The Use of Graphic Organizers and Their Effects on Struggling Middle School Readers

Abstract

Graphic organizers have been found to have significant positive outcomes for struggling readers. However, there is often a gap between research and practice, and even though a practice has been proven effective in research, it may not be being used by teachers. This study examines whether ¬¬¬¬middle school studies are using graphic organizers within their instruction and whether their use results in increased content knowledge learning for struggling readers. Twenty teachers with classes consisting of struggling readers audio recorded one class period per day across three instructional units. These recordings were then coded for graphic organizer usage. Of the 20 participating teachers, 10 used graphic organizers. A multi-level model was then used to determine whether time spent on graphic organizer was a significant predictor of student outcomes on measures of content knowledge and reading comprehension. None of these models found graphic organizer usage to be a significant predictor. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.