Identifying instructional mediation patterns related with progress made in reading comprehension in socio-cultural disadvantaged contexts

Abstract: Identifying specific instructional factors related to advances made in reading comprehension is essential for optimizing learning and for guiding interventions, especially in socio-cultural disadvantaged contexts or with learning difficulties. This study intends to identify efficient instructional mediation patterns to explain progress made in comprehension. Eighty-two sessions-classes were systematically recorded, transcribed and analyzed, and the mediation patterns related to different reading processes were recorded. Mediation patterns were analyzed by coding and classifying contents with the Maxqdea-7 program. Nineteen categories were considered, which included 178 significant information units (mediation patterns/conducts). The sample was made up of 21 teachers and 821 students of years 3 to 8 of Basic Education in public Chilean schools from socially deprived contexts. Reading progress was measured by the standard CL-PT test, which was applied at the beginning and end of the academic year. The results identified specific significant mediation patterns of progress, especially pattern M_17 (Mediation of using strategies for activating previous knowledge, and for integrating knowledge and experiences with new contents) which explained 26% of variance (r = .55, p < .01; adjusted R2 = .26, F (1, 19) = 8.19, p = .01). The educational implications of these results are discussed.