el contenido, la organización y la puntuación de sus escritos. Los hallazgos también sugieren que la evaluación del desempeño de la escritura a través de portafolios es útil para mejorar el currículo escolar porque los estudiantes se involucraron en su propio aprendizaje y participaron activamente en este proceso. Palabras claves: currículo; Enseñanza Recíproca; estrategias de lectura; portafolio; escritura Resumo Este artigo apresenta um estudo de Pesquisa-Ação cujo propósito foi determinar em que medida o modelo de Ensino Recíproco (ER), proposto por Palincscar e Brown (1984), afeta as habilidades de escritura em inglês do segundo ano do ensino médio. Este trabalho de pesquisa incluiu: (1) Uma etapa de diagnóstico para determinar as dificuldades iniciais do participante com relação a suas habilidades de escritura; (2) Uma etapa de ação que consistiu na implementação de algumas oficinas baseadas no modelo ER e enfocou-se em quatro estratégias de leitura como a predição, clareza, questionamento e resumo. (3) uma etapa de avaliação onde as principais descobertas indicaram a utilidade de ER para gerar confiança nos participantes e desenvolver suas habilidades de escritura, posto que puderam ampliar seu espectro de vocabulário, reduzir os erros de sintaxe e melhorar o conteúdo, a organização e a pontuação de seus escritos. As descobertas também sugerem que a avaliação do desempenho da escritura através de portfólios é útil para melhorar o currículo escolar porque os estudantes se involucraram em sua própria aprendizagem e participaram ativamente neste processo. Palavras chaves: currículo; Ensino Recíproco; estratégias de leitura; portfólio; escritura No. 19 (July - December 2019) No. 19 (July - December 2019) 130 Reciprocal Teaching Model In The Development Of Writing Julio & López Introduction This study deals with the implementation of the Reciprocal Teaching Model (RT) and its relation to the development of writing skills in the tenth graders of a public school in Cartagena, Colombia. The participants were selected according to Cozby’s (2008) convenience sampling, which considers availability, schedule, members, and characteristics.The Action Research approach related to the quelitaive research allowed to identify the problem, gather data, interpret , to act on evidence and to evaluate results. Consequently, a diagnostic stage was carried out which indicated difficulties in generating thoughts, translating ideas into readable texts, using accurate grammar, vocabulary, and punctuation, and establishing cohesion and coherence. Therefore, it was clear the need for the implementation of strategies to improve the writing skills in this school. This introspection led the researchers to consider the use of the RT Model because it encourages students to take into consideration their own thinking processes during reading and it helps them to be actively involved in their comprehension process, which is reflected in their written production. The outcomes of the study reported that through the implementation of the workshops under the RT Model, the students developed and improved their writing skills in English. The findings established the usefulness of this model since it raised the confidence of the students towards writing which contributed to the improvement of the skill. Additionally, the practicality of portfolios and the collaborative and cooperative strategies allowed students to learn from their peers and teacher by recognizing writing as a more meaningful and pleasant. Literature Review The writing process According to Richards and Renandya, writing is the most difficult skill for L2 learnerssince they must pay attention to different skills such as planning, organization, spelling, punctuation, word choice, syntax and mechanics Richards and Renandya (2002). Cohesion and coherence are two more fundamental characteristics of a well-written passage. The former refers to surface level signals that reflect the discourse organization of the text and the intended purposes of the writer; the latter refers to whatever links the meanings of utterances in a sentence or a discourse. According to Harmer (2007) teachers need to involve the students in the process of writing, by encouraging them to plan, draft and edit since this process will help them to improve the skill. Moreover, the author emphasizes that teachers should take into account the age, level, learning styles and interest of the students when deciding what kind of writing they want them to do. No. 19 (July - December 2019) No. 19 (July - December 2019) 131 Reciprocal Teaching Model In The Development Of Writing Julio & López The following image illustrates the writing process suggested by Harmer (2004): Figure 1. Procedures involved in producing writing (Harmer,2004) Pre-Writing: It helps to identify and organize ideas because it involves the planning of the writing process. Drafting: It involves the organization of ideas into a coherent structure. The goal of drafting is to transform thoughts into written organization without being constrained by word choice or sentence structure. Revising: It focuses on improving students’ writing. Students rethink, rework and refine their piece by applying their knowledge of the language structure to become better writers. Editing and proofreading: It involves the accuracy of the piece and should be undertaken when the revision of the content is complete. Publishing: It entails sharing the writing with an audience and may involve preparing a neatly handwriting or word-processed copy of the final draft and the addition of illustration or other graphic elements if necessary. Reading and writing connection Although oral language is the natural channel of transmitting information, human beings have developed writing systems for communication, too. For some decades reading and writing have been taught separately (Langer & Applebee, 1986). Some research studies have shown that they are very interdependent (Krashen S. , 1984). Taking into account such studies, it can No. 19 (July - December 2019) No. 19 (July - December 2019) 132 Reciprocal Teaching Model In The Development Of Writing Julio & López be inferred that the interconnection of these two skills is so strong that one without the other cannot exist. According to Durukan (2017), reading and writing skills are important from the first phase of education. Krashen (1984) believes that a great deal of self-motivated reading leads to writing competence. According to Gregg and Steinberg (1980) and Anderson, Spiro, and Montague (1977), both in constructivist theory and in research, reading and writing are meaning generating activities. It is usually assumed that a good reader makes a good piece of writing. Therefore, writing can be enhanced by improving reading considering that this input must be related to the learners’ needs and interests in order for them to be encouraged to make their own compositions. Reciprocal teaching Throughout the history of language teaching different methods have been used to help students learn a language; those methods have directly addressed the four skills. The importance of reading in developing writing ability has been acknowledged recently and the teaching of writing has been suggested to incorporate reading instruction for language learners (Murcia, 2001). According to Krashen (2004), no matter how much time pupils spend on writing, this skill cannot be improved without an input. The alternative that this author proposes is to read more because it leads to more vocabulary building and to a better writing style. Since understanding the printed text is the result of the interaction between the writer and reader (Harris, 2000), the RT is supposed to enhance reading and writing skills respectively and, although it has been used for the past two decades, most educators and students are not familiar with it (Williams, 2010). Palincsar and Brown (1984) mentioned that the RT is an instructional model in which teacher and students take turns to have a dialogue regarding the different parts of the passage to construct meaning. It provides students with four specific reading strategies which are questioning, clarifying, summarizing, and predicting. Through guided practice and modeling the process, the teacher introduces the four key components of this model which are part of a reading comprehension program. As the authors affirm, the order in which the RT model is used is not established because it depends on the text, the reader and the goal to achieve. They add that sometimes it is good when a pause is naturally made between paragraphs; making predictions for what will happen next before summarizing, asking questions, and clarifying the clues that readers have so far. Other times, however, it may be more natural to summarize and clarify before making predictions and asking further questions. No. 19 (July - December 2019) No. 19 (July - December 2019) 133 Reciprocal Teaching Model In The Development Of Writing Julio & López Different authors agree that the RT model is useful and helpful when developing prompts to encourage pupils to use the language. The prompts provide students with the necessary support to become independent in the use of the strategies, and to explore into their reading comprehension and ability to apply the RT model. The characteristic of each strategy is explained below. Reciprocal Teaching Strategies: Palincsar (1986), Oczuks (2003) among others authors established some strategies for the students to use when reading to enhance comprehension and to better their writing skills. They are: Predicting: It involves previewing the passage to anticipate what may happen next. Readers can use information from the text and their prior knowledge to make logical predictions before reading. Predicting allows learners to interact more with the written piece, which makes them more likely to become interested in the reading material while improving their understanding (Pearson & Fielding, 1991; Hansen, 1981). Questioning: Good readers ask questions throughout the reading process (Palincsar, 1986), but formulating questions is a difficult and complex task, which was evident in this study since the participants showed difficulties in the syntax of the questions. When students know, prior to reading, that they need to think of a question about the text, they read with awareness. They automatically increase their reading comprehension, process the meaning, make inferences and connections to prior knowledge and, finally, make a question (Lubliner, 2004). Clarifying: It helps students monitor their own comprehension as they identify problems or figure out difficult words. During this step of the RT model, teachers and students can share “fix-up” strategies to construct meaning. This strategy is important to increase the vocabulary, which was one of the main difficulties that pupils mentioned in the diagnostic stage. Summarizing: To summarize effectively, students must recall and arrange only the main events in a passage. Additionally, this strategy helps students to identify, paraphrase, integrate, and organize the most important information in the passage into a clear and concise statement. Students can use this strategy as theycreate a new piece of writing. Reciprocal teaching foundations Reciprocal teaching, although very effective, does not stand alone. Its four strategies are part of a broader comprehension that according to Oczuks (2003) must be combined with some building blocks to be successful. These are: No. 19 (July - December 2019) No. 19 (July - December 2019) 134 Reciprocal Teaching Model In The Development Of Writing Julio & López Scaffolding: During RT, instruction is scaffolded or supported. The students can see models of the four strategies, and, finally, work independently as they read while using the RT model to help them comprehend. Metacognition: Metacognition is an integral component in RT because students learn to consciously think about and reflect on their strategy use (Hacker, 1998). Moreover, the learners’ metacognition will be enhanced by using the RT and portfolios to monitor their own growth in this process. Cooperative Learning: The author states thatbecause RT is a discussion technique, cooperative learning is integral to it. RT builds on the cooperative nature of learning that contributes with students´ reading comprehension to be deepened through social interactions. Therefore, students may work together in their workshops and construct collaborative efforts for a prediction, question, clarification, and summary. Moreover, Brown (1994) mentions that cooperative learning refers to language learning that is authentic and real, it is an interactive approach which purpose is to create a meaningful learning experience. Portfolios for assessing the writing process In an educational context, a portfolio is defined as “a purposeful collection of students’ works that demonstrates their efforts, progress, and achievements in given areas” (Bae, 2011). Accordingly, Bae believes thatportfolios can be a great tool for teaching writing, and they can promote the authentic writing pieces assessment of students. In addition, portfolio assessment can be helpful for EFL students to increase confidence in writing by allowing them to see their progress over time. It is interesting to notice that Moya and O’Malley (1994) state that the information derived from a standardized test cannot give the information needed to understand students’ progress and achievement; therefore, educators have found an alternative form of assessment, i.e., portfolios. Consequently, this work of research established portfolios as one of the ways to collect data about the students’ progress during the intervention stage. Through analyzing students’ portfolios, the researcher can have a better understanding of the learners’ writing process and the students have more chances of having better writing products. Moreover, Saddler and Andrade (2004) affirm that there are two elements that could enhance the feedback provided to students’ portfolios: error codes and rubrics. The former can save teachers’ time and allow students to interpret much more easily the teacher’s feedback. The latter articulates the expectations that both teacher and students can have by listing the criteria and describing the level of achievements. No. 19 (July - December 2019) No. 19 (July - December 2019) 135 Reciprocal Teaching Model In The Development Of Writing Julio & López Methodology Research Design Action Research (AR) was the methodology used in this study because it intended to improve an educational aspect of EFL teaching. Ferrance (2000, p.1) maintains that AR “specifically refers to a disciplined inquiry done by a teacher (researcher) with the intention that the research will inform and change his or her practices in the future”. This approach is useful to identify the problem, to gather data, to interpret information, to act on evidence, to evaluate results and to start the cycle again. These five steps or phases promote among teacher-researchers “four basic themes: empowerment of participants, collaboration through participation, acquisition of knowledge, and social change. Furthermore, in conducting action research, we structure routines for continuous confrontation with data on the health of a school community” (Ferrance, 2000, p. 9). According to Lewin (2006) AR is a spiraling, cyclical process that includes planning, execution, and reconnaissance and this is what teachers do when they do research on ways to teach. The following reseach question and objectives were stablished by the researchers: Research question To what extent does the implementation of the Reciprocal Teaching Model impact the writing skill in tenth graders at a public school in Cartagena? Research objectives 1. To examine the effect of the RT Model on the improvement of the students’ writing skill. 2. To evaluate students’ vocabulary range when they are exposed to RT Model. 3. To explore ways to identify students´ syntax errors in the writing process. 4. To analyze students’ level of confidence when the RT Model is used for writing. Pedagogical objectives 1. To increase the students’ writing proficiency using the RT model. 2. To expand the students´ vocabulary range through the exposure to the RT model. 3. To reduce syntax errors in the students’ writing process after using the RT model. 4. To increase the students´ confidence towards the writing process. No. 19 (July - December 2019) No. 19 (July - December 2019) 136 Reciprocal Teaching Model In The Development Of Writing Julio & López Context and Participants The project was conducted at a public school located in the South of Cartagena where students belong to low-income families who face different difficulties such as gangs’ violence, drug addiction, drug dealing, thievery, displacement, poverty, and alcoholism, among others. Most of the students come from displaced families of the blended, extended or single-parent type that scarcely have the necessary economic resources. There are about 1900 students and 80 teachers. The school´s facilities include well-ventilated, spacious classrooms. Teachers who work in the institution are well-qualified, most of them have postgraduate degrees or are pursuing one. In the English area there are three teachers who graduated from a Foreign Language Program and have more than 10 years of experience in the field. The English syllabus is alignedto the Ministry of Education policies,and it is based on thecommunicative approach. In addition, it was designed according to the learners’ age, grade, and learning needs. Collaborative and cooperative work and the motivation principle are some foundations that are considered in the English teaching and learning process. The participants of this work of research were chosen according to Cozby’s (1997) convenience sampling, which considers availability, schedule, members, and characteristics. This study was conducted with a group of 27 tenth graders (8 boys and 19 girls). Their ages ranged between 14 and 18. These students were not afraid to speak in English and were motivated towards the learning of the language. However, a placement test-APTIS- showed that they werebasic users of English (A1). Data collection Instruments To collect information,instruments such as a students’ questionnaire, two pre-tests, a coordinator’ and teacher’ interview, aa researcher’ journal and portfolios, were administered. Furthermore, some techniques were used in order to gather facts regarding notions about the learners’ proficiency level, opinions, attitudes, preferences, improvements and the overall performance in class. Below is the description of data collection that was administered during the diagnostic, action and evaluation stage. No. 19 (July - December 2019) No. 19 (July - December 2019) 137 Reciprocal Teaching Model In The Development Of Writing Julio & López Table 1. Techniques and instruments for data collection in the Diagnostic Stage Diagnostic Stage Data collection technique Data collection instrument Survey (Non-observational) Students’ questionnaire Testing (Non-observational) Students Pre-test 1 Testing (Non-observational) Students Pre-test 2 Interviews and Audio recording (non-observational) Coordinator’s Transcription Interviews and Audio recording (non-observational) Teacher’s transcription Observation Teacher’s Journal External observation (Observational) Bilingualism adviser’s observation External observation (Observational) Regional Native program Coordinator’s observation External observation (Observational) Video recording Table 2:Techniques and instruments for data collection in the Action and Evaluation Stage Action and Evaluation Stage Data collection technique Data collection instrument Survey (Non-observational) Likert questionnaire Testing (Non-observational) Rubric Observation Journal Testing (Non-observational) Students’ Post-test Testing (Non-observational) Portfolio Data analysis and interpretation The analysis done throughout the project was based on the grounded theoryin which the information was triangulatedto obtained an overall view of the results.According toBurns (1999): “Triangulation is one of the most commonly used and best known ways of checking for validity. The aim of triangulation is to gather multiple perspectives on the situation being studied”. The data was codified and categorized in order to come up with the most significant occurrences during the diagnostic stage which is presented in the graph below. No. 19 (July - December 2019) No. 19 (July - December 2019) 138 Reciprocal Teaching Model In The Development Of Writing Julio & López Figure 2. Percentages of the categories found in the Diagnostic Stage. Theresults showed that the students had difficulties concerning writing, which was the code with most occurrences. Writing was the most challenging skill for EFL learners; they had difficulties in developing ideas and in using them in comprehensible texts. According to Richards and Renandya, writers must pay attention to planning, organizing, spelling, punctuation, word choice, cohesion and coherence, aspects that showed the highest deficiencies in the instruments (Richards & Renandya, 2002). During the action stage of the research process some workshops were implemented and the students’ writing process was based on four reading strategies: predicting, clarifying, questioning and summarizing (Brown & Palincsar, 1984). The phases of pre-writing, drafting, revising, proofreading, and publishing were considered in the design of the workshops. The main purpose of the implementation stage was to familiarize the students with the writing process and with some strategies for the students to write coherent texts of different genres. In the pre-writing phase, the learners gathered ideas through building up vocabulary with varied activities and by implementing the first strategy of the RT Model, predicting.In the drafting phase, the students organized their ideas through the strategies clarifying, questioning and summarizing. During thisphase,the students also generated questions to interact meaningfully with the text and to clarify ideas. In the revising phase, thestudents refined their text. Lastly,in the proofreading phase, they edited their products throughcollaborative work with their classmates to correct errors in grammar, mechanics and usage. In the publishing phase, the students shared the writing pieces in their portfolios by producing a neatly handwritten or word-processed copy of the final draft. The portfolios allowed the researchers to analyze the students’ process and growth from one workshop to the other. Students were exposed to some strategies like brainstorming, listing, modeling, following outlines, adding details, developing ideas through pictures, comparing, and contrasting, clustering and using diagrams to facilitate much more the writing process. Such strategies were modeled by the teacher and inferred by the students whose written outcomes were: narrative and descriptive texts, picture-story boards, contrasting charts, advertisements and brochures. During the evaluation stage the results from the instruments were analyzed and categorized and the outcomes were arranged through a holistic triangulation. The following graph shows a summary of the categories that emerged. Figure 3. Percentages of the categories found in the Evaluation Stage. The data triangulation showed five main categories: four positive and only one aspect to be improved. Firstly, the category with the highest percentage in the analyses was Positive attitude towards writing. All the instruments reported that there was a continuous positive feeling towards the writing process. Students’ awareness rose from workshop to workshop and they gradually had more confidence to write.The following excepts confirm this issue: I could notice the students had different topics to write (festival and celebrations) and they were really concentrated looking for information for their brochure (Teacher’s journal). Week 2 No. 19 (July - December 2019) No. 19 (July - December 2019) 139 Reciprocal Teaching Model In The Development Of Writing Julio & López word-processed copy of the final draft. The portfolios allowed the researchers to analyze the students’ process and growth from one workshop to the other. Students were exposed to some strategies like brainstorming, listing, modeling, following outlines, adding details, developing ideas through pictures, comparing, and contrasting, clustering and using diagrams to facilitate much more the writing process. Such strategies were modeled by the teacher and inferred by the students whose written outcomes were: narrative and descriptive texts, picture-story boards, contrasting charts, advertisements and brochures. During the evaluation stage the results from the instruments were analyzed and categorized and the outcomes were arranged through a holistic triangulation. The following graph shows a summary of the categories that emerged. Figure 3. Percentages of the categories found in the Evaluation Stage. The data triangulation showed five main categories: four positive and only one aspect to be improved. Firstly, the category with the highest percentage in the analyses was Positive attitude towards writing. All the instruments reported that there was a continuous positive feeling towards the writing process. Students’ awareness rose from workshop to workshop and they gradually had more confidence to write.The following excepts confirm this issue: I could notice the students had different topics to write (festival and celebrations) and they were really concentrated looking for information for their brochure (Teacher’s journal). Week 2 No. 19 (July - December 2019) No. 19 (July - December 2019) 140 Reciprocal Teaching Model In The Development Of Writing Julio & López He aprendido mucho de los borradores…/ I have learned a lot with the drafting phase (Students’ questionnaire). The results from analysis exhibited consistency with the category students’ high motivation and participation. The results from the instruments revealed that the learners began to enjoy the classes and were also capable of taking a more active participation in the classroom. Besides, the layout, organization and content of the workshops were appealing for the students, which made them feel committedduring the intervention. The learning process was meaningful to the learners since they had opportunities in each of the workshops to work cooperatively. These are some excerpts that confirm this: Students were participative and enthusiastic in these activities because they really liked visual aids and the topic was interesting for them as well (Teacher’s journal). ….amo las clases de la miss porque gracias a ella me he motivado…/ I love the English classes because I have been motivated…(Students’ questionnaire). The third category displayed high frequency as well, RT benefits, which means that this method was useful to enhance the writing ability. Although at the very beginning students were not familiar with these strategies, they gradually comprehended this instructional technique and the results evidenced that their writing skills progressed, which is an evidence of the fifth category students writing progress. The instruments also showed the development of each one of the writing stages. Studentsbecame more aware of planning their writing and considered the teacher’s feedback to have a positive effect on their final drafts. These are some excerpts that evidence the high occurrences of these codes: Students really did well in these activities because the results were good. They were assertive (Teacher’sjournal). Me fue muy bien con las estrategias y me siento satisfecha…/ I have done well with the strategies and I feel satisfied…(Students’ questionnaire). …..ya tilize tili y me atrevo a tener conversaciones con mis primos y amigos en ingles/ I already wrote well and I dare to have conversation with my cousins and friends (Students’ questionnaire). He aprendido a tilizer puntuación, mayúsculas y demás/ I have learnt to use the punctuation, capitalization and so on (Students’ questionnaire). However, at the initial phase of the intervention, the category Lack of writing skills indicated that there were aspects to improve in the students’ writing process like content, organization, lexis, syntax, punctuation and mechanics; the results of the instruments showed that such aspects improved No. 19 (July - December 2019) No. 19 (July - December 2019) 141 Reciprocal Teaching Model In The Development Of Writing Julio & López progressively. As a result, the last category emerged with the lowest frequency. Students were familiar with the rubrics’ conventions which allowed them to be aware of the aspects to be assessed and consider them to refinetheir final products. The following are evidences from the instruments. Some students still had syntax problems. It is necessary to remind them the structure in an interesting way and practice it much more (Teacher’s journal). ...al principio me sentífrustrada e insatisfecha con mi resultado, peroen el segundoobtuveunamejorpercepciónporquemejoré mi escritura…/ ate the I I felt frustrated and unsatisfied with my results but in the second workshop I achieved a better perception because I improved my writing…(Students’ questionnaire). He aprendido de varioserrores y he aprendido a tenerunamejorescritura…. / I have learnt from some mistake and learnt to have a better writing… (Students’ questionnaire). Results After collecting the result of the instruments and analyzing the data, the findings showed that the students advanced in the developmentof the writing competence, which proved the effectiveness of RT model in an EFL classroom to increase the students’ confidence in their writing processes. They were able to expand their vocabulary spectrum, reduce syntax errors, and improve their writing contents, organization and punctuation. Additionally, portfolios facilitated the assessment of writing performance under the RT model. The effectiveness of RT model Throughout the implementation of the workshops, students showed that they learned about the writing process under this model. Gradually, students became familiar with the strategies and took advantage of the input given in the workshops to create their own pieces of writing by following the writing cycle. The students were able to improve their writing skills because the model engaged them in a formative writing process and the portfolios allowed a follow-up of their progress. The students’ confidence towards the writing process The students felt confident in the development of the given tasks. Their motivation and commitment increased throughout the process. The No. 19 (July - December 2019) No. 19 (July - December 2019) 142 Reciprocal Teaching Model In The Development Of Writing Julio & López consideration of the students’ needs and interests had them deeply involved in the process. Despite some students’ frustration at the beginning, they continued the process and achieved good levels of writing performance, as shown in the data collection instruments. Expansion of vocabulary spectrum, reduction syntax errors, improvement of writing content, organization and punctuation Through the feedback and the use of correction codes, students were able to improve the main components of their writing skills: lexis, syntax, content, organization, punctuation and mechanics. Students made corrections to their drafts through the symbols marked by the teacher which made them aware of their performance and improved their final texts as well. This was evident in the progress they had during the development of the project. The strategies of the RT model directed the students to the enhancement of the aforementioned aspects considering that in the prediction stage students learned new words that they used in their own manuscripts. Besides, by questioning, the students could bolster the syntax of questions considered as the most difficult aspect, according to the results of the researcher’s journal. Through the clarification strategy, they had the possibility to understand a written piece, to expand their vocabulary range and to enhance the syntax provided in the input. Lastly, through the summarizing strategy, the learners practiced what they had learnt by creating their own piece of writing. Usefulness of the portfolios to assess writing Another finding to consider was the appropriateness of using portfolios because they engaged students in their own learning and made them participate actively in their process. Both the teacher and the students recognized this tool as effective in their growth. In addition, portfolios allowed for reflection, which led students to develop metacognition and to become aware of their own learning. Also, the assessment rubrics, which made part of the portfolios, were used by students to identify their strengths and weaknesses and by the researchers to get deeper insights of the students’ needs. Impact on the curriculum The results showed that cooperative learning, as a basis of RT, created a better scenario where students could learn more by negotiating meaning through social interaction, making decisions and reaching conclusions in most of the stages of the lesson, mainly in the summarizing section. Consequently, No. 19 (July - December 2019) No. 19 (July - December 2019) 143 Reciprocal Teaching Model In The Development Of Writing Julio & López working with peers created a positive effect since it strengthened the students’ support to each other and developed commitment to complete the assignments. This also had an evident impact on the curriculum of the setting. Finally, the RT model in the EFL scenario had students achieve more goals in their writing processes because they improved their vocabulary, attitudes and confidence. Such improvement was also noticeable in the language setting. RT was expected to increase students’ writing skills, but it was not expected to have students respond so well in the implementation of the workshops. The findings discussed above lead to the following section in which conclusions and pedagogical implications are presented. Conclusions After the implementation of this proposal under the RT model and the analyses of the data collected, the pertinent conclusions and pedagogical implications for future research are drawn so that English teachers, administrators, policy makers, and the academic community in general take them into account if they intend to enhance writing skills using this model. Effectiveness of RT model on a public school RT model has been adapted and modified to suit the ESL students’ needs and the present classroom setting. The general outcomes derived from all the data collection instruments and the analyses demonstrate that this method has a positive impact on students’ writing since it improves this ability. However, the degree of the effectiveness of RT,depends on several factors such as teacher instruction and guidance, the degree of students’ involvement in group discussion and individual student characteristics. Considering these features, the learners can be introduced to different types of tasks such as predicting, clarifying, questioning, summarizing, listing, brainstorming, clustering, comparing, sharing personal experiences, among others. This methodology significantly increases the learners’ confidence and enjoyment towards the learning of English; they can participate and share ideas and opinions in small groups which leads to cooperative learning. Therefore, the students have a better learning scenario in which interaction is fostered. Value of the portfolios An additional tool that facilitates the enhancement of writing skills under the RT model is students’ portfolios. This is an adaptation to the model which works effectively along with RT because of its organized structure to confirm No. 19 (July - December 2019) No. 19 (July - December 2019) 144 Reciprocal Teaching Model In The Development Of Writing Julio & López the students’ growth. Portfolios can be extremely valuable for encouraging students to evaluate their own work and enhance their writing confidence because they provide a means for both teachers and students to monitor progress based on the concept of writing as a process. Rubrics play an important role in the assessment of written production thanks to the provision of clear criteria. Implications for the use of RT in the EFL classroom This study’s pedagogical implications are directed to students, teachers, institutions, and educational policies in our country. The results show that the strategies implemented in this work of research facilitated the process of writing, their use can be suggested to reinforce EFL learners’ writing and reading skills. The use of RT can be a great experience for students to explore an instructional activity in which teacher and students take turns having a dialogue regarding the different parts of the text to construct meaning (Palincsar& Brown, 1984) and as an interactive teaching approach and a cooperative learning to foster writing (Vygotsky, 1978). Besides, during the implementation of the study it was noticed that when using this model, there was an effective learning atmosphere. The RT model can be used to emphasize the writing process, revising and giving feedback on students’ writing which leads to a meaningful interaction between teachers and students. Another advantage of the RT model is its learner-centeredness nature that puts students in the center of the construction of the meaning they want to convey. Considering that students are the main characters of the learning process, the institutional policies should implement this kind of innovation and adaptations to teaching methods that impact the English teaching and the learning process as well. Due to these reasons, the researchers recommend adopting the RT model to positively impact the students’ writing skills. Challenges for future research As a final point, if the language teaching community replicates this study in contexts with comparable features, it could be positive because it offers more pedagogical and research knowledge by identifying the impact of RT model on English learning. Therefore, it would be very interesting to see the effect of RT model on the improvement of other skills (listening and speaking) for further research studies. 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Retrieved from The writing process: https://www.bcps.org/offices/lis/writing/secondary/process.html Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Williams, J. (2010). Taking on the role of questioner: Revisiting reciprocal teaching. The Reading Teacher, 278–281. No. 19 (July - December 2019) No. 19 (July - December 2019) 147 Reciprocal Teaching Model In The Development Of Writing Julio & López Authors *Karen Julio Cárdenas holds an M.A. in English Didactics from Universidad de Caldas and a Bachelor’s degree in Foreign Languages, English/French from Universidad de Pamplona. She is currently a full- time English teacher at Fulgencio Lequerica Velez public school in Cartagena, Colombia. Also, she is a thesis advisor for the Master program in English Didactics at Universidad de Caldas. She has been involved in both, national and international teacher development programs. She was awarded the Indian Technical & Economic Cooperation (ITEC) scholarship, a fully-funded program run by the Government of India and supported by the Colombian Ministry of Education. She worked as an ITEC scholar at the English and Foreign Language University (EFLU) in Hyderabad, India. Her research interest is in the area of teaching methodologies with a focus on teaching English language to adolescents. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1744-1040 Margarita López holds an MA in English Didactics from Caldas University and is currently the Director of this graduate Program; she has extensive experience in teaching graduate and undergraduate courses and has been conducting educational research for several years, her areas of interest include EFL methodogy, research and bilingualism. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6755-3764 How to reference this article: Julio-Cárdenas, K., & López-Pinzón, M. M. (2019). The Reciprocal Teaching Model in the Development of Writing in Tenth Graders. GIST – Education and Learning Research Journal, 19, 128-147. https://doi.org/10.26817/16925777.801 No. 19 (July - December 2019) No. 19 (July - December 2019)