The Impact of Flipped Instruction and Reciprocal Teaching on Reading Comprehension Skills

The effectiveness of flipped methodology largely depends on educators’ skill in designing and implementing lesson plans that address students' academic challenges. While reciprocal teaching has shown promise in enhancing reading comprehension, its integration into flipped lesson plans remains underexplored. This study addresses this gap by examining how reciprocal teaching can be embedded within a flipped classroom framework to improve reading comprehension among 42 randomly selected high school students. Using a quasi-experimental design, the study employed a paired samples t-test to compare students’ pre- and post-lesson feedback scores. Feedback was collected via anonymous forms assessing prior knowledge, motivation, and critical thinking on a five-point Likert scale. Before treatment, students' access to digital tools and the Internet, mainly through smartphones, was confirmed.The intervention consisted of three stages: baseline feedback after a traditional lesson, treatment via flipped instruction incorporating reciprocal teaching strategies, and post-treatment feedback. Results revealed a statistically significant improvement, leading to rejection of the null hypothesis. The increase in post-treatment scores highlights the effectiveness of reciprocal teaching in flipped lessons for overcoming reading comprehension challenges.These findings align with previous studies emphasizing improved motivation, engagement, critical thinking, and interaction through reciprocal teaching. Integrating pre-class materials with in-class collaborative learning fosters student motivation, enhances prior knowledge, and sharpens critical thinking. However, varied student progress suggests the need for further research into contextual and individual factors. While this study supports the practicality of combining flipped learning with reciprocal teaching, its small sample and limited context call for broader studies to refine and tailor instructional approaches.