What is RT3T™ – Reciprocal Teaching 3 Track?

What is Reciprocal Teaching 3 Track - RT3T™?

Reciprocal teaching is one of the most powerful evidence-based strategies we have today. Reciprocal Teaching 3 Track, or RT3T™, is a new modernised version of reciprocal teaching that we have designed to dynamically accelerate learning and empower our 21st century learners – and to mobilise schools to deeply embrace equitable pedagogy and collaborative school cultures.

RT3T™ is a core multi-strategy research-based package which aims at improving students’ skills pertinent to accessing and understanding challenging text in any learning area.

RT3T™ is not just about reading and reading comprehension, but also about:

• cross-curricular learning in core skills: communication, thinking, teamwork and leadership skills
• accelerate coaching at formative year levels and for inclusion
• teaching for transfer and integration into all learning areas

This powerful team approach to strategy instruction and collaborative teaching is popular with teachers and students alike.

The newly refined tools are developed for high impact and sustainability with our school|kura, CoL|Kāhui Ako.

If RT3T™ is implemented by skilled trained operators, students can become focussed and empowered learners, and accelerate in literacy and deeper thinking skills, while also growing in agency, tuakana-teina and collaborative kanohi ki te kanohi (face to face) language skills. These skills are central to success throughout school and tertiary education, and for lifelong learning.

See Services if you wish to find out more or wish to make an Expression of Interest.

Research Background to RT3T™

Julia’s research on reciprocal teaching has attracted both national and international recognition. Her PhD (2002): ‘Reciprocal Teaching as a school-wide inclusive strategy’ was one of five US and international studies accepted for the What Works Clearinghouse review of reciprocal teaching for secondary schools.

In 2011 she was asked to co-author ‘BES Exemplar 4: Reciprocal Teaching’ with Dr Adrienne Alton-Lee and Cathy Pulegatoa Diggins. We now have documented results of implementing the first phase of RT3T™ in a low decile Pasifika primary school (Westera, 2014)^[1] and a large Pasifika secondary school.

In late 2013 Julia left the Ministry of Education with an intent to scale up and modernise reciprocal teaching with an updated evidence-based and concerted strategic approach. In collaboration with many schools, educators and students, this single-minded effort has led to our modernised strategy: RT3T™ (Reciprocal Teaching – Three Track).

In 2014 Julia completed research for Dr Adrienne Alton-Lee on behalf of the Iterative Best Evidence Synthesis Programme │ Hei Kete Raukura. Wellington: Ministry of Education. The purpose of this case implementation study with 5 year 4 to 6 classes within a multicultural primary school was to identify factors that would be critical for success when implementing Reciprocal Teaching as an effective school-wide strategy in New Zealand. This research provides much of the rationale underpinning the Reciprocal Teaching RT3T™ implementation model. 

In 2015 Julia presented at the EARLI Conference in Cyprus. At this leading European biennial conference her paper was ranked in the top 15% in terms of relevance. This followed Julia’s successful presentation the previous year on her research and development of the reciprocal teaching method at the Implementing Implementation Science Conference at Cambridge University in the UK.

Julia has also written three feature articles for the Education Gazette and Gazette Focus: 'Reciprocal Teaching: a School-Wide Core Teaching and Learning Strategy for all Schools' (2014); 'Reciprocal Teaching: an update on this core teaching and learning strategy' (2015); and 'Generating Seismic Shifts with Reciprocal Teaching' (2016).