International Journal of Instruction April 2022 ● Vol.15, No.

2
e-ISSN: 1308-1470 ● www.e-iji.net p-ISSN: 1694-609X
pp. 373-392
Article submission code: Received: 10/03/2021 Accepted: 09/11/2021
20210310203013 Revision: 16/10/2021 OnlineFirst: 08/02/2022

The Effectiveness of Using Direct Instruction in Teaching Comprehension

Skill of Third-Grade Students

Kholoud Subhi Yaghmour

Assoc. Prof., Dep. of Educational Science, Al-Balqa Applied University, Irbid College,
Jordan, kholoudsy@bau.edu.jo
Luai Taleb Obaidat
Asst. Prof., Kindergarten department, Faculty of Educational Sciences / Jadara
University, Jordan, l.obaidat@jadara.edu.jo

Direct instruction is required in the use of different comprehension skills in order

to advance students' ability to independently comprehend texts. Being able to make
connections is an important reading comprehension strategy which allows students
make meaning of what they are reading. The aim of the current study was to
investigate the effectiveness of using the direct instruction method in developing
the reading comprehension skills among a sample of third-grade students in Irbid
Kasbah District that comprised of 60 students distributed into an experimental
group 30 students from public schools, who were taught by using the direct
instruction “routine”, and a control group that consisted of 30 students from private
schools who were taught by the conventional teaching method. A test of 20 items
was used to measure the effectiveness of using the direct instruction “routine” in
developing the reading comprehension skills. The researchers checked the validity,
and the reliability of the test, and the statistical analysis was extracted. The
findings revealed statistically significant differences attributed to the effect of the
teaching method, in favor of the experimental group, and significant differences
attributed to the gender effect in favor of females, while there are no statistically
significant differences due to the interaction between variables group and gender.
From the findings of this study, the research concludes that the teaching method
has notable effects on the reading comprehension skills of students regardless of
their age, gender or other socio-demographic characteristics. More importantly, the
study has demonstrated that direct instruction method has immensely positive
effects on the comprehension skills of third grade students.
Keywords: direct instruction, teaching, reading comprehension, effectiveness, third-
grade students

Citation: Yaghmour, K. S., & Obaidat, L. T. (2022). The effectiveness of using direct instruction in
teaching comprehension skill of third-grade students. International Journal of Instruction, 15(2), 373-
392. https://doi.org/10.29333/iji.2022.15221a
374 The Effectiveness of Using Direct Instruction in Teaching …

INTRODUCTION
Not so much time has been spent teaching students how to understand text. A lot of
reading instruction is rather spent building automatic and accurate word recognition skill
as well as improving the fluency of oral reading. Nevertheless, there is no guarantee that
in this way, students will build the necessary skills to read expository texts effectively.
In addition, while extensive reading is imperative, this does not also do much to get
students ready for thoughtful, careful reading of expository texts (Cunningham & Wall,
1994). Furthermore, according to (Dole et al, 1991; Reutzel & Cooter, 1996), simply
exposing students to comprehension worksheets or other tasks requiring them to recall
information found in a text also does very little to increase their ability to comprehend
texts. Direct instruction is required in the use of different comprehension skills in order
to advance students' ability to independently comprehend texts (Guthrie et al.,
1996).Thus, the need for the topic “The Effectiveness of Using Direct Instruction in
Teaching Comprehension Skill of Third-Grade Students.
Johnson, (1996); Perkins, (1986) defined comprehension skills as the strategies a reader
uses to construct meaning and retrieve information from a text. Comprehension skills
are very much like thinking skills. A thinking skill is a cognitive process that can be
broken down into steps and taught explicitly”. “Comprehension skills are also cognitive
processes which can be broken into steps and taught explicitly”. Some authors have
explained the differences between a strategy and a skill (Paris, Wasik, & Turner, 1991;
Dole et al., 1991). “Skills are highly automatic behaviors that are developed through
drill and practice and can be consistently applied across many different kinds of texts.
Strategies are conscious plans for solving problems or constructing meaning”. They are
the intentional use of a skill.
According to Muhassin, Annisa & Hidayati (2021), Good readers can identify and
understand the text which they read”. Good readers make connection as they read. Being
able to make connections is an important reading comprehension strategy which allows
students make meaning of what they are reading. When connections are made to the
texts read by students, it helps them not only to make meaning/sense out of what they
read, but also to aid better retention of such information and connect more with the text
itself.
The researchers have added that reading includes several sub-skills: the basic ones are
“recognizing the script of a language”, inferring the meaning and use of unfamiliar
lexical items, understanding “explicitly stated information”, and information implicitly
mentioned. Reading is an activity involving “predictions”, “previewing”, and
“anticipation” also mentioned that the aim of prediction is to train the students to make
“guesses when reading a text", and indicates that the more students look forward to
reading and anticipate in their minds what the text could hold in store for them, the
easier it would be to comprehend the basic points of the passage” (Ghada & Mar, 2018).
when we read a text, we need a concentration. Reading cannot merely be seen as looking
at and remembering any paragraph of a book. In this phase, we also need analysis skills

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in the reading process to get the details from the document that we interpret. We need to
recognize the important thing in the process of reading (Mohammad et al, 2021).
Reading comprehension makes sense when integrating a sort of complicated
mechanisms including vocabulary, word awareness, and eloquence (Soleimani &
Hajghani, 2013) Good readers can identify and understand the text which they read.
The reader who is unable to interpret well will not grasp the text they are reading
without supporting from others. Reading awareness encompasses more than readers'
reactions to text (Mohammad,. Jihan, & Dewi,, 2021). This concerns on the readers as
well as the document they are processing. Nevertheless, it is not only a question of
context, but also in the steps of reading comprehension. Readers are experienced when
they grasp the nature of text and utilize their insight to understand the essence or intent
of the text that they interpret (Mohammad et al, 2021). Without this kind of ability to
understand and communicate with language, the message may fail (Pourhosein Gilakjani
& Sabouri, 2016).
Reading has been considered as one of the most essential characteristics which
distinguish an individual from other members of his society. Further, it is one of the
most critical standards by which societies are evaluated in terms of development or
backwardness. The good reader in this context is not the literate person who can only
read and write, rather, the bibliophile who sees reading as spiritual and intellectual
enlightenment; through it he becomes self- acquainted, and communicates consciously
with his surrounding. A Reading Society in this regard is an advanced society that
produces culture and knowledge and evolves it in a way that serves its development and
the progress of humanity. It is the society that produces books and creativity.
Reading, in its multiple dimensions, is a developmental behavior, economic ability,
authority, psychological readiness. It is a sort of practice or abstinence from practicing,
it has an optional dimension, rather than an obligation (Al-Sheikh, 1996).
Reading is one of the most important language arts that require conscious study in which
the scientific method is considered, because of its great importance for the educated
person who seeks knowledge, and it is the foremost window through which he overlooks
knowledge and culture in the world, and through which he communicates with his
heritage, refines his personality, and achieve his self-awareness. Reading from the rest
of the branches of language is distinguished by its long-term association with the
educated person in the different educational stages (Al-Elwan &Al-Tal, 2010).
Generally, reading aims to contribute to building the personality of the individual by
educating the mind and acquiring knowledge. Through it, the reader acquires
knowledge, concepts, facts, opinions, ideas, and theories contained in books, pamphlets,
and periodicals. Furthermore, reading is considered a tool of education in school life.
The learner cannot progress in his learning unless he can master the skills of reading
(Al-Hassan, 2007). The strategy for direct instruction "routine" in teaching reading
comprehension and reading skills includes (Ministry of Education, 2016): Direct
instruction routine which is the preparation for the skill, by stating its purpose, as if the
teacher says, Today we will learn a new sound, which is the sound of the (M), and there

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are many words that start with the sound of (M).; Modeling, being the process of
changing behavior as a result of observing the behavior of others, and this process is
essential in most stages of human learning as learning most responses is by observing
and imitating others, and it is the first step according to Silvia instruction model. Where
the teacher models the new skill and performs the skill he expects the student to do later.
Another strategy is ‘guided practice’ which is a process through which learning is done
in cooperation between the teacher and students, where the steps of the model are
repeated with the accompaniment of the students, and it is the second step according to
Silvia's instruction model. Here, students perform the skill directly and similarly to the
model that the teacher presented during modeling. The teacher supervises students'
performance at this stage and directs their performance through questions, instructions,
or keywords. Others are: Feedback (after listening to the students ’answers in the guided
practice, the teacher provides the necessary corrective feedback to the students and
directing their learning); Independent practice (A method in which students learn from
each other under the supervision of an instructor, and it is the third step according to
Silvia's instruction model. In this stage, students apply the new skill to a new task that is
more challenging than the one in which they have been trained in guided practice, with
less assistance from the teacher. They may work independently, in pairs, or groups); and
Procedural evaluation: By observing students' performance during independent practice,
the teacher conducts a procedural evaluation of his teaching and the extent to which
students were able to learn the new skill and their ability to integrate it to become part of
their cognitive structure.
Research Problems
Reading comprehension skills are one of the hindrances that students face in their
academic growth, restricting their advancement in the education process and their level
of knowledge acquisition. It is also one of the issues affecting them most. It can be seen
on those suffering from the difficulty of reading comprehension as they can neither
comprehend what they read properly nor recognize the meanings, letters, and symbols
found in the texts, which affects their academic achievement negatively in different
academic subjects, and it is a critical problem that must be dealt with in the earlier
stages. Difficulty in reading comprehension is a major focus of the issues described
under the heading of academic learning difficulties, and this is due to the detrimental
impact that this challenge has on academic and social achievement, such that the child
suffers from self-image disturbance, lack of motivation, anger, and anxiety, and
recognizes that he lacks compatibility with his peers and the felicitous interaction with
others. Thus, the current study seeks to investigate the effectiveness of using the direct
instruction method “routine” in teaching reading in developing the reading
comprehension skills of third-grade students in Irbid Kasbah. It also aims to find out
whether there is a statistically significant difference between direct instruction and the
comprehension skill of third-grade students; and to identify the impact of the
independent variables (teaching method, gender) and the correlation between them.

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Research Questions
From the above standpoint, this study came to demonstrate the efficiency of utilizing
direct instruction in developing the reading comprehension skills of third-grade basic
students in Irbid Kasbah by answering this study question.

- Are there statistically significant differences (α = 0.05) in the development of the

reading comprehension skills among the third-grade basic students in Irbid
Kasbah attributed to the teaching method (the use of direct instruction routine in
teaching early reading, the conventional method), gender (male, female) and the
correlation between them.
The significance of the study
The significance of the current study comes from the fact that it aims to reveal the
effectiveness of using direct teaching "routine" in teaching reading in developing the
reading comprehension skill of the third-grade basic students who face difficulties with
reading comprehension in Irbid Kasbah. The study is expected to boost further studies in
Jordan, addressing the efficacy of other remedial programs and teaching approaches in
the development of reading comprehension skills. It may also benefit teachers of the
lower basic stage and Arabic language teachers by providing them with a new strategy
in teaching the Arabic language, which is hoped to bring about a qualitative change in
teaching reading and to impart relevant reading comprehension skills to early childhood
students.
The limitation of the study
This study addresses the effectiveness of using direct instruction in developing the
reading comprehension skills of third-grade basic students in Irbid Kasbah. This study
was applied in the schools of the Directorate of Education of Irbid Kasbah, because of
the facilities provided by the Directorate of Education of Irbid Kasbah in implementing
this study.The study was applied to teachers of the basic stage in Irbid Kasbah.
Definitions
Direct Instruction: Procedurally, it is a strategy applied by the teacher in teaching Arabic
language skills, beginning with the preparation for the activity, followed by modeling
(teacher), direct practice (teacher-student), feedback, student independent practice, and
finally the evaluation stage. Idiomatically, it is the method in which (Direct Instruction)
is based on the concepts of behavior modification, as this method provides clear and
specific steps for both the student and the teacher; Where the focus in this method is on
a set of procedures such as reinforcement, feedback, direct observation, frequent
measurement, and task analysis (Mahalla, 2009).
Reading comprehension: Is the process of building meaning through interaction with the
written text. Or a process in which the learner establishes his understanding of what he is
reading. Shaalan & Muhammad (2017) defined it as a constructive, cumulative mental
process based on the interaction between the student and the text to be read, whereby the
student extracts the main and subsidiary ideas and defines the general meaning of the

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text. Procedurally, it is defined as the overall score of the reading comprehension test in
its two forms (aloud and silent), and it is expressed in this study as the arithmetic means
of the students ’performance scores on the reading comprehension test prepared for this
study.
Reading: a cognitive process that requires extracting meaning from the written material
and analyzing its symbols visually, to attain the recognition of words, comprehension,
focusing, remembering, recalling, and fluency.
The conventional method is the teacher's procedural plan during the class. Procedurally,
it is defined as displaying the educational material using various traditional educational
means such as the whiteboard, chalk, paper, and pen. This method is demonstrated by
the dominant role of the teacher and the limited involvement of the students.
Literature Review
Reading comprehension is a significant topic in the field of reading and it is the focus of
the reading process that the educational system seeks to provide for the readers. Some
researchers (Learner, 2000) consider it the ultimate goal of the reading process, as it is
said, whoever does not understand what he reads, has not read. Reading comprehension
is among the mental skills most closely linked to the learning process and the most
influential in academic excellence in the various educational tasks, therefore, due to its
significance, many educational and psychological researchers have studied its
components, levels, and factors affecting it. Furthermore, many educators and
psychologists have set multiple definitions of the concept of reading comprehension.
Snow (2002, p11) clarified that reading comprehension is the process by which the
reader can extract meaning and construct it through his interaction with the written page.
It includes three components: the reader, the reading text, and the context.”
Lipson & Wixon (2009) Achieved through reading the text and the reader's abilities to
interpret while reading through the integration between the knowledge of the reader and
the good information available in the text. While Smith (1997) considered it A
complicated process involving linking the information revealed in the text to the
previous experiences of the reader. Thus, it is difficult for a person to describe himself
as a skilled reader unless he carefully thinks about the topic of reading, analyzes the
relationships between its various parts, and relates the ideas proposed by the text writer
to what he has of previous knowledge about the text and compares them with what he
has learned before (Lipson & Wixon ,2009).
Regarding the classifications of reading comprehension, researchers have varied in
terms of the number of levels and their titles, but it can be said that there is a great
similarity between these classifications and the skills involved in their varying levels.
Reading comprehension was classified by (Al-Abdallat & Al-Samadi, 2016) in to three
levels including:

- Literal comprehension: the reader is asked at this level to understand the words,
sentences, and paragraphs contained in the text and remember details such as the

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series of events and facts to meet the general idea that the author of the text
requires.

- Interpretive comprehension: the reader at this level is expected to be able to read

between the lines to determine what is meant by what is stated, and this is evident
through the reader’s deduction of secondary ideas, crystallizing his own opinions,
visualizing the endings in the stories, formulating a suitable title for the text, and
linking the causes with the results (Al-Abdallat & Al-Samadi, 2016; Mercer &
Pullen, 2008).

- Evaluative comprehension: At this level, judgments are made on the readable text
after evaluating it by comparing the text and its ideas with other texts and ideas
that the reader has previously exposed to, and his judgments are about the
accuracy of the information contained in this text, in addition to evaluating the
beliefs of the writer and the readable text (Al-Abdallat & Al-Samadi, 2016;
Mercer & Pullen, 2008). Kamhi and Catts 1999 classify reading comprehension
into four levels:
- Literal level: It includes literal knowledge of phrases and words.
- Survey level: It includes reading the text to gain a general understanding of it.
- Interpretive level: This includes an understanding of the implications of the
text.
- Comparative critical level: This includes evaluating and critiquing the text
and comparing it with similar texts.
Although researchers differ in their classifications in terms of the number of levels and
their names, they are very similar in content, as they all view reading comprehension as
a mental process based on remembering facts and concepts, retrieving literal details, and
deducing general and partial direct and implicit ideas from them. Various studies have
shown that reading comprehension is subject to many dynamic factors and influences
that interact with each other to affect the individual's comprehension, either positively or
negatively. Despite the multiplicity of opinions regarding the factors influencing the
process of reading comprehension, these opinions confirm the importance of the
following factors:
1. Characteristics of the script: It refers to the basic syntax of the sentences within
the text, and the meanings and connotations of the vocabulary. The reader's
knowledge of the rules of the language and the various grammatical issues
improves his ability to comprehend the texts presented to him, in addition to the
fact that the reader has an ample collection of vocabulary, and his knowledge of
their meanings and connotations is a necessity that must be met to be able to
comprehend the texts presented to him. The difficulty of vocabulary has a great
effect on impeding the process of reading comprehension, as a sentence that
contains unknown vocabulary is more difficult to comprehend than those that do
not include such vocabulary (Smith, 1997).

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2. Reader's characteristics: This means the reader's intelligence, knowledge

background, mastery of language and its grammar, and his ability to focus,
analyze, investigate, control words, and pronounce them (Mustafa, 2001).
3. Teaching method: Studies indicate that the teaching method is important in
helping the reader to comprehend the texts presented to him. Therefore, the
teacher is advised to diversify his teaching methods to facilitate the reading
comprehension process (Asr, 1999).
4. Type of reading: It means silent and aloud reading. Silent reading is the best
option when the goal is reading comprehension.
5. The purpose of reading: students usually read for different purposes, including
learning new information, performing a task, comprehending, or for
entertainment (Bergeson, 2006). Educational literature has focused on reading
comprehension skills, activities, and strategies, which are techniques or
procedures that enable the reader to learn to solve problems and complete tasks
independently, and they are as follows (Hassan, 2016):

- Preparatory strategy: which stimulates previous knowledge on a specific topic and

is used to make students think about the topic they will read, and it is easier to
preserve information on a specific topic that the student is familiar with.

- Organizational strategy: It is a scanning and skimming strategy aim to define the

significant details, understand the whole topic, classify information, determine
relevant information, arrange, and summarize ideas to build an overall
understanding of the text.

- Verbosity strategy: it is an additional treatment of the text by the reader that

increases comprehension and includes forming relationships between the text and
the reader's knowledge background on the topic, making inferences and
conclusions, creating mental perceptions, and asking questions.

- Control: It is the person’s perception of his mental processes, and it is an

advanced technique that includes a great deal of independent thinking, and it
occurs when the reader realizes that he did not comprehend what he just read, so
control is knowing how the reader returns to a certain part to comprehend what he
read in the text.
Al-Abdallat & Al-Samadi (2016) assume that the reading comprehension process
consists of four main factors that combine to form comprehension: visualization, is the
first of these factors, where the eyes recognize words by receiving them visually,
perception is the second factor, which is to understand words and vocabulary and
perceive their meanings. The third factor consists of the reader's knowledge and
familiarity with the rules to ensure understanding the sentences and the text, and the
meaning is the fourth and final factor interpretation, an attempt is made to reach an
understanding of the text in general and to draw conclusions and specific ideas.

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Previous studies
Several studies have addressed the topic of direct instruction strategy and the reading
comprehension skills of students, and among these studies, the study of Al-Tal & Al-
Shehab (2017), which aimed to reveal the impact of the direct instruction strategy of
metacognitive thinking skills in each of learning concepts, the transmission of the
learning effect, and the trends of the achievement goal among the eighth-grade female
students. To achieve this, the concepts learning test, the learning effect transmission test,
the achievement goal orientation scale were utilized. The sample of the research
consisted of 69 female students from the eighth grade at Rabah Al-Adawiya Basic
School in Jordan. They were chosen by the intentional method and divided into two
cohorts: an experimental cohort including 23 students, and a control group of 23
students. The experimental group was studied by the direct instruction strategy of
metacognitive thinking skills for two months, while the control group was taught using
the conventional teaching method. The findings revealed statistically significant
differences between the two groups that came in favor of the experimental group that
was taught by direct instruction of metacognitive thinking skills on each of the learning
concepts, the transmission of the learning effect, and the attitudes of the goal of
achievement.
Elyan’s study (2016) aimed to measure the impact of the two strategies of direct
instruction and independent instruction on the achievement of basic stage students in
mathematics in Jordan. To achieve the objective of the study, a semi-experimental
curriculum was adopted on a sample of 103 students. The findings indicated significant
differences in favor of the independent instruction strategy in the first place, and the
direct instruction strategy to a lesser extent, compared with the results of the application
of the conventional education method.
In (2016) Hassan conducted a study aimed to reveal the level of reading comprehension
skills among tenth-grade students in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan considering
some variables. A test consisting of 29 multiple-choice questions was designed and
applied to a sample of 98 Male students 82, female students. The study showed that the
level of reading comprehension of tenth-grade students was of an average degree on
both types of aloud and silent reading, and the results also showed statistically
significant differences in the level of reading comprehension among tenth-grade students
attributable to gender variable (females), and with different achievements in the Arabic
language for the benefit of those with higher achievement.
The study of Al-Hawamdeh & Al-Blehed (2016) aimed to identify the efficacy of a
guided reading approach in enhancing the reading comprehension skills of sixth-grade
students. The experimental group consisted of 41 students, while the control group
consisted of 43 students from Al-Jawf school in Saudi Arabia. To achieve the goals of
the research, a reading comprehension test was prepared, and validity and reliability
were verified. After conducting the research, applying the test (pre-post test), and
conducting the appropriate statistical analyzes, the results of the study showed a
difference between the two overall arithmetic averages of the study sample's responses
on the reading comprehension test, and on each skill of the reading comprehension test

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attributed to the group variable (experimental group), that was taught using a guided
reading strategy.
Al-Abdallat & Al-Samadi (2016) in their study compared the effectiveness of the direct
and reciprocal teaching methods in improving the reading comprehension skills of
students with learning difficulties in reading from the fifth-grade level. The sample of
the study consisted of 30 female and male students, who were chosen by the intentional
method. The sample was distributed equally into three groups, two experimental groups,
the first group was taught by employing the direct instruction method, where the second
taught by employing the interactive teaching strategy, and the third group (the control
group) did not study using any of these strategies. The study used the quasi-experimental
method, and the validity and reliability indicators of the two tests were extracted. The
averages and standard deviations were extracted, in addition to using ANCOVA to
extract comparisons. It was found that there were differences between the average
performance on the post-test between the first and second group and the control group,
in favor of the first and second group, and there were statistically significant differences
between the first group and the second experimental group in favor of the second
experimental group indicating that the interactive teaching strategy was more effective
in improving reading comprehension skills than the direct instruction strategy.
The study of Jabboori's (2015) aimed to find out the impact of applying Pairs Check on
learners' achievement in learning comprehension. The research sample which was
chosen randomly (n= 80) students (experimental= 40) students and (control= 40)
students from Al- Yarmouk secondary school for girls. To attain the goal of the current
study, an experiment was designed (a post-test for the control and experimental groups).
The researcher designed an achievement test consisting of 20 items that were presented
to experienced arbitrators to confirm its validity. The test data were analyzed
statistically using the T-test formula for two independent samples. It was found that
there was a significant difference between the performance of the two groups and that
the experimental group showed a better performance in reading comprehension skills.
Mahdi’s study (2014) identify the impact of the direct activity of reading strategy on
reading comprehension of fifth-grade students. The research included a sample of 60
students. The researcher designed a test for reading comprehension, and he confirmed
its validity and reliability, the compatibility of its paragraphs, its difficulty coefficient,
and the effectiveness of its erroneous alternatives. The results of the study showed that
there is a statistically significant difference between the mean scores of the two groups
of research students in reading comprehension, for the benefit of the experimental group
students who study the reading material using the direct activity reading strategy.
Considering the results of this research, the researcher concluded that the ability of basic
school students and their preparations, especially the fifth-grade students, contributed to
increasing their understanding, as it is an interesting and exciting new strategy.
Abdul Majeed (2013) carried out a study to investigate the impact of employing mutual
instruction on improving college students ’achievement in reading comprehension
compared to the traditional method or (the lecture method). To achieve the goals of the
study, a 4-week experiment was conducted using the pretest experimental design of

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asymmetric groups. Two groups were selected each involved 30 first-stage students /
College of Education for Girls - Department of English Language. One of the two
groups called (CD) was chosen as an experimental group, and the other called (EF)) was
chosen as a control group, and both groups were subject to pre and post-test. The test
was applied to the independent samples, it was found that there is a statistically
significant difference in favor of the experimental group, thus, it is advisable to use
mutual teaching in reading comprehension.
Abu Al-Samen (2005) Carried out a study aimed to measure the impact of teaching life
sciences using the direct instruction strategy and strategy of developing creative thinking
and supra-cognitive perception among tenth-grade students. It adopted the quasi-
experimental approach that was applied to a sample of 114 female students from
Nusseibeh School. The study sample was divided into three groups, the first consisted of
32 students who studied with direct instruction strategy, the second consisted of 32
students who studied using the strategy of developing creative thinking, and the third as
a control group consisted of 32 students who studied the traditional method. The results
of the study showed that there is a clear effect of direct instruction strategy in
developing creative thinking, and strategy of developing creative thinking in developing
supra-cognitive perception among the participants which increased the level of academic
achievement in the scientific subject within the life sciences curriculum.
Comments on previous studies, after examining the previous studies, it was noted that
the studies did not discuss the efficacy of direct instruction routine in reading teaching in
improving reading comprehension skills. It was also noted that all the previous studies
dealt with the experimental and quasi-experimental method, which was also adopted by
this study. Some studies addressed direct instruction methods, such as the study of (Al-
Tal and Al-Shehab, 2017; Elyan, 2016; Abu Al-Samen, 2005). Some other studies dealt
with reading comprehension without dealing with direct instruction methods, such as the
study of (Hassan, 2016; Al-Hawamdeh and Al-Blehed, 2016). The researchers benefited
from previous studies, literature, and tools in reaching the definition of the study plan
and methodology and choosing its study tools and methods of statistical treatment .
However, this study investigates the effectiveness of using the direct instruction method
in developing the reading comprehension skills among third-grade students.
METHOD
The study used the quasi-experimental approach, because of its relevance to the nature
of the current study, and its ability to achieve its objectives, by applying a post-
measurement on the two groups (experimental and control).
Sample: The population of the current study is the third-grade students in the basic
education stage in Irbid Kasbah, where the study sample comprised of 100 students
divided into an experimental group 25 female and 25 male students, and a control group
25 female and 25 male students distributed into two schools. After applying the tests on
the use of direct instruction routine in teaching early reading, the sample was randomly
distributed into two groups, as shown in Table (1):

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Table 1
Distribution of the participants (gender, group) variables
Variables Level Frequency percentage
Male 50 50
Gender Female 50 50
Total 100 100
Control 50 50
Group
experimental 50 50
Total 100 100
Instruments
The study implemented two tools to achieve its goals:
First: The educational material: It was divided into two parts:
The strategy (direct instruction routine) and its implementation mechanism
Teachers in both schools were asked to use the direct instruction method in teaching
their students after checking their extent of knowledge of this method. Then the
worksheets and activities related to the Arabic language units were discussed with the
teachers. The teachers were required to use the direct instruction method, regardless of
the time it may take. While it was not used for students who had studied according to the
conventional method.
A. The educational material used in the direct instruction method
This study was applied to a unit in the Arabic language textbook for the third- grade, the
unit requires 32 lessons to be applied properly, lasting eight weeks, at a rate of four
lessons per week for each group. The content regarding the Arabic language was
referred to, and the lessons included many educational means that integrate learners
effectively when using the direct instruction method, whereby teachers employed the
educational material flexibly. The lessons were implemented using the (direct
instruction routine) with a specific pattern and a specific mechanism, by recalling the
previous experiences of the new lesson, followed by the presentation of educational
goals and outcomes. The teacher models and perform the new skill, then he engages the
students with him, the following step requires students' independence by implementing
the activities independently, and this includes interaction and motivation by the teacher
and students. The strategy also requires preparing various worksheets for students to
use.
B. The teaching material for the conventional teaching method :
Regarding the educational material used in this section, it is the Arabic language
textbook for the third-grade approved by the Ministry of Education for the academic
year 2018/2019. The behavioral objectives that were expected to be achieved were
determined, considering their diversity in terms of fields and levels, and the teaching
plans were prepared. The educational material was taught using the traditional
classroom teaching method by the third-grade teachers.

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Yaghmour & Obaidat 385

Second: the achievement test

20 multiple-choice questions (4 options) were developed, and after modifications were
made by the arbitrators, 20 questions were approved.
Test correction:
The test is corrected by giving one score for the correct answer and a score of (zero) for
the wrong answer. The total mark of the test is 20.
Item difficulty index and discrimination coefficient for the test
To confirm the validity of the test, the difficulty index and discrimination coefficient
were extracted for all its items and the overall test as indicated in Table (2).
Table 2
Difficulty index and discrimination coefficient for the test items and the whole test
Difficulty Discrimination Discrimination
NO. NO. Difficulty Index
Index Coefficient Coefficient
1 0.55 0.61 11 0.53 0.56
2 0.46 0.51 12 0.55 0.59
3 0.61 0.53 13 0.59 0.63
4 0.52 0.58 14 0.48 0.52
5 0.66 0.51 15 0.62 0.67
6 0.41 0.47 16 0.50 0.61
7 0.46 0.52 17 0.43 0.48
8 0.44 0.45 18 0.45 0.49
9 0.51 0.49 19 0.59 0.63
10 0.55 0.61 20 0.41 0.43
Total 0.52 0.58
Table (2) illustrates that the difficulty index for the test items ranges between 0.41 - 0.66
and the difficulty index for the whole test is 0.41. This suggests a moderate level of
difficulty appropriate for the application of the test.
Regarding the discrimination coefficients, which indicates the ability of the items of the
test to distinguish between the group with a weak achievement and the group with a
strong achievement, they ranged between 0.41 - 0.67 and the discrimination coefficient
for the whole test was 0.58, indicating an acceptable discrimination ability to apply the
test, where the test is considered acceptable if it the discrimination coefficient increases
over (0.30).
Instrument validity
Face validity, the instrument was presented to 9 specialized arbitrators in curricula and
teaching methods in Jordanian universities, and some experienced basic education
supervisors and teachers in Irbid Kasbah. They were asked to check the relevance of the
questions to the objectives of the study and to evaluate its linguistic clarity. Based on the
results, some questions were paraphrased, and the percentage of arbitrators' agreement
on the scale reached (87%) which is considered a valid and logical criterion.

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Instrument reliability
The reliability of the study instrument was assessed by applying the test-retest method
on a group of 20 participants from outside the study sample after two weeks. The
Pearson correlation coefficient was calculated between their scores and it reached
(0.89). The reliability coefficient was also calculated using the internal consistency
method according to the Kuder–Richardson formulas-20, and it scores (0.78), these
values are considered appropriate for this study.
Study variables
- The independent variable: Teaching strategy (direct instruction method, the
conventional method).
- The dependent variable: Developing the skills of reading comprehension
Statistical treatment
The (SPSS) program was used to assess the equivalence of the control and experimental
groups by TWO- Way ANOVA, the arithmetic means, and the standard deviations of
the pre-and post-measurements according to the group and gender variables was
calculated. The independent t-test was applied to find the differences between the
averages of both group and gender in post-measurement, and the ANCOVA to detect
differences between experimental and control groups in the post-measurement.
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
Hypothesis: There are no statistically significant differences (α = 0.05) in the
development of reading comprehension skills among third-grade students in basic
education in Irbid Kasbah attributable to the teaching method (the direct instruction, the
conventional method), and gender (male, female) and the interaction between them.
To test this hypothesis, arithmetic means were extracted for the pre-and post-
measurements according to the group and gender variables, and the adjusted means and
the (ANCOVA) were used to reveal the differences between the two groups in the post-
measurement, with the pre-measurement as a concomitant variable. The results are
presented below.
Equivalence between the two groups:
To confirm the equivalence of the two groups on the pre-measurement, the TWO-WAY
ANOVA test was applied to detect the differences between the control and experimental
groups in the pretest measurement.

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Yaghmour & Obaidat 387

Table 3
Results of the (Two-way ANOVA) test to detect differences according to the group and
gender variables
Source of variance SS df MS F-value Sig
Group 0.810 1 0.810 0.126 0.724
Gender 5.290 1 5.290 0.822 0.367
Gender× Group 6.250 1 6.250 0.971 0.327
Error 618.160 96 6.439
Total 3733.000 100
Corrected total 630.510 99
Table (3) shows that:
- There are no significant differences at the level of significance 0.05 for the group
variable on the pre-measurement (the test of reading comprehension skills), where the F
value 0.126 and with statistical significance 0.724.
- There are no significant differences at the level of significance 0.05 for the gender
variable on the pre-measurement (the test of reading comprehension skills), where the F
value 0.822 and with statistical significance 0.367.
- There are no significant differences at the level of significance 0.05 attributed to the
effect of the interaction between the group and the gender on the pre-measurement (the
test of reading comprehension skills), where the F value 0.971 and in statistical terms
0.327, and this indicates the equivalence of groups in terms of group and gender and the
interaction between them.
Through these results, it was found that there is an equivalence between the two groups
in the pre-measurement.
To test this hypothesis, the (ANCOVA) was used to reveal the differences between the
types of questions that teachers ask in the class, and their effect on students' performance
between the experimental and control groups in the post-measurement, in the presence
of the pre-measurement as a concomitant variable.

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Table 4
Means and the standard deviations of the two measures (pre-post) and the adjusted
means according to the group and gender variables
Pre Post Adjusted
Group Gender Error
Mean* SD Mean SS mean NO
Male 5.68 2.495 12.60 2.92 12.574 0.521 25
Control female 5.64 2.797 15.64 2.74 15.623 0.521 25
Total 5.66 2.623 14.12 3.19 14.099 0.368 50
Male 5.00 2.160 9.96 2.44 10.096 0.524 25
Experimental Female 5.96 2.653 11.88 2.52 11.787 0.522 25
Total 5.48 2.443 10.92 2.64 10.941 0.368 50
Male 5.34 2.335 11.28 2.98 11.335 0.369 50
Total Female 5.80 2.703 13.76 3.22 13.705 0.369 50
Total 5.57 2.524 12.52 3.33 12.520 0.260 100
The arithmetic means of 20 degrees.
Table (4) illustrates that there are apparent variances between the pre-and post-
measurements of the control and experimental groups, and to reveal the statistical
significance of these variances, the (ANCOVA) was applied and the effect size was
extracted by the value of (Eta) as shown in Table (5).
Table 5
The results of the (ANCOVA) to reveal the differences between the experimental and
control groups in the post-measurement in the presence of the pre-measurement, and the
effect size (Eta)
Source of Size effect
SS Df MS F value Sig
variance (Eta)
Pre-test
35.167 1 35.167 5.186 0.025 0.052
(concomitant)
Teaching
249.240 1 249.240 36.756 0.000 0.279
method
Gender 140.012 1 140.012 20.648 0.000 0.179
method× gender 11.419 1 11.419 1.684 0.198 0.017
Error 644.193 95 6.781
Total 16772.000 100
Adjusted total 1096.960 99
Table (5) illustrates that:

-
There are statistically significant differences at the level of 0.05 for the pre-
measurement, where the F value (5.186) and with a statistical significance 0.025.

-
There are statistically significant differences (α = 0.05) attributed to the effect of
the teaching method, where the F value 36.756 with a statistical significance 0.000. The
differences are in favor of the experimental group which taught using direct instruction
with an adjusted mean 14.099. Where the adjusted mean of the students ’marks in the

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Yaghmour & Obaidat 389

control group 11,335, to reveal the extent of the effectiveness of teaching by using direct
instruction in teaching early reading in acquiring the skills of reading comprehension,
the effect size (Eta=0.279),

- That shows that 27.9 percent of the variation in the acquisition of reading
comprehension skills among third-level students is due to the teaching method. While
the remainder is due to other variables that are not being controlled. The researchers
attribute this finding to the fact that the direct instruction method is one of the relevant
teaching methods for presenting the greatest amount of knowledge to learners and can
be designed to enable learners to participate effectively through questions or
discussions. Although direct instruction is an effective technique for transmitting as
much information as possible to learners from a teacher's point of view, it can be
adapted to enable learners to understand and assimilate key ideas in the presentation by
providing them with some questions and discussions. The results may be attributed to
the fact that teachers prefer to use the direct method of instruction in its different forms
because they practice it within the classroom, and it is closer to the realistic application
because the technique of direct instruction and student achievement is a practical
implementation of this method. This study agrees with the study of (Al-Tal and Al-
Shehab, 2017; Al-Abdallat and Al-Samadi, 2016; Abu Al-Samen, 2005) that
demonstrated the effectiveness of the direct instruction strategy. There are statistically
significant differences (α = 0.05) attributed to the effect of gender, where the F value
20.648 and in statistical terms of (0.000), and the differences came in favor of females.
The researchers attribute this result to the fact that the nature of bringing up females is
radically different from that of males, makes girls accustomed to a kind of discipline in
behavior, which in turn makes them more disciplined than males in school. The
upbringing and training that the girl receives make her in most cases make a greater
effort to show her success, although distinction and excellence are the result of personal
effort and are not related to the supernatural abilities of either gender, and discipline
among girls is attributed to the fact that they are constantly followed by their families
compared to males, not on learning only, but in all walks of life, the upbringing that a
girl receives from her childhood makes her more capable of attention, organization,
completion of duties, good listening and following instructions accurately to prove
herself and be successful. This study is consistent with the study of (Hassan, 2016),
which showed significant differences in the level of reading comprehension among
tenth-grade students according to the difference in gender in favor of females.

- There are no statistically significant differences (α = 0.05) attributed to the effect

of the interaction between the group and the sex, as the F-value 1.684 and a statistically
significant 0.198. Since the F-value is not statistically significant, we accept the null
hypothesis, which hypothesizes that “the result is due to chance alone”. There is no
relationship between the interaction between the group and the sex.
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
From the findings of this study, the research concludes that the teaching method has
notable effects on the reading comprehension skills of students regardless of their age,

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390 The Effectiveness of Using Direct Instruction in Teaching …

gender or other socio-demographic characteristics. More importantly, the study has

demonstrated that direct instruction method has immensely positive effects on the
comprehension skills of third grade students.
Based on the above conclusions, the following recommendations were made:
Encouraging early childhood teachers and Arabic language teachers to implement the
direct instruction routine strategy in teaching reading skills; Giving more attention to
Arabic language teachers and train them on the employment of modern teaching
strategies to develop reading comprehension skills at all academic levels; Adopting the
direct reading activity strategy in teaching reading to fifth-grade students ;Conducting
several studies such as the current study for other educational stages
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