Study Title: First steps towards a full and flexible literacy: Case studies of the Four Resources
Model
Study Author: Rush, L. S.
Publication Details: Reading Research and Instruction, vol. 43, no. 3, 2004, pp. 37-55.
Summary:
What did the research aim to do?
The study aimed to enhance students’ reading comprehension and encourage critical thinking
around and about texts during a summer tutoring program. The Four Resources Model (Freebody
& Luke 1990) was used as an instructional framework during the tutoring.
How was the study designed?
This was a qualitative, interpretative case study defined by a bounded system of the participants’
involvement in a summer tutoring program. Participants were three white, middle-class, adolescent
middle school students: two females and one male. The study took 2 months, with tutoring
conducted for 1 hour a week. Computer access, books and other materials were provided for the
students. Tutoring comprised elective reading of student-selected topics based on materials drawn
from the internet that the students had chosen. During the tutoring, discussion focused on
comprehension and a critical reading of the materials followed by the students writing responses.
Data collected included information about students’ reading levels, their strengths and weaknesses
and a pre-test and post-test on an informal reading inventory. Student interviews were undertaken
and all tutoring sessions were tape-recorded and transcribed. Various data analysis techniques
were used.
What were the findings?
The author described each participant in terms of the four roles of the four resources model: code
breaker, meaning maker, text user and text analyst. The author then looked across the three case
studies and organised the findings around the topics of interest, tutor scaffolding and the Four
Resources Model.
What conclusions were drawn from the research?
The author suggested that these case studies show that the Four Resources Model provides a
framework for ‘well rounded instruction’ in classrooms. The author also argued that the data
support the notion that the Four Resources Model is not a stage or developmental model of literacy
learning and/or instruction.
What are the implications of the study?
The Four Resources Model can be used to ensure that literacy learners develop a range of skills
and knowledge. This study suggests such a model is useful in a tutoring situation as well as in
classroom instruction. Teachers may wish to use such a model to frame both tutoring programs
and whole-class instruction in literacy.
The study is important for a number of reasons.
 The research deals with important and contemporary topics: assisting readers who are
struggling, ‘summer’ intervention programs, and tutoring in reading.
 The study comprises research involving intervention of a neglected target group, that is, middle
school students (compared to the plethora of studies in the literature that focus on reading
intervention in the early years of schooling).
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Most intervention programs described in the literature focus on teaching of phonological
awareness, letter knowledge, etc. and rudimentary reading skills. Few focus on teaching higher
order cognitive skills of comprehension and critical thinking as this study does.
The study is a useful example of a small N case study using interpretative methods.
The author concludes that the Four Resource Model is useful for developing ‘well-rounded’
readers.
Generalisability and significance for Queensland
It should be noted that the Four Resource Model is used in classroom instruction in many
Australian schools (see Harris, McKenzie, Fitzsimmons & Turbill 2003; Harris, Turbill, Fitzsimmons
& McKenzie 2001). However, its use in an intervention program is unknown in this country. This
(US) study is an example of the Model’s use in an intervention and thus the study is unique and
may be useful for teachers and support teachers as an illustration of what can be undertaken in an
intervention with the goals of comprehension and critical thinking.
Where can interested readers find out more?
Freebody, P. & Luke, A. 1990, ‘Literacies programs. Debates and demands in cultural context’,
Prospect: Australian Journal of TESOL, vol. 5, no. 7, pp. 7-16.
Harris, P., McKenzie, B., Fitzsimmons, P. & Turbill, J. 2003, Writing in the Primary School Years,
Social Science Press, Tuggerah NSW, Australia.
Harris, P., Turbill, J., Fitzsimmons, P. & McKenzie, B. 2001, Reading in the Primary School Years,
Social Science Press, Tuggerah NSW, Australia.
Wyse, D. 2003, ‘The national literacy strategy: A critical review of empirical evidence’, British
Educational Research Journal, vol. 29, no. 6, pp. 903-916.
Keywords: literacy, middle years