Originally Written as a Speech for 2005 NHCTE Presentation
Last year I taught four lower-level freshman English classes and a study skills class. This year I work with small groups using reading strategies that range from phonemic awareness to advanced book discussions. One thing that has driven me as an educator, is that moment when you can really reach out to a student and see that “wow, I get it” face. My attraction has traditionally been to students who often deem themselves non-readers or poor readers, and helping them to gain necessary tools for learning.
My research is most strongly based on the connections I have made with students using varied texts that have brought them to that moment of lucidity where they “get it,” where they understand what they have read and can actually enjoy rather than fear reading. I chose to first research how to get students to just, read, and as I developed as a reading specialist, brought my knowledge of young adult literature to the mix to get students interested in attempting a book. From there, I am developing assessment methods to help see what is happening in a student’s head while they read so that I can use that information to make reading real and ultimately make the process more accessible to these students.
I. Introduction:
Books have always been my best friends. Growing up, I would sneak into my own world by tagging it along in my backpack, up the branches of the red-maple tree in my parents’ front yard. A tri-section of branches provided the perfect seat, while a stub-broken branch provided the coat-rack for my book-bag, allowing me to open it’s mouth and reach in for the contents of my childhood.
I out-read my parents by the time I reached middle school. My mother was, at the time, only functionally literate, having completed a middle-school education. My father moved here from Brazil at age fifteen and seemed not to realize that any book other than the Holy Bible existed. In spite of this, my parents always encouraged me to read, learning for themselves through the process, and were willing to overlook late-nights with Steven King to help me develop as a reader. I became an avid reader, and a pretty successful student. Somehow, I was one of those lucky people who got hooked on reading and have never let go of the lure.
It hit me while I was teaching as a learning specialist at a private school in CT that there were people who didn’t actually like reading. I’m not altogether naïve; I had several friends who had too much personal life to be bothered with reading a book for pleasure. I also knew a slew who were pleased to do only what homework would land them a passing grade and no more, but to dislike reading altogether? I guess I was naïve. At that point in my career, my focus was on teaching writing and writing strategies. The reading aspect came in more through tutoring and discussions based loosely around cultural literacy.
II. Baseline Research:
At this point, I began researching reading on a deeper level. My assumption that students would respond better to reading material of choice was taken to the next level as I composed an active research project with a study-skills class that ranged from freshman to seniors. I guided my research using state standards for reading comprehension through test results of our school’s IOWA and NHEIAP scores, as revealed to the faculty in an early-intervention meeting. The scores revealed a decline in reading comprehension. In response to this decline, I chose to actively pursue my idea that allowing students to choose their own literature would cause a student to read a book. My desired result was that an “at risk” population of students, who do not traditionally read, would read. The initial study was conducted over a one-month period to a classroom of seventeen students. Students were given free-range to choose their book, divide the reading using a calendar of one and a half months, and propose and develop two projects of their choice surrounding the reading (for example a poster and a test, or journals, etc.) Students were given both class time and assigned reading to complete it. The results included 12 of 17 students successfully reading a book in its entirety. Overall, the study revealed that students are more likely to read a book of their choosing than one chosen for them by their teacher, but that the reading must be monitored for more accurate assessment.
Though many of these low-scoring students are coded and supported with an Individualized Education Plan, or IEP, it is not the case among all poor achievers. Though testing is just one measure of knowledge assessment, it is a clear indicator that something is not working well in the acquisition of reading skills.
Currently, The high school I work at is stressing reading throughout the curriculum. Some current initiatives include a Tovani-trained literacy team (I’ll discuss her methodology a bit later), as well as utilizing reading specialists for those students who are scoring below the 30th percentile nationally, who do not already have access to an Individualized Education Plan, or IEP. The hope through such initiatives is to increase reading comprehension throughout the disciplines, and to educate teachers to use reading strategies within the classroom to better facilitate the growing at-risk population of poor readers.
It is important that students know not only how to read literature, but to read and understand textbooks, reference materials, laboratory reports, articles, and other media so that they can learn to fully comprehend what they read now, and as they become more independent. This is important not only within their high school and possible college education, but is also applicable beyond structured educational settings. Although my current research is based on more literary-based reading, it is important to state that young adult literature is not enough, but instead a board from which students can begin their endeavor with reading. Students will be confronted with various media throughout their lives and are being taught the strategies and introduced to various ways to comprehend such media with the support of a structured educational system.
III. Action Research Study I: Choosing to Read
My initial study, conducted with one study skills class in the fall of 2004, consisted of admitted non-readers, fake-readers, and poor readers. I decided to conduct a study based on getting students to choose to read. In a classroom of seventeen students, only two of whom claimed to read rather than get around reading, I decided to offer free-range on a reading assignment of their own choosing and assessment that they would devise independently. My hope was that given the chance to choose their own readings, students would be more engaged with the printed text and therefore internalize more of the reading material. This would provide a baseline for acceptable reading curriculum.
When I asked my study skills class why students might not read an assigned text, they responded by telling me that assigned reading was, “boring,” “pointless,” “stupid,” or “a waste of time.” When asked why, they drew a blank. When I asked how many of them actually read assigned reading, only two of seventeen responded in the affirmative. The rest of the class claimed that they could get the information from the teacher, combined with knowing enough from reading the back of the book, first and last couple of pages, chapter titles, and do some passive skimming to get by. By the end of the class discussion, I was completely convinced that a personal reading choice was a direction worth trying, in order to convince this class that reading can be a positive experience.
The project began as a free choice of reading, student choice assessment, and minor interactions on my part. Immediately, I learned that the project was absolutely too loose in its assessment form. Although students seemed to have a positive reading experience, there was no way for me to actively monitor their comprehension, or active participation in the project. At the end of the project, students were prompted to reflect on the reading experience, projects, grading, behavior, and the overall project. Student journals informed me that the reading experience was positive for most students. All students who read praised the reading experience as fun or interesting, one student going as far to say that it was great because he never reads, and reading in class gave him the opportunity to do so.
This project proved a good baseline for further research. In future endeavors with the study, I would have to clarify my expectations. With this baseline, I should have made it clear that students do not necessarily have to choose to read the book from cover to cover, but may instead choose specific chapters applicable to their interest. This is especially important for those students who chose non-fiction. For example, the student who read a book on running seemed bombarded with information that did not apply directly to her. One student who met with success on a similar project, chose not to read a book cover to cover. He created a work-out exercise plan and chose to read specific areas of interest, re-reading the core chapter to begin and end the reading experience. I hope to use this student’s work as an example when presenting the layout of goal setting for reading in future endeavors. The project segment of the study proved the least structured, and hence, seemed to provide inadequate results. Students were given a full week of in-class time to work on their projects. I provided them necessary materials for art-related projects, and walked through the room to help students with any problems they were having with the acquisition of their projects. Only half of the class used the allotted time to work on their projects (ironically, only three of the students not actively pursuing their projects handed anything in for the final presentation). Three students preferred working on their projects at home, and chose to go to math lab or the library to complete unfinished homework for other classes. The remainder of the class talked with one and other. This was a clear indication that for the following project I must provide students with a clear rubric for what a project must consist of, given the genre of the project.
The third and most challenging aspect of the initial study was the assessment portion… it was pretty much in absentia. Surprisingly, student journals revealed that this excessive freedom was not desirable, and that they all craved more structure… the irony of it! One of the greatest variables in this study was student honesty. By preparing a goal breakdown that included percentages, I was allowed to grade students based on the percentages they had filled out. This clearly assumed that all students were honest and could easily be the largest flaw in need of remedy for the entire study. Although I would like to believe that all students who gave themselves an A fully deserved that A, I know that it was not the given for all situations. Those students who received 100% read the entire portion of the book they previously committed to, completed two projects, and made up in presentation what they lacked visually. Those who received grades in the 90% range, read the book, completed both projects, but did not necessarily put full work into creating an accurate portrayal of their book for the presentation. Those with lower grades either did not complete their goals, and/or had incomplete projects.
To gain a deeper understanding of the student’s response to the project, they were asked to write five paragraphs on the experience. From these remarks, I learned that most enjoyed the reading aspect of the project, one was angry that he never changed his book after realizing he was not interested in the subject, one did not do the project, but thought it was an ok idea, and two did not write a journal reflection. Students saw the projects as a good idea, but were unclear as to what they were supposed to do specifically.
The vote on class behavior was an even split. Half of the class thought that the behavior was great. They enjoyed the relaxed environment and felt more comfortable creating in a talkative atmosphere. The other half responded with disgust at the lack of respect students showed toward both the teacher and fellow students. Those students also commented on how the behavior worked against the overall productivity. Results for the grading were much the same as those responding to the behavior. Half of the students loved the grading process, because they could get away with a good grade, in spite of doing minimal work. Other students liked that they had a say in their own project, and did not address the overall experience. Many of those who were repulsed by the behavior, thought the grading was unfair, in that they did much more work toward their projects than other students who received the same grade that they did, clearly, peer critiquing without teacher override was not the best of ideas.
The last paragraph students wrote was an overall reflection of the initial project. This was perhaps my favorite portion to read. Although some students revisited their anger toward behavior and the grading process, several reiterated what a great reading experience they had, revealing personal connections to their chosen book, as well as to the overall opportunity to read. My initial theory that students would opt to read a book in its entirety, given freedom in choosing the book, assessing their work, and completing their goals, was correct. Given the opportunity to choose their own reading, my baseline research revealed that high school students will completely read a book. This hypothesis proved statistically correct, with a mean of 88.375% accuracy. Of seventeen high school students, almost all completed 100% of their goals and assessments. The study was successful and informative. I was successful in reaching my ultimate goal of whether students will choose to read a book.
So what was the problem? There is no way to fit that handful in a word: behavior, assessment, commitment; basically, I was lucky I stuck to one goal for the base-line study. My voracious students attempted to eat me alive, and complained when I didn’t taste good. Although there are implications that these students may opt to read a book for the sake of reading, follow-up research proved to be its own necessity.
In a middle-class suburban high school setting with a variety of literature and other humanities classes offered, it appears that students are still choosing not to read. Carol Ann Petuch, (2004) writer for the Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute, faced this problem of students hating to read so frequently, that she created a study in which she implements, “high-interest young adult novels to be read as a class, in small groups, or during free reading periods.” She provides literary choices with a brief summary of the book, and provides activities that can assist with the comprehension process and interactive process of reading.
I missed this mark with my first attempt of the study. While one student read a five hundred-page fantasy novel, another chose a book worthy of any coming-of-age fifth-grader, and yet another student choice was about the legal issues evolving around narcotics. Some better reading choices included a book about weight training, a book about the Vikings, and an Idiot’s Guide to Running (2003). Those more in tune with what is considered, “young adult literature” according to more recent publications, read books such as, The Torn Skirt (2002) and Go Ask Alice (1971). When re-conducting this research with another study skills class and four freshman lower-level English classes, I took this lesson in stride. When re-creating the project, I opted for small-group discussion, used only books that I, or a colleague had read, signed up for some reading publications, did a lot more reading and curriculum development, and went to a few young adult literature workshops to get a better grasp on age-appropriate high school level reading.
IV: Action Research Study II:
Using YAL to Monitor Comprehension
I conducted my follow-up study with four lower-level Freshman English classes and one study skills class. Fortunately, there is a ton of literature out there to help me with the comprehensive portion of my research. Ian Esquivel, a high school teacher, (2002) stresses the importance of making connections to create a concrete reading experience.
Research shows that students need to connect to what they read. Although factors like learning disabilities, emotional handicaps, etc. may have an affect on this desire to read, students confronted with no coded learning difficulty are also choosing not to read. As my students admitted, students are savvy enough to know how to get answers from a teacher, and what to read in order to, “get by” with their reading. However, they lack the strategies, and worse, lack the desire, to make anything meaningful from their reading. It is as though they believe that there is such a thing as a passive reading experience, and have made a student career confirming the myth without making meaning for themselves.
Students, especially those at the high school level, should be reading but are not doing so. When they actually do read, but do not comprehend what they have read, there is a clear problem. Students must read, and they must understand what they are reading in order to actively engage and truly make meaning from text. Without having the practice, ability, or desire, students will be unable to complete simple, daily reading tasks that they are confronted with, and lose out on the opportunity to think critically about their reading. Students must learn to think critically in order to have the foundation for higher order thinking – a necessary tool for decision-making and other necessary functions of daily life.
Introducing these strategies through a chosen reading experience is the perfect opportunity to access these tools. By utilizing an independent, group, or outside reading that the student chooses, half of the difficulty is already overcome; students are more willing to read something that they choose. If students are unwilling or unable to do this at the high school level where they have a support system of teachers and other students, they will miss out on what may be for many, their final opportunity of learning. Students must read, really read, and understand that reading, so that they can succeed with future endeavors that require concrete and abstract reading comprehension skills. The first step is to initiate a desire to read. From there, teachers can teach reading-comprehension strategies giving students the advantage of true educational direction and desire.
The purpose of the initial study was to learn whether allowing students who verbally admitted to not reading assigned text, nor reading for pleasure, would read a book when given the option to choose that book. This study is a direct response to Cris Tovani’s, I Read it but I don’t Get It. In this book, Tovani looks at her population of a reading workshop and gets down to the bones of where comprehension skills are lacking, providing context to student reading through various methods of modeling, thinking aloud, questioning, etc. Her book breaks down the teaching of reading into easy to relate to/challenging to apply methods that work when done correctly. In response to Tovani’s book, my study addresses the problem of fake reading, looking at the option of giving students the choice of reading material as one way to get students to choose to fully read, rather than “fake read,” an assigned text. My hypothesis is that if students are allowed to choose their own reading material as well as create assessment of their invention, that they will have more desire to read, and truly read a book in full, driving to the ultimate goal of better comprehension that is initiated by that reading relationship. From this point, strategies to enrich comprehension may be introduced, revealing the knowledge that students can acquire when this comprehension takes place.
This is not an easy goal. Reading across the curriculum has become one initiative to better prepare students for reading experiences. Students, who may enjoy reading a book for leisurely purposes, could lack the tools necessary to understand a mathematical word problem, current events article, scientific report, or even the conventional text book. By instilling value on reading in all, rather than select areas of education, a student may learn comprehension skills that may be used across the curriculum, and therefore learn the reading skills necessary to develop higher order thinking that is so necessary once out of the high school reading support system. Allowing them to choose their reading is a great starting point for some of these students.
Before we can teach strategies to aide in reading comprehension, we must first motivate a student’s desire to read. Several books, including Mueller’s, Lifers (2001), Zimmerman and Oliver Keen’s, Mosaic of Thought (1997), Cris Tovani’s, I Read it but I don’t Get It (2000), explain that many students who once had a love for reading, often because of positive reading experiences, lost that desire along the way when met with failure. According to these authors, failure in this sense of the word accounts for slower academic success that results in being pulled out of class during free-choice activities to compensate where there is an educational lack at a young age. Psychologically, this affects the student’s learning by internalizing the idea that they are “slow” learners, discouraging students by removing free-choice learning, and creating work from an activity that was once viewed as enjoyable (Mueller 2001, Zimmerman & Oliver Keene 1997). For many students, poor reading performance at a young age, combined with the loss of the idea that reading can be fun, has become the foundation for academic failure. When met with little or no success, student outcome showed less desire to participate in the learning process.
In Lifers, Mueller references several students who have long given up on reading. She reveals several stories of crushed reading experiences. It is in response to the reality of these negative experiences that we as educators, parents, and members of a community, need to help direct the value of reading.[1] Zimmerman and Oliver Keene (1997) explain that, “learning to read depends on two critical factors: the teacher’s thorough understanding of the reading process itself, and his or her determination to understand to each child’s needs as a reader” (xiv). A teacher can be one of many individuals. The overall message is clear; students are lacking a desire to read, and we need to make reading accessible to them.
I began the follow-up study by presenting about twenty young adult literature books to my students. I took a day to give a basic lesson on pre-reading, and modeled this strategy to them. By the end of the class period, students were required to pre-read three books that they expressed interest in, and complete a handout that prompted specifics such as the title, author, what attracted them to the book, and a summary of why they were interested in it. At the end of the period, I put those choices on paper and listed the students who expressed interest. I blocked off students in groups of four and five, depending on student interest and book availability.
For my study skills class, which still consisted of a mixed group grade and level wise, I presented similarly, but allowed each student to read a separate book, monitoring their reading level by implementing a rubric created by Barbara R. Schirmer and Alison Schirmer Lockman (2001) that determines a book’s readability. This one-page handout analyses vocabulary, sentences, topic, concepts, and other means of assessment to break down whether a book is too easy, appropriately challenging, or too difficult for the given reader.
Once age and level-appropriate literature was divvied up between the five classes, students were to work with their group (or alone in the study skills class) and divide the reading into about ten or twelve chunks that would be due for class discussions on Mondays and Thursdays (in journal form for study skills students). Wednesdays were allotted for silent reading. Unfortunately, this portion proved quite difficult in that students had no idea how to divide their book into realistic chunks. To remedy this in the future, I plan to disperse a calendar that will indicate a basic math problem where they take the total number of pages, divide it by however many readings they are given, take that number, write it down, add it to itself for the second number etc. and to look about five pages before and after the page for readable breaks such as chapters, journal entries, etc. This calendar took an entire period to create. I then gave the students a day of silent reading to ensure their interest in the book they chose.
V: Research-Based Assessment
The next day, I presented to my classes what was truly an overload of assessment. By this, I mean I handed out every handout that they would need for their unit so that they had access to that in their binders when they needed it. This was a huge mistake in that the assessment required one comprehension packet per reading called a, “QUICK,” (which I will address shortly), several writing assignments with point values attached, and their final project rubric. The books that students chose suddenly developed teeth, and immediately began to gnaw into their fears of reading. Needless to say that by the end when collecting these QUICKs, many blank pages stared me back in the face.
The first group meeting went smoothly. Students were asked to react to the book for the first ten minutes in discussion, and proceed to their first-reading, “QUICK” packet. This QUICK reading summary sheet required that students ask three comprehension questions, indicating the page number they asked the question on, requested that they connect their reading to another text, to the world, and to a personal experience, give an overall summary of the reading, monitor their comprehension by indicating two areas that they stopped understanding the text and when the text came back together for them (indicating the page numbers of both areas), and finally making a prediction on what would happen next in the story. In addition to this portion of the QUICK, students had to track at least three characters from their story, two scenes, and find five quotes as they read to be later interpreted. You can find all of this on my website.
Now, can anyone repeat that list for me? It turned out to be a bit too much to expect of lower-level readers, too. Their questions were predictable, their connections were un-founded, for example: (blank stare) “Harry Potter.” Or more successfully, (blank stare) “this part of the book reminded me of Harry Potter.” Summaries were a complete sentence, if I was lucky, and all students had a perfect understanding of the reading, so no one needed to monitor their comprehension, and decided to leave that portion blank. There is nothing more predictable in life than the predictions I got about the books they were reading.
The worst part about this assessment was that I floated for book discussion and didn’t collect these QUICK packets until the end of the entire UNIT! Needless to say I was extremely accommodating and generous in my grading due to my huge oversight of student comprehension and responsibility. Although we had gone over questioning text, making connections, etc. several times throughout that and the previous semester, students had not grasped the concept when asked to do so on their own. In my next attempt, I plan to re-vamp the QUICK, and have stronger lessons in questioning and connecting, implementing more comprehension constructors and reading strategies. I will be collecting QUICK summaries each time one is expected to be completed so that students will have immediate feedback and learn where my expectations lie.
One handout that has been invaluable, has been an inner-voice sheet created by a colleague of mine, Crystal Maynard, using ideologies that I have also come across in Tovani, Harvey, Goudvis, Zimmerman, and Keene. Rather than to present a question as such, ask students to ask three, “I wonder” questions. Similarly, when making connections, adding the text, “so what” tends to ask that students defend their answer more in-depth. Instead of asking students what they stopped understanding, rephrase the section to read, “I don’t understand why…” so that they monitor their understanding for depth rather than content. Revamping this format should also lead to more developed book discussion.
Book discussions as they were, turned into a frustrated teacher doing all of the work for the students by summarizing and answering questions rather than using the independent reading as a tool for them to become the reading detectives who needed to make sense out of their text. I shamefully spoon-fed them key ideas from the text and asked them questions that I had just given them the answer to.
Perhaps my desire for them to enjoy the story was overshadowed by the fact that half of the group members did not keep up with their reading and the desire for those who did read to be given the opportunity to speak. For future group endeavors, there needs to be some sort of group leader and a specific assignment that they need to do as a group rather than to expect that they will have done the reading, completed the QUICK, and be ready to go over the areas they struggled with.
Although the QUICK is a great means for assessment for at-home reading, group activity should also be monitored in order to assess what the group accomplishes during the period on book-discussion days. This would put the ownership on group members, and allow for peer pressure to have a positive affect so that group members would hold one and other responsible for the work. One suggestion for this approach is to elect a group leader who directs the conversation, a group scribe to keep track of what students accomplish during the given period through discussion, and monitoring active participation in the group either through verbal or written ideas.
With more advanced students, an alternative to the QUICK study guides would be to ask students for a specific number of sticky notes that ask questions, monitor understanding, make inferences and connections, etc. given a set number of pages. Students could then use specific examples with referenced page numbers to drive group-discussion and group work.
In addition to QUICKS, journal summaries and responses (set up as a double entry journal) allow students to interact with their reading. By first summarizing for a minimum of five to ten sentences, followed by a reaction to the reading of similar breadth, students learn that there is a difference between summary and reaction, while offering both their understanding and interpretation to the teacher as they read along. Teachers can interact with this DEJ to monitor mis-understandings of text using student-based interpretation. These journals can be either added to the QUICK or collected separately. Again, these regular assignments need to be collected frequently and corrected quickly so that student interaction and understanding with text can be monitored, and so that those students who are struggling to get through the book can be attended to rather than left in the dust due to slow reading rate. It also helps to monitor who is doing the reading and what kind of work is being put into it. Group responses should be photocopied so that each group member has access to the sheet as a reference and reading guide.
VI: Assessment Overview
Clearly, my focus in this research has been assessment of the reading process. To review these assessments before moving on,
· The QUICK and sticky-note strategies are geared toward asking questions (I wonder), understanding where student comprehension breaks down, asking larger philosophical questions, making inferences and predictions, connecting what students have read to themselves, the world, and other text, as well as monitoring for plot and character.
· Journals are helpful reading assessment to get a student’s re-telling of the story, as well as their reaction to what they have read in order to get a more clear understanding of their interpretation.
· Group work helps students to take ownership of their ideas and build off of one and other’s knowledge to enhance the learning process.
Although reading assessment is the core of my research using independent books, I usually like to incorporate a written and creative assessment to enhance the project. Some ideas I have used regarding written assessment include:
· A letter either to or from a character
· Having students write reviews for the book (you can use online book reviews or NY Times weekend editions to provide examples),
· Character analyses
· Thematic approaches, (ex: Meaning of life/ Tuesdays with Morrie, (1997))
· Thesis/ research papers, etc.
By adding the written component, students are asked to take the book a step further and show what they can do with the knowledge they have accrued from their reading.
There are also several successful creative assessments that I have attempted, my favorite being a compilation of artistic and written work in the form of a dust-jacket. Adapted from something I came across during a Kathleen Odean seminar on Young Adult Literature, I use this project to tie together the unit using completed student work. My rubric requires that the cover be an original drawing using a student’s individualized interpretation of the book, along with the title, author, and publication information. On the inside left of the cover, students choose five quotations from the reading and interpret what those quotations signify to the book itself (this is adapted from part of the QUICK). The inside right cover is a concise letter to or from a character, and the back cover is a collection of peer reviews on the book that the group-members have written, along with a photocopy/print-out of the original dust-jacket. Students then present individually, and I request donations to advertise the book as part of the pre-reading experience. Students are more likely to take peer suggestions over teacher suggestions for reading.
· Other interesting projects may include a group newspaper where students monitor occurrences from the book and put it together to present to the class.
· Some students who enjoy music can develop a CD of songs that would be the “soundtrack” for the book. With this option, it would be important that students explain how each song connects to specific portions of the book using either excerpts or summary with a handout for the presentation.
· Many students who enjoy video production might opt to re-create a scene from the book as a group, and perhaps explain the significance of the scene during a presentation or as part of the video itself.
· Students who are interested in web-design might choose to create a web page for the book using criteria similar to the dust-jacket project.
· Art-based projects such as paintings, posters, sculptures, photographs, etc. can be extremely effective as well, however, such projects also require a strong presentation with handouts to explain the significance thereof to give context to the project as it relates to the book. (Creating the Tree Carcass from Speak).
VII: Conclusion:
As professional educators, it is our job to not only convey knowledge, but to show students how to obtain knowledge. In order to do so successfully, we must begin by cultivating and supporting a desire for reading, and by that I mean the combination of decoding and interacting with text, modeling material, using think alouds, sharing strategies, and giving students the learning tools that can steer them toward independent thinking. By doing this and slowly giving them less direct assistance combined with more independent opportunities, students can gain what is necessary to obtain knowledge on their own. Though there is no guarantee that students will remember what they learn in a class, nor that they will necessarily apply strategies they learn in a class or unit across the curriculum, it is important to share with students that there are ways to gain knowledge, and that there is a purpose to their learning. This broad claim seems obvious, but a key question remains: how do we invoke the desire to learn when a student seems so opposed and resistant to learning in spite of large efforts? My idea is to start with reading, start with something that a student might find of interest, and help that student to the best of your ability given your resources. My start is through independent books, but the overall goal is to help foster learning in each and every child. I have a lot to learn and am gladly pursuing ongoing knowledge. Thank you for sharing your time with me and giving me the opportunity to share my ideas with you. .
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[1] It is not ironic that a similar study conducted over a 20 year period on literary reading by the NEA reports a steady decline in literary reading for adults, ages 18 and up.
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