MÁSTER EN FORMACIÓN DEL PROFESORADO DE

EDUCACIÓN SECUNDARIA OBLIGATORIA, BACHILLERATO,

FORMACIÓN PROFESIONAL Y ENSEÑANZAS DE IDIOMAS.

Contribution of Graphic Organizers to students’ reading comprehension in Secondary Education

TRABAJO FIN DE MÁSTER. CURSO: 2011 - 2012 ESPECIALIDAD: INGLÉS APELLIDOS Y NOMBRE DEL AUTOR/A: MARÍA DEL HENAR ARANDA COPA DNI: 02658073-D CONVOCATORIA: JUNIO TUTOR/A: ASUNCIÓN LÓPEZ VARELA. FACULTAD FILOLOGÍA. LITERATURA.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Abstract ………………………………………………………………………………….. 1

2. MA Dissertation rationale …………………………………………………………….. 2

3. Objectives ……………………………………………………………………………….. 4

4. Review of literature …………………………………………………………………….. 6

4. Methodology ……………………………………………………………………………. 16

5. Analysis of the results ………………………………………………………………… 26

6. Conclusions …………………………………………………………………………….. 35

7. Bibliography ……………………………………………………………………………. 37

8. Appendix ………………………………………………………………………………… 44

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1. ABSTRACT For years, tutors and researchers on Secondary Education have been investigating on

improving the level of students’ reading comprehension. It is undoubtedly true that most

of the students have problems when dealing with the comprehension of a text. This

paper will introduce graphic organizers as a useful tool for enhancing reading

comprehension. Graphic organizers are visual displays that help students to organize as

well as memorize both concepts and ideas better than if they were not used. There is a

wide variety of graphic organizers so that students are able to select the most suitable

one according to a particular type of text.

This research work grows with the idea of studying the contribution of graphic

organizers on students’ reading comprehension. More specifically, its main objectives

are, one the one hand, to prove if the use of graphic organizers makes students improve

their level of reading comprehension and, on the other hand, if there is a reading stage

in which the use of graphic organizers achieves better results in students’ level of

reading comprehension than in other stages in which they are also used. In order to

accomplish both objectives, the sample, composed by twenty-eight participants

belonging to first year of E.S.O., has been subjected to a pre-reading test, a period of

instruction in which graphic organizers were implemented in the class dynamics, and

three more tests, the post-tests in which graphic organizers were used as a pre-, while-,

and post-activities, respectively. In order to obtain both valid and reliable results, all the

tests except for the ones done during the instruction period were filled in individually

whereas in the period of instruction students began to deal with graphic organizers in

groups, then in pairs, and finally in an individual way. Outcomes are expected to show

that there is considerable evidence for graphic organizers to be a tool that affects in a

positive way the student’s level of reading comprehension.

Key words: graphic organizers, reading comprehension, reading stages, Secondary Education.

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2. MA DISSERTATION RATIONALE Undeniably, learning a second language always supposes a huge effort on the part of the

students, independently of their age, their motivation or their sex. However, it is true that

there are some aspects of a second language that are commonly more difficult than

others. Normally, the easiest aspects in second language acquisition are those which deal

with vocabulary, since they can be taught in many different ways depending on the

students’ needs. Some of these can be flashcards or games, and this variety allows

teachers to have lots of resources for students to select from. On the contrary, the most

difficult aspects when learning a second language are normally closely related to the

communicative competence.

The communicative parts of a language embrace many aspects, which correspond to the

different skills; speaking, listening, reading and writing. While speaking and writing are

productive skills, in the sense that students produce speeches or written compositions,

listening and reading are receptive skills, since students do not produce an output, but

they receive inputs. Among these four different skills many differences can also be found,

but the most interesting one is that, although receptive skills are more frequently practiced

in class, they are at the same time, more difficult to be acquired by students than

productive ones. The origin of those difficulties is clear: the majority of schools and

academies are really concentrated on vocabulary and grammar, most of the time

practiced through monotonous exercises and in some cases trained through short

debates or compositions, without providing students with task-oriented activities that

enhance good writing. If productive skills are poorly taught and rarely practiced, the

situation of receptive skills is even worse. Maybe, they are more frequently practiced at

schools but the current practice is not to teach them in the right way, which is good for

nothing. It would be preferable to do both listening and reading activities with the only

purpose of making students learn and not to do activities automatically.

In the particular case of readings, the common situation is that teachers opt to make

students do the corresponding reading that is included in the unit that they are learning in

a specific moment. They give them some minutes to read it, and immediately they ask

students to answer the questions to check if they have comprehended it in a proper way.

The key problem is that all this is done with the pressure of time, because the class is

maybe trying to finish the task and all has to be done before the end of it and it does not

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matter if the reading took the students the right time to read and understand it or not. Poor

results are often a consequence of this attitude.

That is the reason why the topic on which this paper is based has such a vital importance.

There is a strong need to change things, to look for other possibilities when teaching

those difficult aspects of a second language because the goal of teachers should be

adjusting both the programme to be taught and their own methodology to their student’s

needs, trying to make the best of them, even if it costs a lot. The main problem is that

practicing reading comprehension in a traditional way, which consists of reading the text

alone and answering the questions immediately, is more comfortable for teachers (and

less beneficial for students) than implementing new and researched ways which can vary

things and improve them.

Unquestionably, graphic organizers are a really great tool when teaching, and particularly

when teaching readings. They are wonderful visual aids which are not only good for visual

students, but for all of them since they summarize the ideas in the way in which students

are always looking for. Graphic organizers are also very useful because they offer a wide

variety of designs for capturing the same ideas having as a consequence the same result,

so students can choose from all of them the one which they like the most. Another benefit

of graphic organizers is that they can be used in all the stages of a reading. Firstly, they

can serve as a really good warm-up with the objective of activating student’s brain, giving

them some feedback about the topic that they are going to read about and presenting the

reading in a context for them to be more predisposed to begin reading. Secondly, they

serve students to have in a single and visual structure a lot of knowledge. For instance,

they can use a graphic organizer which is specific for comparing and contrasting if the text

is about personal opinions about a topic; students can use some other graphic organizers

to distribute vocabulary in fields if the text is an excuse only for including vocabulary in a

reading or students can even use those graphic organizers which organize events in a

chronological order if they are dealing with texts such as stories and tales.

As a summary, this paper grows from the idea that there is a need to change some

methodologies when teaching reading comprehension which are closer to students and to

their own needs. If the existence of lots of difficulties when reading in a second language

is really taken into account, some measures should be adopted to change that situation

and to give students the possibility of really comprehending a text, something that will

favour an increment on their motivation and their love for reading.

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3. OBJECTIVES

The main objective of this research work is to prove if the use of graphic organizers before,

during or at the end of a reading, improves students’ reading comprehension or if there is

no relation between the use of this strategy and the students’ success. Besides, I would

like to study if there are differences when using graphic organizers in the different reading

stages: pre-reading, while-reading or post-reading. That is, investigating about in which

stage it would be more beneficial for students to use them, major if the research shows

that they are. In order to accomplish the objective mentioned above, this paper is going to deal with the

issues involved in the process of testing the hypothesis. Some of them are the

methodology, that is to say, the way that has been selected to test the hypothesis, the

materials, which are a crucial part of a research work since they act as instruments to

really prove it and the participants, and indispensable element of a research work. All

these aspects will be explained in the Methodology Section.

The results that are expected to be obtained correspond clearly to what the review of

literature argues and which deals with the evident benefit that the use of graphic

organizers has concerning reading comprehension. It is obvious that, although some

results are going to be expected due to a combination of the research’s observation of the

current situation when reading comprehension is concerned and what the review of

literature explains in favour of that practice, this research paper might show some different

results from the ones that were thought to be obtained.

According to the idea that the use of graphic organizers could be really useful to increase

students’ level of reading comprehension, the following chart tries to show in a more

clarifying way the objectives of this research work, since graphic organizers might be

useful not only to improve reading comprehension but also to sum up some information in

a really clear and concise way.

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As it can be observed in the graphic above, two are the objectives of this research work.

However, the most relevant aspect here is that the graphic not only presents in a visual

way both objectives but it also shows the relationship that exists between both, which is

based on the existence of the positive effects that the use of graphic organizers could

have in reading comprehension and the difference in terms of its benefits that exists

between the three reading stages.

To investigate

if the use of graphics

organizers affects reading comprehension

To investigate in which stage the use of graphics

organizers benefits more

reading comprehension

Main objectives of this Research Work

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4. REVIEW OF LITERATURE According to the National Institute for Literacy (NIFL), readers of all levels should bear in

mind that the main goal of reading is comprehension. Teachers lead both the lessons and

the pupils, and they should instil in them the importance of reading. Likewise, teachers

should be in charge of doing their best when teaching their students the corresponding

strategies for them to achieve the main goal of reading, which is comprehension. As The

National Institute for Literacy (NIFL) states, teachers should explain students when and

what strategies to use, what is called “explicit instruction”, but teachers can also teach

students some comprehension strategies, stating clearly that they can be used in

combination. Therefore, the teachers’ job is crucial before beginning to put those

strategies into practice, since “the effectiveness of instruction will depend on teacher’s

skills and knowledge in the development and use of graphic organizers” (Hutchison &

Padgett 2007 quoted in Lubin and Sewak 12). According to this, one of the teachers’ tasks

would be to teach students the concrete clues to select the most suitable strategy to be

applied and then, to guide them in the process of their configuration. Apart from the vital

importance of the teachers’ knowledge about a topic, the way in which the teachers

present knowledge to students is crucial. Many researchers opted for a particular strategy

after having done lots of researches on the topic and they defend that the use of graphic

organizers facilitates learning.

Hall and Strangman states in the National Centre on Accessing the General Curriculum

that, “a graphic organizer is a visual and graphic display that depicts the relationships

between facts, terms, and or ideas within a learning task” (n/p). Graphic organizers are

one of the various strategies that can be used to teach reading comprehension because

“they help students structure their learning, visualize the way information is presented in

lectures and organized in texts, map out stories to improve comprehension, and see the

relationships among vocabulary and concepts” (Smith 2007 quoted in Hubpages n/p).

Instead of being considered only one of the various strategies that help students to

improve their reading comprehension, it is true that they have become the most

remarkable ones. Graphic organizers are gaining more and more appreciation as the time

passes by because, according to Mayer, Vergason and Whelan (1996) these type of

strategies “organize information in a manner that makes information easier to understand

and learn” (132).

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It is commonly known that most of the students need a great help to continue studying;

maybe because they normally make a huge effort to study without obtaining good results

or maybe because they do not like studying and they need some extra support. Both

types of students, who tend to represent the majority of the population who is taking

compulsory education, need an extra help to make their learning process easier. This kind

of help should be characterized by being entertaining as well as functional, adjectives that

describe graphic organizers pretty well because, according to Gallavan & Kottler (2007),

this fantastic tool permits students to be taught the corresponding contents funnily but

without forgetting about that the methodology should be productive for students.

One of the main problems that many students experiment appear when they have to face

long and complicated texts to be read, or a huge amount of paragraphs to be learnt by

heart. Maybe, students do not know what those texts are going to be about, but the simple

fact of having long and bored texts make students refuse trying to both understand or

memorize them. Current students need things to be simple and, “there is considerable

evidence that graphic organizers are ideal methods for presenting large amount of data in

a simplified manner” (Gallavan and Kottler 2007 quoted in Lubin and Sewak 7).

Apart from the necessity of having the information in a simplified way, it is quite important

for students not to have more information than the one that is absolutely necessary when

it comes to study, and graphic organizers are a good choice to avoid it because they

“eliminate unnecessary information, which tend to hinder or retard learning process of the

students” (James, Abbot & Greenwood 2011 quoted in Huang 4). It is obvious that, if

studying unnecessary information is good for nothing, a retardation of the students’

learning processes provoked by the existence of that unnecessary information is even

worse. In order to avoid that and choose a useful tool to achieve those objectives, Lovitt

(1994) remarks that this type of learning strategy is excellent to organize content and to

learn vocabulary.

In that sense, “graphic organizers reduce the cognitive demand on the learner” (Ellis,

2004 p.1 quoted in Lubin and Sewak 10) making the learning process easier for them

since there is no need to process any information; graphic organizers already show it for

you.

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Moreover, this great strategy “helps students become strategic learners” (Ellis 2004

quoted in Lubin and Sewak 11) because, although the information in the graphic organizer

is already presented in a clarifying and concise way, a lot of previous work has to be done

work to reach to that point. But, what is unquestionably is that people tend to feel proud

when they have a good product due to a previous effort. Moreover, “the literature showed

that when students are using graphic organizers, they tend to be motivated and thus

better assimilate novel information and complete complex tasks” (Ellis 2004 quoted in

Lubin and Sewak 12). So, the use of graphic organizers motivates students, which

consequently provokes an increment of the level of comprehension of a particular text due

to the interest that they show towards it.

Although it has been stated by many authors that graphic organizers are a great tool if

students want to improve their reading comprehension, they obviously have to be created

in the right way if both teachers and students want to reach to that objective. In order to be

really useful, graphic organizers “should be composed by coherence, consistency, and

creativity” (Baxendell 2003, p. 46), which this same author calls “the three C’s”. Graphic

organizers must be coherent because “research studies confirm that graphic organizers

are not effective instructional tools unless they are clear and straightforward” (Baxendell

2003 p. 48). Poorly constructed graphic organizers can make students get confused, and

this must be avoidable at any price. They also have to be consistent, that is to say,

teachers should “create a standard set of graphic organizers” (Baxendell 2003, p. 47) for

students not to be confused and for them to know that there are some established

patterns to be followed when selecting the most suitable type of graphic organizer for a

particular task. The existence of a standard set of graphic organizers allows students to

be able to create them independently. And finally, they have to be creative to be a really

useful tool, because “students are more likely to retain information contained in a graphic

organizer if it is presented in an inviting manner” (Baxandell 2003 p. 48). But

unquestionably, this process is cyclical: “in order for students to learn to read effectively,

students must be able to generate meaning from the text or comprehend their reading”

(Duke & Pearson 2002; Pressley 2000 cited in Research Starters in an essay by Sharon

Link Ph.D. n/p). In this sense, it is important to remark that, before creating the graphic

organizer at random, students should extract the meaning of a text and select what parts

to include in the graphic organizer; in this way, graphic organizers will clearly influence

reading comprehension in a positive way.

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One of the most important aspects concerning teaching is to bear in mind that each

student has certain necessities that can or cannot be shared with the rest of the students

who compose a particular group. These necessities include, among many other things,

the type of methodology to be used and that “students need flexible models of skilled

performance, and graphic organizers are one way to succeed with this kind of

diversification” (The National Center on Accessing the General Curriculum n/p). Among all

the types of students that exist, some of them are considered visual learners, other

students can be considered auditory learners and others may be kinaesthetic learners.

Graphic organizers, to be considered as a great tool, must be useful for all the different

types of learners, and they are. As Ellis and Howard (2005) states “since graphic

organizers are visual devices, a common misperception is that they are for visual learners,

and thus less likely to work with auditory learners” (1). It is really important to take into

account that if graphic organizers are becoming important tools affecting reading

comprehension, they should be applicable to all types of students, and not only to those

with a particular characteristic.

According to Ellis and Howard (2005), there are many factors that “dictate the subsequent

success in learning far more than one’s intellectual aptitude for processing information via

presentation modes” (1). Graphic organizers are so adaptable to learners that it has been

proven that “graphic organizers […] help students with learning disabilities to gain

knowledge more effectively and efficiently” (Ellington, 2006 cited in Hubpages n/p), what

shows that graphic organizers can be used by all types of students, including those who

have learning disabilities. One of the reasons why graphic organizers are good for all

types of students is that “the geometric shapes used in some graphic organizers may help

some students to better visualize patterns” (Hubpages n/p). It consequently “increases the

odds that a student can fin a format and medium that are accessible and useful for him or

her” (Hubpages n/p) and visual formats are proven to be the ones that help the most

those learners with particular disabilities.

But graphic organizers are not only useful as a product; they have a clear relevance in the

process of their creation too. It has been clearly proven that creating their own graphic

organizers “activates the learner’s cognitive skills, while at the same time triggers the use

of tactile and visual abilities to make sense of information” (Ellis and Howard 2007 quoted

in Lubin and Sewak 12).

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This supports the idea that one of the key facts of learning is to take part in the process

and to “be able to generate meaning from the text or comprehend their reading” (Duke &

Pearson 2002; Pressley 2000 quoted in Research Starters in an essay by Sharon Link

Ph.D. n/p). Pupils can be the ones in charged of creating their own graphic organizers “by

locating, recording, and organizing pertinent data” (Swanson & DeLaPaz 1998 quoted in

Huang 4). So, manipulating information with the purpose of selecting those concepts

which are vital in a text, those which act as semi important ones, and also obviating those

which are not crucial at all is a very good way to make the final achievement really

personal. Besides, creating by themselves their own graphic organizers supposes a huge

activation and running of their brain, which is translated into mental health. When learners

make up their own graphic organizers, they “can improve their ability to construct meaning

of new learning” (Banikowski & Mehring 1999 quoted in Huang 4).

Obviously, this practice only benefits students who create the graphic organizers by

themselves, because, as Boyle & Weishaar (1997) explained, graphic organizers could be

also made by teachers. In this last case, students would take benefit from the result, but

not from the process. Indifferently for all students, including those who create their own

graphic organizers and those who receive them directly made from the teacher, “graphic

organizers combine the use of both the linguistic and non-linguistic modes of learning”

(Marzano, Pickering, and Pollock 2001 n/p) and, in both cases, “studies continue to reveal

remarkable improvement in students’ performance when graphic organizers are used”

(Boulineau et al 2004, Gajria et al 2007 quoted in Lubin and Sewak 13). Once again,

research proves that graphic organizers play a clearly relevant role when reading

comprehension is concerned, independently on whether they are created by the students

or whether they are created by the teacher and the graphic organizers is already made for

them.

Furthermore, one of the key points of graphic organizers is when to use them. Graphic

organizers are not only thought to be applied to favour students’ comprehension of a text

in a universally established moment; on the contrary, they are a very versatile tool.

According to Hall and Strangman (2002), “visual displays can be successfully

implemented at several phases of the instructional cycle” (quoted in Hubpages n/p). Firstly,

graphic organizers can be used as a warm-up, an activity which has many purposes.

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One the one hand, it can serve the teacher to check students’ previous knowledge about

a topic: that practice will allow teachers to adjust their programme and their own

methodology to their students’ needs, something that will determine the future success of

both students and the corresponding teacher. On the other hand, warm-ups make

students arise their interest and motivation in the topic, making their comprehension

process easier. And more concretely, if graphic organizers are used as a warm-up, they

suppose “one way in which to assist students to link new material to their existing prior

knowledge” (Dye 2000 quoted in Huang 3)

Instead of using lots of paper with endless lists of vocabulary, graphic organizers permit

students having all the information that they need in a single paper and in really concise

format. Due to the existence of various types of graphic organizers, students can also

organize old and new information in a single graphic organizer, “a way in which to process

information meaningfully” (Ekhaml 1998 quoted in Huang 3). According to Dye (2000),

“the graphic organizer has its roots in schema theory” (72), which is basically a mental

structure of ideas that is previous to new knowledge. In this sense, “graphic organizers

make it easier to link new information to existing knowledge and help students build the

schema they need to understand new concepts” (Guastello, Beasley, & Sinatra 2000

quoted in Wills 2). So, graphic organizers not only serve to help students remember new

concepts in a better way, but they also help learners to establish relationships and

connections between old and new knowledge with the purpose of creating more simple

mental structures.

Secondly, graphic organizers can be used in the while-reading stage for students to write

down important aspects as long as they are reading. This is a great tool for students to

have in a written format all the information that they need, which will allow them to retain it

better and not to mix concepts or events if they wait until the end of a reading to take

notes. Thirdly, these types of organizers can be utilized in the post-reading stage, in order

to summarize, review or reinforce both concepts or events, which will serve students as a

basis to create talks such as debates or discussions and “to establish the foundation for

future projects and activities, and serve as an evaluation tool” (Vacca & Vacca 2001 cited

in Research Starters in an essay by Sharon Link Ph.D. n/p) In addition, there is no need to

say that creating graphic organizers after reading a text help students “to maintain content

even after instruction has ended” (Boulineau et al., 2004 quoted in Lubin and Sewak 14).

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If spite of the fact that it has been proven that graphic organizers are an effective tool for

all stages, Moore and Readence (1984) report that “the point of implementation is a

crucial factor in determining the magnitude of improvement in learning outcome. When

graphic organizers were used as a pre-reading activity, average effects sizes were small.

In contrast, graphic organizers used as a follow-up to reading yielded somewhat large

improvements in learning outcomes. Thus, efforts to improve learning outcomes may be

more successful when graphic organizers are introduced after the learning material”

(quoted in The National Center on Accessing General Curriculum n/p). So, another

important aspect to take into account when including the use of graphic organizers in

class is the point of implementation of these types of organizers since, as The National

Center on Accessing the General Curriculum has stated, “graphic organizers generate

larger improvements in learning when used as a follow-up to reading rather than a pre-

reading activity” (n/p), although these improvements exist in both cases because studies

have shown graphic organizers have been shown to be useful as an advance organizer

as well as a post organizer” (Simmons, Griffin & Kameenui 1988, quoted in Wills 4)

Additionally, “graphic organizers cater to the multi-faceted classroom as it enhances

teacher instruction plus student performance” (DiCecco & Gleason 2002 quoted in Lubin

and Sewak 13). One of the most important benefits of graphic organizers is the existence

of the variety of types that they offer; they can “connect important words or statements to

diagrams, show a process or present a sequence” (Smith 2007 cited in Hubpages n/p),

among many other uses. More concretely, the different types of graphic organizers that

exist can be grouped in four sections, which are cyclical, hierarchical, sequential and

conceptual, all of them including many other different types. This supposes a great help

for students to select the most suitable one for them according to their needs; a student

could feel more comfortable using a certain type of conceptual graphic organizer whereas

another one could prefer using another type of conceptual organizer.

This consequently means that “the freedom to select tools based on personal interests

and strengths can help maintain a good level of interest and even re-engage learners”

(The National Center on Accessing the General Curriculum n/p). And that is not only a

matter of students, it is important to realize that “some graphic organizers may be more

useful as an advance organizer and other as a post organizer” (Griffin and Tulbert 1995

quoted in Wills 4). So, the graphic organizer’s choice depends on each student and the

type of graphic organizer which naturally fits best to a particular activity.

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The key point here is that teaching should be adjusted to both the different students’

needs and the contents to be taught, and the strategy of using graphic organizers is one

of those which provide students with lots of types from which to choose. In this sense, it is

important to remark that “concrete graphic organizers can assist students in organizing

and making relationships among ideas” (Mautone and Mayer 2007 quoted in Lubin and

Sewak 10). Then, the next step should be selecting the most suitable graphic organizer

according to a particular purpose.

For instance, concept diagrams are “chart-like graphic that describes a concept and its

various relationships, with general concepts at the top, supporting concepts at the bottom,

and lines showing the connections between the concepts” (Cesarone 2007, p. 191). This

is a vital type of graphic organizer that permits students ignoring information that is not

essential at all to concentrate on pivotal concepts, the ones that are going to show

students the key point of the reading, for them to comprehend it properly. According to

Vaughn & Edmonds (2006), it helps students to understand definitions, characteristics and

concepts, since this type of graphic organizer is not only focused on pivotal concepts but

also on secondary ones with which they are related. So, some graphic organizers are

useful for students to retain information, as it is the case, instead of being useful for

comparing and contrasting ideas, for instance.

In the case of story maps, they “improve students’ literal, interpretative and applied

comprehension skills” (DiCecco and Gleason 2002 quoted in Lubin and Sewak 5), as well

as they “assist students in integrating previous knowledge with existing knowledge” (Keel,

Dangel & Owens 1999 quoted in Lubin and Sewak 6). This is a really important aspect

because students normally tend to memorize and study what is new, forgetting about

previous knowledge. In addition to this “story maps help students clarify concepts, make

predictions and summarize key points” (Sorrel 1990 quoted in Lubin and Sewak 6).

Furthermore, this type of graphic organizers “help students sort, simplify, show

relationships, make meaning, and manage data quickly and easily” (Crawford & Carnine

2000 quoted in Research Starters in an essay by Sharon Link Ph.D. n/p). In turn,

semantic graphic organizers are useful to provide students with “an overview of key

vocabulary and concepts” (Vaughan & Edmonds, 2006, p. 135). The cause-effect graphic

organizers serve to show students the clear relationship between a cause and what it

provokes. Sequential episodic maps or series of events chains are a really good type of

graphic organizer which can be applied to stories, in which students can find many events

in a text which are impossible to remember in order.

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Venn diagrams are a wonderful tool to compare and contrast two concepts, since they are

composed by two bubbles that are joined by the middle, so each bubbles shares a part of

it with the other. In this sense, each bubble is composed by some different characteristics

but both concepts converge in the middle of the bubble showing some characteristics in

common. This is really good because it substitutes endless lists of characteristics, and by

using Venn Diagrams students can have all of them in a single, concise and clear format.

If students want to establish a hierarchy between lots of elements, a network tree would

be the best choice to do it. It is composed by many bubbles growing from the top to the

bottom of a page and they connected by means of lines. In this way, students can

establish a clear difference between concepts that are superordinate with those that are

subordinate, and this type of graphic organizer can also show the connection that exists

between all of them. Spider maps are closely related to this last type of graphic organizer

because they also serve to establish relationships, but not in terms of hierarchy but in

terms of main ideas or themes and less important ones. The Problem-Solution graphic

organizer facilitates students the organization of several solutions to a problem. The

Continuum Scales organize information according to a dimension such as high to low or

less to more. K-W-L Chart serves to organize important dates or events and a Cycle Map

is effective for organizing information which has not an absolute beginning or ending.

But one of the most remarkable benefits of the use of graphic organizers is that they can

be also used when teaching English through content. According to Garjria et al, (2007),

when dealing with areas in which the content to be taught might be difficult, graphic

organizers play an important role since they make students arise their interest, so that

they are motivated, something that allows them to memorize things better. This is a really

important benefit because pupils who study English through content tend to feel boring,

something which has its repercussion in their learning process of the language. Graphic

organizers are also good for students who study English through content, since it is more

difficult to organize information for a student who studies English through content than for

a student who does not, since the first one has to deal with both a second language and

the corresponding content.

As it has been stated before, each student is different from the rest and teachers should

know each of them pretty well in order to offer them the most suitable way of teaching.

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When dealing with graphic organizers, individual differences do not suppose a problem

since, according to Horton, Lovitt and Bergerud (1990) it is important to consider that

graphic organizers are a wonderful tool that is valid for pupils of all levels as well as those

with or without any kind of disability, since they are mechanisms that help students to

memorize content-related information. Independently of the students’ needs “graphic

organizers provide practical classroom tools that immediately engage students and

connect them with content and processes while working independently, with partners, in

small groups, or as a whole class” (Hew et al. 2004 quoted in Research Starters n/p in an

essay by Sharon Link Ph.D.). When these types of organizers are created individually “it

can be argued that graphic organizers empower students to take responsibility for their

own learning, facilitate and personalize meaning” […] (MacKinnon & Deppell 2005 quoted

in Research Starters n/p in an essay by Sharon Link Ph.D).

In short, graphic organizers are “a visual representation of knowledge” (Bromley, Irwin-

DeVitis, and Modlo 1995 quoted in Research Starters n/p in an essay by Sharon Link

Ph.D.), because they can capture the exact information in its corresponding format.

Moreover, as Boulineau et al, 2004 explains, they not only help in the acquisition process

but graphic organizers also assist in retaining the information that these type of tools

present. Therefore, the use of graphic organizers can imply, in some cases, their making

up, which is a really beneficial exercise. As a consequence of all these advantages,

“graphic organizers should benefit all learners while enabling them to be successful and

motivated learners” (McMackin & Witherell, 2005 quoted in Research Starters n/p in an

essay by Sharon Link Ph.D.), because for them to be a good tool, they should be

adaptable to all types of learners independently on their race, level, age or sex. This is

also supported by many researchers who argue that “the literature review supports the

assertion that graphic organizers are scientifically based and empirically validated tools

that “facilitate(s) learning for most students in … reading comprehension and content

areas across a wide range of ages, grades and learning abilities” (Ellis & Howard 2007,

p.1 quoted in Lubin and Sewak 12). Graphic organizers, as Vygotsky (1962) states, serve

as cognitive mechanisms to help the students understand and retain important information

and relationships, so that “students can connect ideas and concepts and improve their

text comprehension” (Vaughn & Edmonds, 2006, p. 134) and its efficacy can be confirmed

at all levels. In order to prove, once more, the importance of graphic organizers, it is

important to remark that “graphic and semantic organizers as one of seven categories of

instruction that is the most effective in improving reading comprehension” (National

Reading Panel 2000 quoted in IARE et AEL. Institute of Advancement of Research in

Education n/p).

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5. METHODOLOGY This section is going to embrace a fully and detailed explanation of the methodology that

has been selected in order to test the previously formulated hypothesis. In order to do that,

it is important to consider that one of the most important aspects when selecting the most

suitable type of methodology to be applied in a research is to take as a basis the situation

that the researcher wants to explore as well as the hypothesis to be tested, both the

dependent and the independent variables which are derived from the hypothesis and

obviously, the research questions that could arise from the research.

If the situation here explored is taken into account, it is a point worthy of mention that

reading comprehension is a really important aspect of a second language, since it

basically implies the understanding of a text. This understanding is obviously composed

by a combination of both written words and the inferred meaning that each reader can

extract from the text, together with his or her knowledge about the world that can be useful

to understand the piece of reading in question. Successful reading depends on many

aspects; on the one hand, it implies the ability to recognize words quickly and, on the

other hand, it is also based on the capability to link the meaning of those words to be able

to construct meaning, forgetting about taking each word in isolation. As it has been stated

before, the current situation is that many students have problems when they face a

reading comprehension exercise in a language which is not their mother tongue. It can be

due to their lack of vocabulary or simply due to their inability to construct meaningful

sentences in English, mainly because they also have problems when forming them in

Spanish. Another current problem derives from the existence of those reading

comprehension exercises which are composed by true or false tasks in which the

statement is presented using different words from the ones that were used in the text,

although both statements express the same idea.

Undeniably, this situation must be mended because, as it has been stated before, the

main goal of reading is comprehension, and neither the type of reading comprehension

exercises nor the personal level of English might affect negatively to the correct execution

of the tasks. Many researchers argue that the best choice to help those students who

have problems when understanding a text is instruction. It basically consists on some

guidance that must be carried out by teachers and applied to students. This guidance can

be of several types, according to the text to be read or the students’ needs.

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Taking it into account and considering that graphic organizers, as the review of literature

shows, are one of the tools that need some instruction before being implemented, its use

might be the solution to the problem that many people want to solve.

The main purpose of this research work is to investigate about the relationship between

the use of graphic organizers in whatever stage of a reading and students’ success. In

order to do that, it has been crucial to study the current situation found in Secondary

Education concerning reading comprehension, since it is the only way to compare pre-

and post- results, which are those that have been obtained after having implemented the

use of graphic organizers and after having tested the benefits of that practice. The study

of the situation has been based basically on observation, which was carried out during the

first period of the teaching practice. Taking that situation as a basis, and once hypothesis

was formulated, the next step was to create the research questions that might arise from

them. The first research question tries to answer to what extent the use of graphic

organizers has an influence in reading comprehension and this section is going to offer an

explanation of the corresponding steps that have been followed in order to answer that

first research question. Furthermore, the second research question tries to answer in

which reading stage students using graphic organizers obtain better results, in case that

using graphic organizers improves reading comprehension. The method that was used to

answer that second question is also going to be fully explained here, as well as the

materials that have been used to accomplish it.

For this experiment to be carried out, there are several variables that must be noted. The

picture below consists of a visual representation of both the dependent and the

independent variables that are involved in this research work, as well as the

interrelationship that exist between them. As it can be seen, the dependent variable is,

according to the main objective of this research work, students’ reading comprehension of

a foreign language. In turn, two are the independent variables that have been used to test

the hypothesis. Firstly, the insertion of graphic organizers in the reading comprehension

instruction is an independent variable which may or not affect reading students’ reading

comprehension. The second one is in which of the three reading stages graphic

organizers are more useful, in case the study shows that they are useful. In this sense,

students’ reading comprehension can vary depending on what is applied to it.

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According to the diagram above, which is funnily a type of a graphic organizer, the

dependent variable, located in the centre of it, corresponds to the students’ level of

reading comprehension. This dependent variable, as the graphic represents, is clearly

affected by two independent variables. The main one deals with the use of graphic

organizers itself which at the same time embraces the other independent variable, which

is in which stage implementing the use of graphic organizers is more useful for students to

improve their reading comprehension. In this way, both circles that correspond to the

independent variables round the dependent variable, meaning that it is affected by them.

Apart from the hypothesis, the research questions and the variables, it is crucial to

describe the participants who have been involved in this research, in order to comprehend

the methodology that is explained below. The participants who have taken part in this

experiment belong to the same environment, what ensures results’ validity, since all

students are on equal terms.

Use of Graphics

organizers

Differences between the

three reading stages

Students’ reading

comprehension

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The sample here tested is composed by students belonging to a private but non-state

institution located in the South of Madrid, whose name is not going to be given as neither

the names of the students forming part of the sample, trying to carry out the agreement of

privacy that all researches imply. The students not only belong to the same school, but

they are in the same class. In this sense, the majority of the students have the same age

(except for those who have repeated a course) being the average age 12/13 years old. It

obviously means that students have more or less same level of English; at least they are

exposed to the same teacher and both the same methodology and class dynamics. The

sample is composed by 28 students in total including both males and females, who are

those who have been described before. As the sample is homogenous, this research

ensures results’ validity and reliability.

Taking as a basis both the hypothesis, the variables and the participants implied in this

research, a particular methodology has been chosen and some materials were needed to

be used. Firstly, the materials used to test the hypothesis have been four English reading

comprehension tests. One of them was distributed as a pre-test and the following three

were allotted as post-tests. In any case, all of them maintained the same format: they

were composed by some instructions at the beginning, explaining students the research’s

goal since they took part in it, the time that they had to complete the task and

remembering them that they results would be taken with confidentiality and not individually,

but as a whole. Each of the four tests was composed by a different reading followed by

five true or false reading comprehension statements, according to what was told in the

reading. In order to have both valid and reliable results, the four chosen readings have

been selected from the same source, a book published by a famous editorial composed

by many readings written for students with the same level of English. Therefore, all the

readings fitted perfectly well to the students’ level of English; the pre-intermediate level. It

is important to remark that all the tests ended thanking them their participation, since

without their help it would be impossible to have a sample and to test the hypothesis.

The following table consists of a brief description of the texts that have been used in order

to prove the main hypothesis, which was to investigate about the influence of the use

graphic organizers in students’ reading comprehension.

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Main texts used in the methodology

Texts’ titles Book’s description

Do you know who Helen Keller was?

GALAXY, Lecturas programadas Inglés 8º

E.G.B. Santillana, 1985. Why play sports?

Captain Cuddle’s treasure map

Are dolphins sad?

Apart from the four different tests and considering the main objective of this research

paper, which is to investigate if using graphic organizers has an effect in reading

comprehension, there have been more materials that were used in order to accomplish

that objective. In the instruction period, a powerpoint presentation was employed to show

students the definition of a graphic organizer, as well as showing them the huge variety

that these visual aids offers. Likewise, in this period of instruction students were given

some printed graphic organizers of all types, and in the moment in which the tests were

given to students, they were also given some printed graphic organizers to be filled in.

The table below offers a visual representation of the particular graphic organizers that

were used only during the testing period, since they were those which largely contributed

to the results that were obtained in the analysed tests. As the table shows, the concrete

types of graphic organizers that were employed in that period have been specified, as well

as the category to which they belong and the stage in which they were applied.

GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS

Stage Category Name Pre-reading Comparing, contrasting and concluding “Discussion map” While-reading Chain of Events “The Storyboard” Post-reading Main idea/supporting ideas “What’s the main idea?”

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Once the situation has been presented, and the hypothesis, the research questions, the

variables, the participants and the materials used for this research work to be carried out

have been mentioned, it is important to state clearly the methodology that has been

followed in order to test the hypothesis. The observation week, which took place in

January, corresponding to the first period of the teaching practice, was very useful to

study the situation at school, in order to reflect on what I liked to investigate, the

participants with whom I wanted to work and the ways in which I could do it. The second

period of practice, which had a duration of approximately three months, served to carry

out what I had planned before. It was then when the selected methodology was

implemented, following various steps.

The first one, and as it has been explained before, consisted of a brief explanation of the

study in which students were going to take part. In order to begin to collect the information

that I wanted, a pre-test was distributed among the students at the beginning of the

second period of the teaching practice at the assigned school. This pre-test was

composed by some instructions and the beginning informing the students about many

important aspects of the test, such as they way in which the task should be done, the time

that they had for the task to be completed or the results’ treatment, reminding them that

they were going to be treated not individually, but in a collective way. There was no

instruction period before letting students to do the task in the stipulated time; they were

only told to do it individually, reading carefully the short text and answering true or false for

the sentences below. After that, and according to the review of literature, before

implementing the use of graphic organizers in a reading comprehension class, students

were explained what graphic organizers are as well as their uses and their different types

of formats, according to the different reading purposes. Taking that explanation as a basis,

the use of graphic organizers was introduced little by little to students in their reading

lessons.

The whole class, composed by 28 students, had three English lessons per week, as the

all the degrees at that school have. Although reading exercises were implicit in all the

English lessons, the last day of the week was totally devoted to reading and reading

comprehension exercises. Each of those days, students were asked to do a different

reading comprehension exercise with the help of graphic organizers. During the two first

months, students were in the period of instruction, where I explained to them how to use

them.

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More concretely, the first lesson in which graphic organizers were introduced consisted of

using a particular type of graphic organizer before reading the text. In this sense, that

concrete graphic organizer helped students to be introduced the topic of the text and to be

prepared for what they were going to read.

All these first tasks which included the use of graphic organizers were done thanks to my

previous explanation before each task. Once they began to use little by little graphic

organizers by themselves, I did not leave them to do it alone; on the contrary, each

reading lesson consisted of explaining them the use of each particular graphic organizer

and monitoring their actions, as well as giving them the corresponding advices. The first

particular task in which graphic organizers were involved were done in eight groups of four

people and this distribution was maintained during the following two sessions. This

particular distribution was applied due to the difficulties that using graphic organizers for

the first time imply, so, when students were grouped with the purpose of doing something

difficult, they felt more motivated because they already knew that each member of the

group could be helped by the rest.

The second session in which graphic organizers were implemented, followed the same

mechanism as the first one; students had to do a reading comprehension exercise in

groups. The only difference was that, this time, the use of graphic organizers was

implemented in the “while-reading” stage. As they were dealing with a story, the particular

graphic organizer was very helpful for them to sequence in a proper way the events that

they observed as long as they read. The third session also followed the same steps as the

previous ones, but in this case, the use of graphic organizers was implemented after

reading, in the “post-reading” stage. This exercise was applied to a reading in which

students were told about a concept and its characteristics. In this sense, students used a

graphic organizer in which they could write down the characteristics of a concept, for them

to remember them rightly.

From that particular moment, students continue their reading comprehension lessons

using graphic organizers, always with my own monitoring and help but with a minimum

change. From then until two sessions more, students were grouped in pairs instead of in

groups. This was thought for students to begin to use graphic organizers without the help

that people forming their group gave them. In this sense, students still had some help for

them not to create graphic organizers alone, although this help was minimum.

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Since those lessons, and having in mind that students had only three more instruction

lessons, the pupils worked, this time individually, on several reading comprehension texts

using graphic organizers. Obviously, they had my help, because they were still in the

graphic organizers’ instruction stage, but not their classmates’ help. It is important to say

that the graphic organizers that were used during the instruction period were of several

types, for students to see that graphic organizers not only have one universally

established use, but that they can be of different formats, according to the type of the

reading provided. Once the instruction period ended, students then faced the tests whose

results have been compiled and analysed in this research work. They were given three

tests corresponding to appendix two, three and four, and each one was done in different

days.

All of them shared the characteristics that the pre-test had; some instructions at the

beginning, the same time was provided to students to complete the task and the same

reading extension and the same type of reading comprehension exercise; five true or false

statements to be answered. The first day, in which students had to complete the reading

comprehension exercise that corresponds to appendix two, each student was given a

sheet with a graphic organizer to be filled in. As a pre-reading activity, I introduced them

the topic that the text was going to be about and the each student began to brainstorm

about it and to write down their ideas. This activity took us about five minutes and then,

the test was distributed among the students, one sheet per each. Students had fifteen

minutes to complete the task and once this time was up, the tests were given back to me.

The second test was given to students the following week. That day, I distributed two

sheets at the same time per each student; one was the test with the same characteristics

as the previous ones and the other one was a sheet containing an empty graphic

organizer. As it had been done during the instruction period, students have to fill in the

graphic organizer with the information that they gathered from the text, so in this case the

graphic organizer was used in the “while-reading” stage. The text was about a pirate’s

story and the type of graphic organizer was called “chains of events” so, as long as the

students read the text, they were writing down the events in a sequential order. Then, they

had to write true or false for the sentences below.

And finally, in the last week of the teaching practice, I distributed the last test among

students, which was designed following and including the same patterns that

characterized the previous ones. In this case, the unique difference was related to the

moment in which the graphic organizer was used.

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While in the first test the corresponding graphic organizer was used as a pre-reading

activity and in the second one, the graphic organizer was utilized in the while-reading

stage, in this third test the graphic organizer was filled in the last reading stage, which is

the post-reading. In this sense, students had to read through the whole text and then,

complete a graphic organizer designed to be filled in separating the main idea from the

secondary ones. Then, students answered true or false for the statements below the text.

As the methodology includes a lot of information, the following chart has been designed

for the purpose of presenting a visual representation of all the steps that have been

followed in this research work in order to test the hypothesis. Moreover, this graphic

shows the duration that all the steps took, the participants who were involved in the

process and their distribution along the different stages and also the different materials

that were used in order to accomplish the objective, which was to test the main hypothesis.

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Methodology Chart

Steps

Duration

Materials

Participants

Pre-test’ distribution

15 minutes

Reading

comprehension test

28 students in an

individual way

Instruction period

Two months

A reading

comprehension test

per week

3 sessions in groups

of 4

2 sessions in pairs

A graphic organizer of

each type

3 sessions

individually

Pre-reading test

15 minutes

A reading

comprehension test

Individually

“Discussion Map”

Graphic Organizer

While-reading test

15 minutes

A reading

comprehension test

Individually

“The Storyboard”

Graphic Organizer

Pos-reading test

15 minutes

A reading

comprehension test

Individually

“What’s the main idea”

Graphic Organizer

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6. ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTS Once the methodology has been carried out, the different results that have been obtained

from the tests distributed among the students are going to be both presented and

analysed in this section. The presentation and the analysis of the results are going to

follow a very particular pattern; each result is going to be presented by means of a bar

chart, and, at the same time, it is going to be compared in the same graphic with other

particular results that may be interesting to be compared with.

As a type of visual aid, graphics are a really good tool to show in a quite clear and concise

way lots of different kinds of information and, what is more, to present the differences that

exist between concepts, in order to be aware of the relevance of each one in contrast with

the rest. Another important aspect concerning the graphics that are going to be employed

here is the way in which they have been created; as each one has been created

according to what was wanted to explain, a corresponding explanation will follow the

graphic organizer to facilitate its fully comprehension. Another important aspect which is

worthy of consideration is the way in which the results have been entered. As it has been

mentioned in previous sections, all the tests that were distributed among the students

shared the same format, for the results not to be favoured by a format or another, in other

words; for the results to be really reliable. Apart from including some instructions at the

beginning, all of them were composed by a reading and some reading comprehension

questions below. More concretely, those reading comprehension questions were five true

or false statements in each of the tests.

Once this has been explained, the way in which the results have been measured here has

been the following: all the graphics shows the results in terms of correct answers and, if it

is considered that 28 students composed the sample, the maximum mark that the whole

sample could obtained in each test was 140 right answers, taking into account that each

test was composed by five true or false reading comprehension questions. However, the

most important aspect here is not to consider the results of each test in isolation, but to

consider them in contrast with other particularly key results. But, before beginning to show

the results, it is important to remark what the initial hypothesis and the sub-hypothesis

were to facilitate the reader the understanding of the results’ relevance.

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The main objective of this research work was to investigate if the use graphic organizers

when dealing with a reading comprehension text could help students to improve their

reading comprehension skills. The sub-hypothesis tries to find out in which reading stage

the use of graphic organizers supposes a higher improvement when reading

comprehension is concerned, trying to confirm, as the review of literature states, that

students obtain better results if graphic organizers are used in the post-reading stage.

Beginning with the information embedded in the sub-hypothesis first, the following three

graphic organizers are going to show the results that have been gathered from the test

that were distributed in the three reading stages in contrast with the one scored in the Pre-

test. This first graphic below presents the relationship between the results that the sample

obtained in the Pre-test and the results that were collected in the pre-reading stage, once

the use of graphic organizers was obviously implemented during the period of instruction.

As it can be observed, the information on the left corresponds to a range that goes from 0

to 120, and it is distributed in multiples of twenty. That range basically corresponds to the

numbers of correct answers that the whole sample obtained, a pattern that is going to be

shared by all the graphics included in this research paper. The interesting aspect here is

that neither Pre-test’ results nor the results from the pre-reading stage were the maximum

ones, which is 140, although this graphic also shows results until 120. This means that the

sample did not obtain the best possible results in the Pre-test, something that corresponds

to the main hypothesis, which was formulated to prove if it is true that the use of graphic

organizers help students to have better results in reading comprehension tests. Therefore,

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Pre-test Pre-readingstage

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taking into consideration this first result, it can be thought that the possibility of improving

that result is quite feasible. Despite the expectations that were supported, in part, by the

review of literature, the results of the test in which graphic organizers were fulfilled during

the pre-reading stage were worse than those outcomes belonging to the pre-test’s tests.

As the review of literature has shown, there is it considerable evidence that graphic

organizers used as a pre-reading activity improve reading comprehension with respect to

those situations in which graphic organizers were not used. The graphic does not state

the same, but the difference between both results is not great: the particular result is 111

correct answers in the pre-test against 101 right answers in the pre-reading test. Despite

that minimum difference, it is fair to admit that it exists and that it is sufficient to consider

that the use of graphic organizers before the reading task, tested with the sample

previously described, has no effect in students’ reading comprehension with respect to the

absence of its use.

In order to continue analysing and explaining the results that have been obtained in the

tests, the chart below shows the marks that have been recovered from the test in which

graphic organizers were used in the while-reading stage of reading. The following graphic

also shows a comparison between those results and the ones accomplished from the pre-

test task. This time, the range of values on the left corresponds again to the correct

answers that the sample obtained in the tests and they are also grouped from 0 until the

best mark that could be got, which is 140.

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Pre-test While-readingstage

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As this chart shows, there is now a clear difference between the results obtained in the

while-reading stage test in which graphic organizers were used and the ones obtained in

the Pre-test. This time the difference between both results is really considerable, since the

result when graphic organizers were used in the while-reading stage test was 130 correct

answers in total and, as it has been stated before, the result from the Pre-test task was

111 right answers. If the review of literature is taken into consideration, it clearly supports

the results presented in this previous chart. As the researchers argued, the fact of using

graphic organizers during the while-reading stage of a reading comprehension task helps

students to have better results in the reading comprehension task.

Due to the considerable difference between both results, there is no doubt that the use of

graphic organizers during the while-reading stage makes students improve their

comprehension. The interesting aspect here is to explore the reason why the use of

graphic organizers in the while-reading stage has a positive effect on students’ reading

comprehension and why this positive effect was not shown in the pre-reading stage. A

personal reflection on the matter could arise from a simple fact; during the pre-reading

stage students do not have the reading itself in front of them and, even if they have really

imaginative brains, it seems very difficult for them to fully contextualise a topic and to

reflect on all the possible ideas about it before having the reading in from of them. In this

sense, if a teacher wants to elicit students’ participation using a graphic organizer which

can contextualize the reading that is coming, it is going to be very tricky for them, since

they would have been given only a few concepts to reflect and to comment on. However,

the result obtained in the test done during the while-reading stage is much more

explicable; students can fill in the graphic organizer writing down the ideas as long as they

go through the text, so their written words are really supported by the text itself.

Although it has been a really interesting result, the most fascinating one came when the

result from the post-reading stage test were achieved. The following graphic shows the

result obtained on the part of the sample in the immediately mentioned stage and its

relationship between the results taken from the Pre-test. This comparison has been

created by paying attention to the main hypothesis, which was to investigate if it can be

observed an improvement before the graphic organizers’ instruction period and after

having implemented it. The range of values on the left has been distributed in the same

way as it was in the previous chart; that is to say, it goes from 0 to 140 correct marks, the

maximum.

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The result performed in the post-reading stage test is really captivating for two reasons.

The first one is based on the difference between that result and the one obtained in the

pre-test task. In this case, that difference is even bigger than the one which was shown in

the previous graphic, since the number of correct answers in the post-reading test was

140 and the number of right answers in the pre-test, as it has been stated before, was 111.

The second reason is precisely related to the result that the sample obtained in the test

done in the post-reading stage. That result is simply crucial, because the sample got the

maximum mark possible, which means that the use of graphic organizers in this stage is

really helpful for students and, what is more, that the result could be equalized, but not

superseded. Trying to find a reason why that extremely good result has been achieved, it

could be thought that the success when using graphic organizers in the post-reading

stage can be related to the close relationship that has been established between the

reading and the reader. That is to say, in this stage readers have gone through the text,

dealing with both its sense and some tricky words that the text could include, whose

meaning could have been deduced from the context. So, after having read it, students

have a clear conception of the text’s sense, which can be captured in a written form.

The next chart is a visual representation of the results that the sample obtained in the

three reading stages: pre-reading, while-reading and post-reading stage. The range of

values on the left has been distributed from the minimum, 0, to the maximum, 140. In this

case, the result got from the Pre-test has not been included here, since the main purpose

of this graphic is to show the relationship between the results from those tests which were

distributed among students in the three different reading stages.

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Pre-test Post-readingstage

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As it can been observed in the chart, the result in the pre-reading stage is the lowest one,

since the sample obtained 101 correct answers. The second bar shows the result that the

students got in the while-reading stage, which consists of 130 correct answers. This is a

really important result because, if it is compared with the one obtained from the pre-

reading stage; it can be appreciated that the use of graphic organizers in this stage was

considerably more helpful for students than the one got from the pre-reading stage. The

third bar shows a really important result on its own, since the sample obtained the

maximum mark possible, 140 right answers. But it is also really important compared with

the results that the sample got in the previous stages in which graphic organizers where

used because the results of the three stages experimented a gradual rose as the stages

passed by. The most characteristic difference can be found between the result from the

pre-reading stage and the result from the while-reading stage, since the sample attained

19 more correct answers in the while-reading stage with respect to the pre-reading stage’s

result.

All in all, it is important to mention the relevance that the last result showed in this graphic

has. The sample obtained the highest mark possible when graphic organizers were used

in the post-reading stage, which is a really good result on its own because it means that

the use of graphic organizers help students improve their reading comprehension skills.

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Pre-readingstage

While-readingstage

Post-readingstage

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But if the results that have been recovered in the third stages are compared it can be said

that the review of literature supports them. That assumption deals with the sub-hypothesis,

which was formulated to investigate in which stage graphic organizers were more useful

for students, in case this study shows that they are useful. The review of literature talked

about the benefits of this visual aid in all stages, but many researchers included the

review of literature of this research work affirmed that the stage in which students could

experiment a bigger improvement with respect to the others was the post-reading stage.

In the pre-reading stage students elaborated, before reading the text, on some concepts

that the teacher found interesting to comment on because they had their relevance in the

text. Although the use of graphic organizers before reading can elicit students’

participation and motivation, it is true that they have not read the text yet and they can

elaborate on many aspects on which the text can be focused or not. The results obtained

in the while-reading stage correspond to the readers’ closeness to the text, since they

could fill in the corresponding graphic organizers as long as they were reading the text, In

this case, the information with which the graphic organizers were filled in was directly

taken from the text, so the reading comprehension questions can be perfectly answered in

a correct way because of the information’s accuracy. And, as it has been stated before,

the same happens with the result derived from using graphic organizers in the post-

reading stage. If students have really worked on the reading (both in the while-reading

stage or and the post-reading stage), they can fill in the graphic organizer in a more

accurate way and, consequently, the true or false comprehension questions presented

after each reading can be properly answered.

The following chart has been designed in order to show a clear idea of to what extent the

use of graphic organizers, tested in this sample, can improve reading comprehension

skills. So, this following chart shows the answers to the main hypothesis of this research

paper, which dealt with the investigation about the benefits of using graphic organizers

with respect to those situations in which they are not used. Therefore, the graphic

presents a comparison between the result that was obtained from the pre-test task, when

the use of graphic organizers had not been implemented yet, and all the three post-tests’

average. This average has been calculated following an easy mechanism; the three

marks obtained in the post-tests have been added up and then, divided by three, which

correspond to the number of post-test tasks that the sample was asked to complete.

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By looking at the graphic, the difference between the post-tests’ average is clearly

superior to the result that the sample obtained in the Pre-test. Those results were 111 and

123’6 respectively, from which an evident difference can be concluded. Moreover, that

difference can supported by the relevance that the review of literature gave to the use of

graphic organizers to improve reading comprehension once it had been implemented

during the period of instruction. Although there was one result which was a little bit inferior

to the Pre-test task’s results, the average mark of the three post-tests’ tasks shows that

the use of graphic organizers have a positive effect in reading comprehension. Finally, this last graphic acts as a visual summary of what has been presented before, but,

this time, all the information and the consequent comparisons can be appreciated in a

single chart. This time the numbers on the left embraces from the minimum mark to the

maximum one, which is 140 correct answers.

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

Pre-test Post-test/Pre-reading

Post-test/While-

reading

Post-test/Post-reading

020406080

100120140

Pre-test Post-tests'

average

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This chart is composed by four bars. The first one corresponds to the result that the

sample got in the pre-test and the rest of the bars corresponds to the results that were

obtained when graphic organizers were used in all the three post-tests, and more

concretely in the pre-reading, the while-reading and the post-reading stages’ tests

respectively. As the graphic shows, there is one case in which the result obtained in the

pre-test was not exceeded. However, both the while-reading test and the post-reading

tests’ results show a great and a positive difference with respect to the pre-test’s results.

According to the review of literature and the results that have been obtained in all the

samples, it supports the idea that the use of graphic organizers, tested in the selected

sample, really improves students’ reading comprehension.

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7. CONCLUSIONS The main purpose of this research work [M1]was[M2] to investigate about the relationship

between the use of graphic organizers and the possible improvement when reading

comprehension is concerned. Furthermore, this paper grew with the idea of studying in

which stage the use of graphic organizers provoked [M3]better results. Thanks to the

investigation that has been carried out in this research work,[M4] those two hypotheses

have found their corresponding answers.

The review of literature was [M5] mainly focused on the positive effects that graphic

organizers have in reading comprehension tests. Many researchers also reflect on the

idea that, for graphic organizers to be really effective, teachers should devote a period of

instruction in which students are exposed to the use of different types of graphic

organizers applied to different type of texts. In this way, students would be sufficiently

prepared to select the most suitable graphic organizer for a concrete type of text. The

review of literature also supported the idea that the use of graphic organizers has different

effects when they are used in the different reading stages; pre-reading, while-reading and

post-reading. More concretely, many researchers argued that the use of graphic

organizers offers better results in the post-reading stage. Both ideas have been tested,

once the hypothesis and the sub-hypothesis were formulated, by means of the selected

methodology.

In order to choose the right methodology for this particular research work, many aspects

have been taken into account. Some of these important aspects are the participants, the

materials and both the dependent and the independent variables. The first two aspects

are closely related one to the other, since the different graphic organizers as well as the

tests that were used in the methodology had to be the right ones according to the

participants implied in this research paper. The third aspect, the dependent and the

independent variables, were crucial to determine the flow of the whole methodology, since

they suppose the main pillars of the hypotheses.

According to the review of literature and to the information in general that was found for

this research work to have sense, a pre-test was given to students to test the difference

between the results obtained before the instruction period and those which were obtained

after graphic organizers had been implemented in the class dynamics. Both results were

both very varied and interesting.

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Contrary to what was expected to find, the results obtained in the pre-test were a little bit

superior to those that were obtained in the test done in the pre-reading stage. Although

the review of literature did not support that idea, it[M6] is true that the difference was minor,

and for that reason, the outcomes could have varied if the sample had been composed by

different people. The tests that were done when graphic organizers were used in the

while-reading and the post-reading stages gave very interesting results. One the one hand,

the result of the test done when the selected graphic organizer was used in the while-

reading stage was clearly superior to the previous ones. This means that this research

work shows that graphic organizers, when they are used in the while-reading stage, are

more effective than when they are used as a pre-reading activity. It also shows that

students had better reading comprehension results when graphic organizers were used.

The fourth test also presented a very interesting result, since it was the highest result of all

the tests. That result confirmed what the review of literature said, which was related to the

benefits of using graphic organizers in order to improve reading comprehension, but also

to the existence of a stage in which the use of graphic organizers gives students the most

positive effects, which is the post-reading stage.

All in all, this research paper only supposes a minimum part of what the use of graphic

organizers embraces, and there are many aspects that could be studied taking as a basis

this research paper, such us investigating about the minimum difference in terms of

results between the pre-test and the pre-reading stage, taking into account that the review

of literature which was presented here pleads for the benefits of the use of graphic

organizers in whatever stage. [M7]

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8. BIBLIOGRAPHY Banikowski, A. K., & Mehring, T. A. (1999). Strategies to enhance memory based on brain research. Focus on Exceptional Children, 32, 1-16. http://pangea.tec.selu.edu/~phuang/600/readorgan.pdf Baxendell, B. W. (2003). Consistent, coherent, creative: The 3c’s of graphic organizers. Teaching Exceptional Children, 35(3), 46 – 53. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=8735 219&site=ehost-

live Boulineau, T., Fore III, C., Hagan-Burke. S., & Burke, M. D. (2004). Use of story- mapping to increase the story-grammar text comprehension of elementary students with learning disabilities. Learning Disability Quarterly, 27, 105-121. http://www.lynchburg.edu/Documents/GraduateStudies/Lynchburg%20College%20Journa

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anizers.pdf Boyle, J. R., & Weishaar, M. (1997). The effects of expert-generated versus student-generated cognitive organizers on the reading comprehension of students with learning disabilities. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 12, 228-235. Bromley, K., Irwin-DeVitis, L., & Modlo, M. (1995). Graphic organizers: Visual strategies for active learning. New York: Scholastic Professional Books. http://www.dswleads.com/Ebsco/Graphic%20Organizers.pdf

Cesarone, B. (2007). Concept mapping in early childhood and primary education. Childhood Education, 83, 191-192. Crawford, D. B., & Carnine, D. (2000). Comparing the effects of textbooks in eighth-grade U.S. history: Does conceptual organization help? Education and Treatment of Children 4(23): 387–422. http://www.dswleads.com/Ebsco/Graphic%20Organizers.pdf

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DiCecco, V.M., & Gleason, M.M. (2002). Using graphic organizers to attain relational knowledge from expository text. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 35, 306-321. http://www.lynchburg.edu/Documents/GraduateStudies/Lynchburg%20College%20Journa

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anizers.pdf Duke, N. K., & Pearson, P. D. (2002). Effective practices for developing reading comprehension. In A. Farstrup & S. Samuels (Eds.), What research has to say about reading instruction, (pp. 205 -242). Newark, DE: International Reading Association http://www.dswleads.com/Ebsco/Graphic%20Organizers.pdf Dye, G. A. (2000). Graphic organizers to the rescue! Helping students link - and remember information. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 32, 72-76. Dye, G. A. (2000). Graphic organizers to the rescue! Helping students link - and rememberinformation. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 32, 72-76. http://pangea.tec.selu.edu/~phuang/600/readorgan.pdf Ekhaml, L. T. (1998). Graphic organizers: Outlets for your thoughts. School Library Media Activities Monthly, 14, 29-33. http://pangea.tec.selu.edu/~phuang/600/readorgan.pdf Ellington, L. (2006). Graphic Organizers. Update on LD, 3. http://glassvisage.hubpages.com/hub/Using-graphic-organizers-to-facilitate-learning Ellis, E. (2004). Q&A: What’s the big deal with graphic organizers? http://www.lynchburg.edu/Documents/GraduateStudies/Lynchburg%20College%20Journa

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anizers.pdf Ellis, E. (2005). The Theoretical and Empirical Basis for Graphic Organizer Instruction Stephen Wills. The University of Alabama. http://www.hoover.k12.al.us/hcsnet/rfbms/makessense%207.4/donotopenfolder/implmnt/d

ontopen/msstrats/stuf/TheoreticBasis.pdf

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Ellis, E. & Howard, P. (2005). Graphic Organizers: Power Tools for Teaching Students with Learning Disabilities. The University of Alabama. Graphic Organizers & Learning Disabilities. http://www.graphicorganizers.com/About-MSS/graphic-organizers-power-tools-for-

teaching-students-with-learning-disabilities.html Ellis, E., & Howard (2007). Graphic organizers: Power tools for teaching students with leaning Disabilities. Current Practice Alerts, 13, 1-4. http://www.lynchburg.edu/Documents/GraduateStudies/Lynchburg%20College%20Journa

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anizers.pdf Gajria, M., Jitendra, A. K., Sood, S. & Sacks, G. (2007). Improving comprehension of expository text in students with LD: A research synthesis. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 40, 210-225. http://www.lynchburg.edu/Documents/GraduateStudies/Lynchburg%20College%20Journa

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Gallavan, N. P., & Kottler, E. (2007). Eight types of graphic organizers for empowering social studies students and teachers. The Social Studies, 98, 117-23. Gallavan, N. P., & Kottler, E. (2007). Eight types of graphic organizers for empowering social studies students and teachers. The Social Studies, 98, 117-23. http://www.lynchburg.edu/Documents/GraduateStudies/Lynchburg%20College%20Journa

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anizers.pdf Griffin, C. C., & Tulbert, B. L. (1995). The effect of graphic organizers on students’ comprehension and recall of expository text: A review of the research and implications for practice. Reading and Writing Quarterly, 11(1), 73-89. http://www.hoover.k12.al.us/hcsnet/rfbms/makessense%207.4/donotopenfolder/implmnt/d

ontopen/msstrats/stuf/TheoreticBasis.pdf

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Guastello, E. F., Beasley, T. M. & Sinatra, R. C. (2000). Concept mapping effects on science content comprehension of low-achieving inner-city seventh graders. Remedial and Special Education, 20(6), 356-364. http://www.hoover.k12.al.us/hcsnet/rfbms/makessense%207.4/donotopenfolder/implmnt/d

ontopen/msstrats/stuf/TheoreticBasis.pdf Hall, T., & Strangman, N. (2002). Graphic organizers. Wakefield, MA: National Center on Accessing the General Curriculum. http://www.k8accesscenter.org/training_resources/udl/documents/GraphicOrganizersUDL.

pdf

Hall, T., & Strangman, N. (2002). Graphic organizers. Wakefield, MA: National Center on Accessing the General Curriculum. http://glassvisage.hubpages.com/hub/Using-graphic-organizers-to-facilitate-learning

Hew, K., J. Hur, H. Jang, & Tian, L. (2004). The eight events of instruction: An instructional method based on the constructivist paradigm. In Proceedings of the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education, ed. C. Crawford, N. Davis, J. Price, R. Weber, and D. A. Willis, 4110–15. Chesapeake, VA: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education. http://www.dswleads.com/Ebsco/Graphic%20Organizers.pdf Horton, S., Lovitt, T., & Bergerud, D. (1990). The effectiveness of graphic organizers for three classifications of secondary students in content area classes. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 23(1), 12-22.

Huang, P. (2002). The Effects of Graphic Organizer Use on Reading Comprehension. Southeastern Louisiana University. http://pangea.tec.selu.edu/~phuang/600/readorgan.pdf

Hutchinson, C.B., & Padgett II, B. L. (2007). How to create and use analogies effectively in teaching science concepts. Science Activities 44, 69-72. http://www.lynchburg.edu/Documents/GraduateStudies/Lynchburg%20College%20Journa

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James, L. A., Abbott, M., & Greenwood, C. R. (2001). How Adam became a writer. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 33, 30-36. http://pangea.tec.selu.edu/~phuang/600/readorgan.pdf

Keel, M. C., Dangel, H. L., & Owens, S. H.(1999). Selecting instructional intervention for students with mild disabilities in inclusive classrooms: Focus on Exceptional Children, 31, 1-16. http://www.lynchburg.edu/Documents/GraduateStudies/Lynchburg%20College%20Journa

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Lovitt, S. (1994). Strategies for adapting science textbooks for youth with learning disabilities. Remedial and Special Education, 15(2), 105-116. http://www.mentoringminds.com/research/graphic-organizers

Lubin, J. & Sewak, M. (2007). Enhancing Learning Through the Use of Graphic Organizers: A Review of Literature. http://www.lynchburg.edu/Documents/GraduateStudies/Lynchburg%20College%20Journa

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anizers.pdf MacKinnon, G. R., & Deppell, M. (2005). Concept mapping: A unique means for negotiating meaning in professional studies. Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia 3 (14): 291–315. http://www.dswleads.com/Ebsco/Graphic%20Organizers.pdf

Marzano, R., Pickering, D., & Pollock, J. (2001). Research-based strategies for increasing student achievement. Classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. http://www.mentoringminds.com/research/graphic-organizers

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Mautone, P.D., & Mayer R.E. (2007). Cognitive aids for guiding graph comprehension. Journal of Education Psychology, 99, 640-652. http://www.lynchburg.edu/Documents/GraduateStudies/Lynchburg%20College%20Journa

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anizers.pdf McMackin, M. C., & Witherell, N. L. (2005). Different routes to the same destination: Drawing conclusions with tiered graphic organizers. Reading Teacher, 59(3), 242–252. http://www.dswleads.com/Ebsco/Graphic%20Organizers.pdf

Meyen E. L., Vergason, G.A. & Whelan. R. J. (1996). Strategies for teaching exceptional children in inclusive settings. Denver, CO: Love. Moore, D. W., & Readence, J. E. (1984). A quantitative and qualitative review of graphic organizer research. Journal of Educational Research, 78 (1), 11-17. www.k8accesscenter.org/training_resources/udl/GraphicOrganizersHTML.asp Pressley, M. (2000). What should comprehension instruction be the instruction of? In M. Kamil, P. Mosenthal, P. Pearson, & R. Barr (Eds.), Handbook of reading research, (Vol. 3, pp. 545 – 562). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. http://www.dswleads.com/Ebsco/Graphic%20Organizers.pdf

Simmons, D. C., Griffin, C. C., & Kameenui, E. J. (1988). The effects of teacher constructed pre and post-graphic organizer instruction on sixth-grade science students’ comprehension and recall. Journal of Educational Research, 28 (1), 15-21. http://www.hoover.k12.al.us/hcsnet/rfbms/makessense%207.4/donotopenfolder/implmnt/d

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Smith, D.D. (2007) Introduction to Special Education: Making a Difference (6th ed.). Boston: Pearson. http://glassvisage.hubpages.com/hub/Using-graphic-organizers-to-facilitate-learning

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Sorrel, A.L. (1990). Three reading comprehension strategies: TELLS, story mapping, and QARs. Academic Therapy, 25, 359-368. http://www.lynchburg.edu/Documents/GraduateStudies/Lynchburg%20College%20Journa

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Swanson, P. N., & DeLaPaz, S. (1998). Teaching effective comprehension strategies to students with learning and reading disabilities. Intervention in School and Clinic, 33,209-218. http://pangea.tec.selu.edu/~phuang/600/readorgan.pdf Vacca, R., & Vacca, J.A. (2001). Content area reading. New York: Allyn and Bacon. http://www.dswleads.com/Ebsco/Graphic%20Organizers.pdf Vaughn, S. & Edmonds, M. (2006). Reading comprehension for older readers. Intervention in School and Clinic, 41, 131-137. Vygotsky, L.S. (1962). Thought and Language. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Hubpages http://glassvisage.hubpages.com/hub/Using-graphic-organizers-to-facilitate-learning

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Research Starters http://www.dswleads.com/Ebsco/Graphic%20Organizers.pdf The National Center on Accessing the General Curriculum http://www.k8accesscenter.org/training_resources/udl/documents/GraphicOrganizersUDL.

pdf

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10. APPENDIX This section includes some materials done by students. More concretely, it includes an

example of each of the tests from which the outcomes here presented and analysed have

been considered, as well as an example of each of the graphic organizers that were used

in each stage. It is important to remark that the documents below are attached in the

same order as they were done by students.

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