Vol. 2 No. 2 (2025): Language and Culture in Education
Articles

The impact of an intervention program on the reading comprehension and writing quality of multimodal expository texts

Paper
  • Ourania Eirini Koloka,
  • Ioannis Spantidakis,
  • Eirini Gaki,
  • Eleni Vasilaki,
  • Paraskevi Thomou
Ourania Eirini Koloka
University of Crete, Greece
Bio
Ioannis Spantidakis
University of Crete, Greece
Eirini Gaki
University of Crete, Greece
Eleni Vasilaki
University of Crete, Greece
Paraskevi Thomou
University of Crete, Greece

Published 2025-05-21

Keywords

  • reading and writing connections,
  • expository texts,
  • visual literacy

Copyright (c) 2025 Ourania Eirini Koloka, Ioannis Spantidakis, Eirini Gaki, Eleni Vasilaki, Paraskevi Thomou (Author)

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Koloka, O. E., Spantidakis, I., Gaki, E., Vasilaki, E., & Thomou, P. (2025). The impact of an intervention program on the reading comprehension and writing quality of multimodal expository texts. Journal of Language and Culture in Education, 2(2), 117-131. https://doi.org/10.5281/zveqhh92

Abstract

The objective of this research was to examine the interactive relationship between reading comprehension and writing skills. This study formed part of a wider investigation, during which an intervention programme was designed, implemented and evaluated. This programme focused on enhancing the reading comprehension of multimodal comparative expository texts, as well as the writing and metacognition of fifth-grade elementary students. This study employed a qualitative quasi-experimental case study design with action research elements. It was conducted in two co-located urban primary schools in Heraklion, Crete. The sample consisted of 41 students. The findings indicated that teaching reading comprehension strategies that consider multimodal features and text structure, along with utilising social and procedural scaffoldings, led to improved comprehension outcomes and a positive impact on the writing quality of the sample.

Paper

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

  1. Aggidou, C. (2021). Fifth and sixth grade children's ability to recognize important information of the text during reading comprehension of historical expository texts (Master's thesis, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki). https://doi.org/10.26262/heal.auth.ir.331421
  2. Alves, R. A., Limpo, T., & Joshi, R. M. (Eds.). (2020). Reading-Writing Connections. Springer International Publishing. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-38811-9
  3. Avgerinou, M., & Pettersson, R. (2020). Visual literacy theory: Moving forward. In S. Josephson, J. D. Kelly, & K. L. Smith (Eds.). Handbook of visual communication: Theory, methods, and media (2nd ed.). 433-464. Routledge.
  4. Bogaerds-Hazenberg, S. T. M., Evers-Vermeul, J., & Bergh, H. (2021). A Meta‐Analysis on the Effects of Text Structure Instruction on Reading Comprehension in the Upper Elementary Grades. Reading Research Quarterly, 56(3), 435-462. doi:10.1002/rrq.311
  5. Botsas, G. (2017). Differences in Strategy Use in the Reading Comprehension of Narrative and Science Texts Among Students With and Without Learning Disabilities. Learning Disabilities: A Contemporary Journal, 15(1), 139-162. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1141985
  6. Cakmakci, G., Aydeniz, M., Brown, A., & Makokha, J. M. (2020). Situated Cognition and Cognitive Apprenticeship Learning. In B. Akpan, & T. J. Kennedy (Eds.), Science Education in Theory and Practice. Springer Texts in Education. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-43620-9_20
  7. Cope, B., & Kalantzis, M. (2000). Multiliteracies: Literacy Learning and the Design of Social Futures. Routledge.
  8. Cope, B., & Kalantzis, M. (Eds.). (2015). A Pedagogy of Multiliteracies. Palgrave Macmillan.
  9. Creswell, J. (2016). Research in education: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research (N. Kouvarakou, Trans.). Ion.
  10. Gatsou, C. (2011). Comprehension of expository texts by sixth grade primary school students (Master's thesis, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki). https://doi.org/10.26262/heal.auth.ir.127336
  11. Graham, S. (2020). The Sciences of Reading and Writing Must Become More Fully Integrated. Reading Research Quarterly, 55(S1). doi:10.1002/rrq.332
  12. Grosdos, S. (2011). Image and Language Teaching: The Educational Use of Multimodal Texts. Nea Paideia, 138, 66–83.
  13. Jiménez, J. E., García, E., Naranjo, F., de León, S. C., & Hernández-Cabrera, J. A. (2020). An Analysis and Comparison of Three Theoretical Models of the Reading-Writing Relationships in Spanish-Speaking Children. In Alves, R. A.,
  14. Limpo, T., & Joshi, R. M. (Eds.), Reading-Writing Connections. Springer International Publishing. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-38811-9
  15. Kintsch, W., & Kintsch, E. (2005). Comprehension. In S. G. Paris, & S. A. Stahl (Eds.), Children’s Reading Comprehension and Assessment (pp. 71-92). Mahwah, NJ: Ablex.
  16. Kirschner, P. A., Sweller, J., Kirschner, F., & Zambrano R., J. (2018). From Cognitive Load Theory to Collaborative Cognitive Load Theory. International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning, 13(2), 213–233. doi:10.1007/s11412-018-9277-y
  17. Kirschner, P. A., & Stoyanov, S. (2020). Educating Youth for Nonexistent/Not Yet Existing Professions. Educational Policy, 34(3), 477–517. doi:10.1177/0895904818802086
  18. Kress, G., & Van Leeuwen, T. (2021). Reading images: The grammar of visual design (3rd ed.). Routledge.
  19. Magableh, I. S., & Abdullah, A. (2022). Differentiated instruction effectiveness on the secondary stage students’ reading comprehension proficiency level in Jordan. International Journal of Evaluation and Research in Education (IJERE), 11(1), 459. DOI: 10.11591/ijere.v11i1.21971
  20. Meneses, A., Escobar, J. P., & Véliz, S. (2018). The effects of multimodal texts on science reading comprehension in Chilean fifth-graders: text scaffolding and comprehension skills. International Journal of Science Education, 40(18), 2226-2244. doi:10.1080/09500693.2018.1527472
  21. Mirra, N., & Garcia, A. (2021). In Search of the Meaning and Purpose of 21st‐Century Literacy Learning: A Critical Review of Research and Practice. Reading Research Quarterly, 56(3), 463–496. doi:10.1002/rrq.313
  22. Noprianto, Ε. (2017). Student’s Descriptive Text Writing in SFL Perspectives. Indonesian Journal of English Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics, 2(1), 65–81. doi:10.21093/ijeltal.v2i1.53
  23. Papadimitriou, E. (Ed). (2020). Critical Social (Multi)Literacies: Transmodal Meaning-Making in Formal and Informal Learning Communities. Gutenberg.
  24. Papastathopoulou, A. (2017). Understanding the Text Structure of Informational Texts Among 4th and 6th Grade Primary School Students (Master's thesis, University of Patras). Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10889/10935
  25. Petterson, R. (2021). Image design. Institute for Infology.
  26. Roehling, J. v., Hebert, M., Nelson, J. R., & Bohaty, J. J. (2017). Text Structure Strategies for Improving Expository Reading Comprehension. The Reading Teacher, 71(1), 71-82. doi:10.1002/trtr.1590
  27. Sachdeva, P., & Tripathi, D. (2019). A Critical Education for 21st Century: A Study on Youth and Media literacy. Journal of Content, Community and Communication, 10(9). doi:10.31620/JCCC.12.19/07
  28. Sachpatzidis, D. A. (2020). Visual Literacy: A Bet to Be Earned, ASAP. European Journal of Teaching and Education, 2(1), 66-71. https://doi.org/10.33422/ejte.v2i1.171
  29. Spantidakis, I., Gaki, E., & Vasarmidou, D. (2018). Reading Comprehension in online environments. Epistimes Agogis, 115-123. doi:10.26248/.v2018i4.762
  30. Spantidakis, I. (2010). Socio-cognitive Multimedia Learning Environments for Writing. Gutenberg.
  31. Stavans, A., Seroussi, B., Rigbi, A., & Zadunaisky-Ehrlich, S. (2020). The Contribution of Reading Abilities to the Writing Quality of Expository Text Structure in Hebrew Speaking Elementary School Children. In Alves, R. A.,
  32. Limpo, T., & Joshi, R. M. (Eds.). Reading-Writing Connections (pp. 21-37). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-38811-9_8
  33. Stevens, E. A., Vaughn, S., House, L., & Stillman-Spisak, S. (2020). The Effects of a Paraphrasing and Text Structure Intervention on the Main Idea Generation and Reading Comprehension of Students with Reading Disabilities in Grades 4 and 5. Scientific Studies of Reading, 24(5), 365–379. doi:10.1080/10888438.2019.1684925
  34. Taylor, L., & Clarke, P. (2021). We read, we write: reconsidering reading–writing relationships in primary school children. Literacy, 55(1), 14–24. doi:10.1111/lit.12235
  35. Tierney, R., & Pearson, P. D. (1983). Toward a composing model of reading. Reading Education Report, 43, 1-27.
  36. Van Dijk, T. A., & Kintsch, W. (1983). Strategies of discourse comprehension. New York: Academic Press.
  37. Vasarmidou, D., & Spantidakis, I. (2015). The Learning and Teaching of Writing. Gutenberg.
  38. Wong, S. S. H., Kim, M., & Jin, Q. (2021). Critical Literacy Practices Within Problem-Based Learning Projects in Science. Interchange, 52(4), 463–477. doi:10.1007/s10780-021-09426-4
  39. Yeari, M., & van den Broek, P. (2011). A cognitive account of discourse understanding and discourse interpretation: The Landscape Model of reading. Discourse Studies, 13(5), 635–643. doi:10.1177/1461445611412748
  40. Zuana, M. M. M. (2020). An analysis of student’s writing assignment of analytical exposition text. JETAL: Journal of English Teaching & Applied Linguistics, 2(1), 14-23. doi:10.36655/jetal.v2i1.189