In my September 14th post about “No More Fake Reading: Self-Paced Approach and Assessment”, I shared my focus on removing “Fake Reading” from my Writing Seminar classes this year. The overall goal in my blended approach is to make the class more student-centered and remove myself as the expert (for specifics, you can review my previous post).

I have removed reading deadlines, reading quizzes and questions – which promote use of on-line resources like Sparknotes – and instead have focused on reading teams that discuss the book on-line and also in SpiderWeb discussions in a self-paced approach.

I had students in my three Writing Seminar classes take a survey this week and the new approach clearly is working. I believe student autonomy and creating space (time) for students to grapple with texts as individuals and in their reading teams were a huge part of student buy-in. Also, having one-on-one reading checks with me and having to contribute to SpiderWeb discussions forced them to read because you can’t fake discussions on a book you’ve never read.

The two main questions from the survey that I want to share are: 1) How much of the books in English classes did each student read during their first three years of high school; and 2) How much of Glass Castle did they read in class this year. Students could respond with : 1) None; 2) 1/4; 3) 1/2; 4) 3/4; or 4) finished book..

Here are the results:

1) How much of the books in English classes did you read your first three years?

2nd Period (21 students) – None (1); 1/4 of books (1); 1/2 of books (9); 3/4 of books (4); Finished book (6)

4th Period (24 students) – None (0); 1/4 (3); 1/2 (6); 3/4 (10); Finished (5)

5th Period (26 students) – None (0); 1/4 (4); 1/2 (7); 3/4 (8); Finished (7)

***In my experience as an English teacher, these numbers are indicative of an approach that focuses more on teacher modeling and teaching daily and reading quizzes and questions.***

2) How much of Glass Castle did you read?

2nd Period (21 students) – None (0); 1/4 (0); 1/2 (0); 3/4 (12); Finished (9)

4th Period (24 students) – None (0); 1/4 (1); 1/2 (0); 3/4 (4); Finished (19)

5th Period (27 students) – None (0); 1/4 (1); 1/2 (1); 3/4 (9); Finished (15)

I was very excited to see the results. Of 71 students polled, only three students read less then half of Glass Castle. And of 71 students, 25 students finished 3/4 of the text and 43 (over have of my students) finished the memoir completely.

Additionally, I surveyed students on how they felt the on-line reading teams and SpiderWeb discussions went as well as how they felt engaged/learned through reading the book without me serving as the expert. I also surveyed how they felt these strategies prepared them for their final persuasive essay. I will include information on this in a later post.

Based on the surveys and in conjunction with implementing new teaming strategies based on the Myers Briggs personality inventory (I will post separately “Grouping Students Based on Personality Update #1)  I am hoping student buy-in will continue and the student-centered approach will become even more effective.