- First I thought this grouping of authors was unusual--but evidently they got together at a conference and decided to see if they could figure out how to motivate kids to read.
- The first sentence elicited a groan from me--anyone teaching adolescents (I hope) could tell you that if they can read their "preferred reading materials" and if teachers will use their "preferred...modes of instruction"--then the kids will be more motivated and "perhaps...[demonstrate] improvements in reading outcomes."
- "Recent studies have suggested that few adolescents choose to read on their own." Duh.
- "Our work suggests that teachers need to ask different questions of adolescents than of younger children." Again, duh. Yet there isn't an instrument for us to assess 7-12 readers? Not one available to we who would like to do this?
- "How do teachers define reading? What kinds of reading will motivate adolescents today? How can these types of reading be incorporated into secondary classrooms?" These are all good questions--does NCLB/CCSS/etc. even care?
- Nonreaders find reading unrewarding or too difficult or not worth it.
- Aliterate adolescents can read but choose not to do so.
- The study focused on two strands:
* students as victims of schools [and teachers!] who have devalued literacy activities. {As an aside, I wonder if these researchers would assign a level in Dante's Inferno to these individuals or simply time in Purgatorio.}
- When they say "school practices" I think they are referring to--in part--federal regulations--although I think they are unaware of this.
- What about students who ARE motivated? Or what about those who WEREN'T at one time--but have suddenly become hungry to read?
- Who would use an elementary measure w/high school? Before this class, I would have just so I would have a clue--We are not given students' reading levels or lexiles, etc. {CLAP, CLAP, CLAP} It is so good that they revised the elementary MRP for adolescents: AMRP. This was the next six pages in the article and ones that I will use. There follows directions and scoring sheet.
- Females score higher. (Shock!)
- Males did better in their early teens but dropped later on.
- Females valued reading more than males.
- Females actually increased value of reading as they grew older.
- African American and Afro/Indo-Trini adolescents valued reading significantly more than Caucasians.
- "Generally, students' self concepts as readers and their value of reading coincided with their reading choices and overall enjoyment of reading."
Teachers' enthusiasm can have a tremendous impact on students' reading habits and attitudes?
Adolescents clearly identified the importance of choice?
Students enjoyed teachers allowing them to choose a book to read and valued choice in topics and
formats for assigned projects.
Well, I did too.
When I first skimmed this article, it seemed they were right on track--but when I evaluated it piecemeal, I decided they could have had coffee with me--maybe a light meal--and I could have given them all this information. Although this study was held at eight different sites, they only had 384 adolescents involved. Honestly, I could do that at my high school alone (if I had the time--and since I'm not a graduate student nor do I have a graduate assistant to assist me---ah, well.) Perhaps I should see if I could replicate some one's study and get published in the Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy....hmmmmmmmmm.
Interesting! I share many of your feelings. I did not see the how to survey you mentioned on my blog... Maybe because I'm using my phone.
ReplyDeleteThe actual instrument is the only mrp for adolescents that I reallt like. I have to say that the authors probably heard about the updated MRP for elementary and just put in their two cents worth to justify the AMRP. Researchers in adolescent literacy often appear to me to be more interested in social media literacy and social constructivism than in the difficult task of identifying what actually can be done to address the problem. Catherine Snow at Harvard is starting some interesting research and actually going into Boston area schools. We still don't know enough about what works. This is what I am hoping we can do during course 3 at your school. It isn't easy to execute due to schedule.
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting to read your reactions to the article. While I agree there were quite a few "DUH" moments in the article, like females scoring higher and valuing reading more than males, males' scores and value of reading decreased over time, and students value choice, I wanted to know more about the definition of reading. From personal experience, I know teachers who define reading as reading a book. In the article, the authors talked about the discrepancy between how kids responded on the survey and their interviews. A probable cause of the discrepancy was that on the survey students self-defined reading as reading a book. As a middle school educator, I feel I have an obligation to broaden my view, my students' views, and my parents' views of what counts as reading. Also, when I was setting up my classroom yesterday, I thought more about student access to technology and decided to use my computer as a reading center for students.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was reading your comments, I had to laugh at your mention of Dante's Inferno. My oldest son always relates situations in life to one of Dante's nine circles of hell. On another note, I decided to read all the books listed on our seventh grade reading list this summer. When I took my students to the library for the first time this year, I gave a quick synopsis of each book. The floodgates were opened. They rushed to check out these books. By the end of the day, many of my students had to place their names on the reserve list. I do think that teacher's enthusiasm has a great impact on motivating our students to read wonderful books.
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