I would be lying if I said I was not horrified when I read what the student Lavern's perceptions were about reading. He thinks that you just read the words of a text and that is it. He feels that if you can 'answer all of the questions' then you are a good reader. He did not understand that reading is deeper than that, and that it takes work to understand and think about what you read. For instance, I don't read or speak French but I could sit there and read a passage in it, probably not pronouncing things correctly, but I could actually read the words, even though I have no idea what was going on.
Beers precedes to tell us that if you have students do something like reread the text and tell you why it makes more sense the next time, they will be able to understand why rereading helps. I really liked the paper that the student Brad wrote about rereading. His score went up after he reread the text, and Beers made him write down why. I think that is a good idea because it lets the students apply the knowledge to themselves, and they will better understand why it helped them. -Katie May
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I share your fear about running into students like Lavern, not because I think I can't help them, but because I use to be like Lavern. It's true, some students just sit there and do the physical act of reading the words and nothing more. I liked how you used the analogy of yourself being able to read and pronounce French, but not having any idea what the French worsd meant. One must understand where the student who reads like this is coming from, and Beers did a great job of reminding me how some studens process texts. Rereading is probably how I would approach a student like Lavern, but I would try to use motivation to increase his comprehension, because if he wants to,and we fascilitate, then he can read and comprehend.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Lavern's idea of what made a good reader was scary! I think that although I found it surprising that he thought that way, there are many more students who feel and think the same way. I think that's why Kylene put the excerpt in there. I am very excited to have the opportunity to work with students like Lavern, but a small part of me is afraid that I will have no clue as to what exactly I'm supposed to do. I think it is just going to take practice and experience.
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