This study analyzed the effects of the interactive reading with instructor support (I.R.I.S.) model on reading comprehension as compared to a traditional (direct-teaching/lecture format) instructional model. The I.R.I.S. model combines reading strategies and social mediation together in the Spanish as a second language environment. In the I.R.I.S. model, elements of strategy-focused instruction, scaffolding, and language promoting assistance are operant. The researcher attempted to determine: 1) the effect of the I.R.I.S. homework sheet on reading comprehension, 2) the effect of the classroom intervention portion of the I.R.I.S. model on reading comprehension, 3) the effect of the total I.R.I.S. model on reading comprehension, 4) the types of student-to student scaffolding that occur during the classroom portion of the I.R.I.S. model, and 5) the types of instructor-led scaffolding that occur during the classroom portion of the I.R.I.S. model.
There was no significant effect on reading comprehension for the I.R.I.S. homework sheet, the classroom portion of the I.R.I.S. model, or the total I.R.I.S. model. Thus, the I.R.I.S. model, a collaborative learning approach, presented no disadvantage in reading comprehension when compared to a traditional direct-teaching model. Furthermore, a slight trend in the data showed an increase in recall performance of the experimental group (the students participating in the I.R.I.S. model) when compared to the control group throughout the term.
Student-to-student scaffolding and instructor-led scaffolding were documented throughout the study with all three qualitative data sources identifying the frequency of specific scaffolding or language promoting assistance behaviors. Specifically, both instructors and students frequently employed “simplifying the task,” while they did not often “elicit more language.” Furthermore, three new behaviors emerged from the qualitative data: “instructor presence,” “instructor as linguistic reference source,” and “use of linguistic support sheet.”
