Journal #1 Studying the "Reading Transition" from High School to College: What Are Our Students Reading and Why? - 6 views

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started by Anthony Stewart on 13 Feb 12

#1 Anthony Stewart on 13 Feb 12

Jolliffe, D.A. & Harl, A.(2008). Journal #1 Studying the "Reading Transition" from High School to College: What Are Our Students Reading and Why? College English, 70, 6, pp. 599-617

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">Jolliffe, D.A. & Harl, A.(2008). Journal #1 Studying the "Reading Transition" from High School to College: What Are Our Students Reading and Why? College English, 70, 6, pp. 599-617</div>

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#3 Anthony Stewart on 17 Feb 12

This article was a synopsis of a small case study conducted by some professors at the University of Arkansas. The study drew from research data previously compiled by a couple of nationally based surveys which studied student engagement at the secondary and post-secondary level. A more specific study drew on information compiled from a similar survey on the reading habits of twenty-one full-time college freshmen at the university. This survey attempted to gauge the quantity and quality of reading done by these students. The survey participants responded to a pre-study questionnaire regarding their reading habits and abilities in high school, and later through self-reported reading journals and a variety of written response questions over a two-week period. The questions focused mainly on the students' abilities to think critically about what they read, and make analytical connections between the reading, their lives, the world, and other such texts.

The study concluded that what we consider "good study habits" are extremely lacking in today's high school and college students. Students are spending less time reading academically focused documents that relate to their coursework, and are spending more time reading for the purpose of social networking, personal enrichment, and entertainment. The study also noted that more of this reading time is spent in a multi-tasking frame of mind that may include texting, instant messaging, listening to music, and/or watching television. While the surveyors generally took a negative view of these activities (see snide comment on the "minutiae of students' rituals"), they did offer some ideas for moving forward with possible strategies. Some general ideas that I took from this research are that students aren't more or less literate; rather the face of literacy is changing in a drastic way, primarily because of diverse technologies and new approaches in education.

The way in which people become literate has changed drastically and as a result many of us in education need to adapt our instruction to stay current. I have noticed similar attention span disparities that highlight the generation gap between teachers and learners. These same disparities led the researchers to conclude that they were "hard pressed to find reading experiences that we would characterize as focused and contemplative". A few strategies suggested by the researchers to help increase engaged reading were as follows:

1) As students read they need to be guided through the reading by informed, focused, adult readers who have the ability to make connections to the world around them. This strategy is referred to as "Think-Aloud" and involves reading short passages (250+/- words) in a context that illustrates how "good readers" interact with a text as they read. This technique is familiar to me, as I have always tended to do this when reading information to students, although this strategy reminded me of the need to serve such reading passages in digestible portions.

2) Try to foster cross-curricular connections by having students write one sentence descriptions of each class they are taking on index cards. Using these index cards can help us as teachers to show how specifics readings might relate to themes and issues in other classes. (I really like this idea.)

3) Lastly, the research strongly supports promoting the use of technology to foster literacy skills. Online discussion groups and hyperlinked texts such as can be made available through WebCT and Blackboard (or the one I am participating in right now), can serve to present and illicit informational discourse on academically focused texts. The issue I have seen play out in my educational career and in that of some of my students is that even though web-technology is/will be a key to maintaining literacy now and in the future. There is still a segment of the student population that enjoys the tactile function of reading and interacting in face-to-face group discussion. I sympathize with these students, because I have a need for similar interaction. I think that ideally we will need to keep this in mind when meeting the needs of students. Social factors like SES and regional culture can have a huge effect on how students prefer to access information. Some kids still prefer the "hard copy".

I am very anxious to implement some of these strategies with a group of high school seniors that I will be working as part of my research project. I will definitely be using the "Think Aloud" strategy with this group and I would like to try and allow them all a chance to guide us through the reading in the same way that I will initially demonstrate. I would also like to develop some type of survey that would be similar to the reading journal, but it will definitely have a more organized method for them to track their reading activities. The index-card idea is one that I will be sharing with several of my colleagues, and I will likely give a couple of the curriculum developers at my school a copy of this article for their consideration highlighting the strategies discussed.

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">This article was a synopsis of a small case study conducted by some professors at the University of Arkansas. The study drew from research data previously compiled by a couple of nationally based surveys which studied student engagement at the secondary and post-secondary level. A more specific study drew on information compiled from a similar survey on the reading habits of twenty-one full-time college freshmen at the university. This survey attempted to gauge the quantity and quality of reading done by these students. The survey participants responded to a pre-study questionnaire regarding their reading habits and abilities in high school, and later through self-reported reading journals and a variety of written response questions over a two-week period. The questions focused mainly on the students' abilities to think critically about what they read, and make analytical connections between the reading, their lives, the world, and other such texts. <br /> <br /> The study concluded that what we consider "good study habits" are extremely lacking in today's high school and college students. Students are spending less time reading academically focused documents that relate to their coursework, and are spending more time reading for the purpose of social networking, personal enrichment, and entertainment. The study also noted that more of this reading time is spent in a multi-tasking frame of mind that may include texting, instant messaging, listening to music, and/or watching television. While the surveyors generally took a negative view of these activities (see snide comment on the "minutiae of students' rituals"), they did offer some ideas for moving forward with possible strategies. Some general ideas that I took from this research are that students aren't more or less literate; rather the face of literacy is changing in a drastic way, primarily because of diverse technologies and new approaches in education. <br /> <br /> The way in which people become literate has changed drastically and as a result many of us in education need to adapt our instruction to stay current. I have noticed similar attention span disparities that highlight the generation gap between teachers and learners. These same disparities led the researchers to conclude that they were "hard pressed to find reading experiences that we would characterize as focused and contemplative". A few strategies suggested by the researchers to help increase engaged reading were as follows: <br /> <br /> 1) As students read they need to be guided through the reading by informed, focused, adult readers who have the ability to make connections to the world around them. This strategy is referred to as "Think-Aloud" and involves reading short passages (250+/- words) in a context that illustrates how "good readers" interact with a text as they read. This technique is familiar to me, as I have always tended to do this when reading information to students, although this strategy reminded me of the need to serve such reading passages in digestible portions. <br /> <br /> 2) Try to foster cross-curricular connections by having students write one sentence descriptions of each class they are taking on index cards. Using these index cards can help us as teachers to show how specifics readings might relate to themes and issues in other classes. (I really like this idea.) <br /> <br /> 3) Lastly, the research strongly supports promoting the use of technology to foster literacy skills. Online discussion groups and hyperlinked texts such as can be made available through WebCT and Blackboard (or the one I am participating in right now), can serve to present and illicit informational discourse on academically focused texts. The issue I have seen play out in my educational career and in that of some of my students is that even though web-technology is/will be a key to maintaining literacy now and in the future. There is still a segment of the student population that enjoys the tactile function of reading and interacting in face-to-face group discussion. I sympathize with these students, because I have a need for similar interaction. I think that ideally we will need to keep this in mind when meeting the needs of students. Social factors like SES and regional culture can have a huge effect on how students prefer to access information. Some kids still prefer the "hard copy". <br /> <br /> I am very anxious to implement some of these strategies with a group of high school seniors that I will be working as part of my research project. I will definitely be using the "Think Aloud" strategy with this group and I would like to try and allow them all a chance to guide us through the reading in the same way that I will initially demonstrate. I would also like to develop some type of survey that would be similar to the reading journal, but it will definitely have a more organized method for them to track their reading activities. The index-card idea is one that I will be sharing with several of my colleagues, and I will likely give a couple of the curriculum developers at my school a copy of this article for their consideration highlighting the strategies discussed.</div>

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#4 Linda Clinton on 20 Feb 12

I'm still rather "tactile" in my learning style too! Will you please bring me a copy of the article? Or, if you have it as a pdf, you can email it to me.

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">I'm still rather "tactile" in my learning style too! Will you please bring me a copy of the article? Or, if you have it as a pdf, you can email it to me.</div>

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#5 Linda Clinton on 21 Feb 12

A thorough analysis of a fascinating article! I think when the authors were referring to "minutiae of students' rituals" it was more to help the reader understand the students wrote in their reading journals in great detail. The authors' purpose was to learn more about the total reading habits of the college students, after all.

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">A thorough analysis of a fascinating article! I think when the authors were referring to "minutiae of students' rituals" it was more to help the reader understand the students wrote in their reading journals in great detail. The authors' purpose was to learn more about the total reading habits of the college students, after all.</div>

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