1、Talking About Books: A Phenomenological Study of Teachers and Childrens Perspectives Across Grades,Janine Certo, Kathleen Moxley & Kelly Reffitt National Reading Conference, Austin, TX November 29, 2007,The Larger Study (2-year mixed methods design in one urban elementary school),Methods and data so
2、urces include Piagets clinical method for interviewing children (1979), the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functions (BRIEF; Gioia, Isquith, Guy, Kenworthy, 2000), subscale items from the Behavior Assessment System for Children -Second Edition (Reynolds & Kamphaus, 2004), existing aggregate
3、and individual student standardized test data, interviews with teachers, and researcher field notes.,Students perceptions of their literature circle experiences across grade and ability levels,Students executive functions, including social skills and leadership skills, that mediate or moderate readi
4、ng outcomes for children participating in literature circles,Elementary teachers perceptions of their evolving roles in literature circles and how they negotiate offering texts and the approach within a strictly-dictated district literacy curriculum.,Why this analyses?,Most studies at the elementary
5、 level have been: conducted within single classrooms (e. g. Allen, Mller, Stroup, 2003; Burns, 1998; Evans, 2002; Goatley, Brock, McIntyre, 2007),This work is informed by. . .,Researcher interest and funding targeted at teacher professional development and learning communities (similar to work of Ra
6、phael and Florio-Ruane (2000) and their associates with the Teacher Learning Collaborative). A belief that meanings created in social interactions provide a foundation for learning (Dewey, 1916; Rogers, 1969; Piaget, 1947; Vygotsky, 1978). Reader response theory (Rosenblatt, 1978, 1983) as students
7、negotiate meaning alone and together. Gees (2001) argument for participation in learning “social languages” (in this case, learning how to talk in a group about a book) that are connected to social activities (literature circles). A situated cognition perspective (Brown, Collins, & Duguid, 1989) tha
8、t suggests learning about comprehension strategies can be embedded in discussions about texts.,Gaps in the research,In studies conducted on classroom discussion students are rarely asked about their perceptions or interpretations of their own talk within literacy discussions groups (Evans, 2002, Eri
9、ckson Alvermann, 1996). Studies that consider and juxtapose students perceptions across grade level and multiple settings. Studies where individual students are interviewed privately to explore their own perceptions that they may be ill at ease revealing within small group contexts (Evans, 2002). St
10、udies that consider teacher viewpoints in conjunction with students viewpoints.,Research Questions,What are the perceptions of the teacher role in literature circles? What are students attitudes toward group discussions of literature? What are the perceptions of student learning in literature circle
11、s?,Context and Study Site: Otto Elementary School,Western PA metropolitan area Thirty-five percent of students received free/reduced-price meals 54% White, 33% Black, 9% Asian and 1% Hispanic 8% English Language Learners 12% received special education services Reading First initiatives and district-
12、mandated literacy activities Use of a commercial basal dominated language arts instruction Pattern in classrooms was dominated by an I-R-E discourse pattern (Cazden, 2001),Collaborative Intervention & Professional Development,Voluntary teacher participation Four half-day workshops across two years W
13、eekly, differentiated consultation, observations and in-class support Principal and teacher input into larger study design Literature circle groups met 1-2 times a week for 20-40 minutes.,Participants - Students,N=24,Participants - Teachers,N=10,Data Collection, Analysis & Strategies to Monitor Cred
14、ibility and Dependability,Interviews with all teachers; stratified random sample of students (n= 24) Semi-structured audiotaped interviews -Teachers -Students Prolonged field work and use of a field log Use of Hyperresearch data management and analysis software program Cross-examination of data by t
15、wo researchers Audit trail,Findings: What are the perceptions of teachers roles in literature circles?,TEACHERS Reported difficulty relinquishing control of the teaching-learning process Traditional roles transformed to that of leader, modeler, facilitator, and observer. STUDENTS Students across gra
16、de and ability levels described a variety of teacher roles sitting and listening to groups discuss books, helping students read unfamiliar words, selecting books, keeping students on task, clarifying confusing questions, and evaluating group performance,Findings: Modeling & Scaffolding,TEACHERS Repo
17、rted modeling and scaffolding for:-group discussion behavior (“You dont have to raise your hands.”)-reading for meaning -preparing for discussion (different forms of writing) Initial use of “roles” or “jobs” to scaffold discussions/7 teachers eliminated them once they were internalized. Agreement th
18、at modeling was vital, especially how to journal/make notes to prepare for discussions and asking good questions. We modeled what the discussion does look like, so far as good questions, and then we modeled asking really bad questions, and let the kids pick out the bad questions. Then we talked abou
19、t what makes a good question. The students would take some notes in their journals and thenthey would be expected to write, on their Post-It notes or in journals some good questions.(5th grade teacher),Findings: Modeling & Scaffolding,STUDENTS Initial anticipation and excitement about jobs and roles
20、 across grade levels. Three students (grade 1, 3 & 4) reported being “scared” or “nervous” at first to come to literature circles. One student receiving special education support wanted more help from his teacher in preparing him for literature circles. Fourth and fifth graders preferred coming to l
21、iterature circles with writings and jottings from their logs. Ike, a fifth-grader reported “if youre always on the job, then its directing your discussion for you . last year, we did literature circles and the jobs were the only thing that we did . it wasnt as fun as this.”,Findings: What are the pe
22、rceptions of students attitudes toward literature circles? Enjoyment,TEACHERS Teachers perceived that students found the texts they read in literature circles “much more pleasurable for them because they werent worried about answering questions as they read.” “They got very excited about the reading
23、and they anticipate what job theyre going to be assigned, and so, they just love it.” -3d grade teacher Perceived student excitement about reading chapter books and pride in having their own copy of the book. Reports at the fourth and fifth grades that students reading and discussions continued outs
24、ide of literature circles.,Findings: Enjoyment,STUDENTS 22 students preferred “literature circles books” over their “reading book” commercial basal program. Upper elementary students articulated the richness of an authentic novel: Well, the reading book only gives you part of the story, not the enti
25、re story, and the one that was actually published, gives you the entire story of what happened. Jeff, fourth grader Students overwhelmingly reported they enjoyed coming to group discussions, referring to it as “fun” and characterizing it as the best part of language arts. Three students above grade
26、level reported that, although they enjoyed literature circles, “it would be ok if they LC went away” because they just liked reading. Students at all levels cognizant of changing classroom discourse pattern. 50% of students reported picking up and reading more books and/or discovering a new genre, a
27、uthor or series.,Findings: What are the perceptions of student learning in LC? Learning how to talk in a group about a book,STUDENTS From 1st to 5th grade, children who initially did not know how to respond to texts become proficient at participating in literacy conversations In this study, there wa
28、s evidence of this from first to fifth grade, and it was even true of students identified as gifted. Tammy, a first grader reading on grade level, reported how literature circles helped her discuss books, “I learned how to talk about a book because I didnt know what to say, and now I do.” Fifth grad
29、er, Allen, who attended a center weekly for Gifted Education “learned how to talk in a group . I never really talked in a group about a book. I usually just think about it myself, and now I realize how to talk with a group of people, and how they can help me with the book and stuff like that.”,Writi
30、ng Improvement,TEACHERS Fourth and fifth grade teachers reported that writing improved across the curriculum. Across all grade levels teachers perceived longer, higher quality writing. The teacher of special needs students reported, “students who struggled in writing in previous years were writing t
31、he longest and most quality responses to literature that Ive ever seen and I know its because of the amount of writing we do in literature circles.”,Findings: Writing Improvement,STUDENTSEvery student reported that writing helped with discussion, even if they did find it difficult. One first grader,
32、 Asia, reported, “I like to do the writing because sometimes we do it the writing like from one day, we do it the discussion like in the next week sometimes, and its too long, and you might forget.” Evan, a third grader with special needs commented, “Yeah, I hate all that writing , but it writing he
33、lped me not to look like a fool. It helped me to ask a good question from Case of the Bad Stripes (Shannon, 2004) like What made her eat lima beans at the end?”,Responses to Literature: Questioning,TEACHERS Perceived that over time, with modeling and practice, students were asking more open-ended qu
34、estions. Reported students who emerged as leaders asking good questions to keep the discussion going. STUDENTS Ivan, an advanced third grade reader reported, “other peoples questions made me understand the book more.” Reported at least one student who emerged as a leader asking good questions to kee
35、p the discussion going. Other students reports echo the clich of “two heads are better than one” when it comes to question posing and comprehension. Maleek, a third grade, on level reader explained “because you work together and theres more people. They might have different answers than you so you c
36、an get more answers from them.” Ava, a fourth grade, above level reader agreed, “because you answer questions with your friends within those little groups, and its easier to try and understand the book when youre doing it with your friends.”,Responses to Literature: Connecting,TEACHERS Teachers who
37、used roles or jobs reported that students most enjoyed having being the “Connector” in literature circles. When roles were dropped, teachers noticed that students made more personal connections to the text.STUDENTS A particularly powerful connection was made by Yasmine, a fifth grader in the reading
38、 support room who reported that Freckle Juice (Blume) related to her because she “usually wants stuff that other kids have. When asked what she wants, she replied, “To live with my mother, because I dont really live with my mother. . . I live with my grandma who cares about me, and we go to a good s
39、chool, and I have someone who talks to me.” A first grade student also shared how he made personal connections with books discussed in LC, and how his group learned more about a new student in their classroom. “In this book points to Honey, I Love, we all talked about places we love and places weve
40、gone, and Hon Li was telling us all about Japan. He lived there before he came to our school.”,Responses to Literature: Multiple Interpretations,STUDENTS A first grade student reported, “. . . if you talk about it to the whole class . then the teacher would give you . ideas. I think its better . get
41、ting ideas from . your- age kids. Lynn, a third grade, on grade level reader reported, “Yeah, you got to understand the book more, you got to actually see the book from their point of view.” Evan, a third grader, realized that interacting with others influenced his thinking and understanding, statin
42、g, “You get more ideas, more details to add to yours, and you get to agree with them, and disagree, and change your answers.” Sam, a fifth grade, above grade level reader thinks it is fun to talk about books . and get different ideas from other people.”,Responses to Literature: Multiple Interpretati
43、ons or Clarifying for Understanding,TEACHERS Frog and Toad All Year (Lobel) . the whole joke is Spring is just around the corner, and Frog goes looking for Spring just around the corner, and Anastasia wrote, “what does he mean?” She didnt get it. So here shes questioning whats going on in the story.
44、 And I . happened to walk up and I was listening to her group discuss and she said, “what does he mean?” and then the other boy that was sitting in their circle said, “Yeah, I wrote I dont understand,” and someone else said “Yeah, I put a question mark” because they didnt get the saying “Spring is j
45、ust around the corner” so they talked about it a little bit and then they went on to say they might see it soon or its the next season they were having trouble understanding it and then when they came together in the group, they were trying to figure it out themselves. So that was kind of neat. -1st
46、 grade teacher Students were arguing about the meaning of the chapter title, Scarlet Deluge. . .in the historical novel Johnny Tremaine (Forbes) about the revolutionary war. . .how it could be bloodshed, not just the Red Coats coming in. -5th grade teacher,Using Comprehension Strategies,STUDENTS Wel
47、l, while we were reading Shiloh (Reynolds & Moser, 2000), this kid in my group . didnt really understand why the man would really look for his dog, and she didnt understand why the man didnt think the dog was dead. And I explained because he knew that he was alive because he the dog ran away a lot a
48、nd he always like went over to this kids house so thats why the man was always looking at the kids house. Charlie, a first grade advanced reader described how . Students were also examining or learning new words. . . “Yeah, my friend Stefano, he was reading and he couldnt figure out a word and me an
49、d Julian were helping him get the word out. He was thinking it was “Jose long e,” but we said it was Jose because the Pirates baseball team have a player, and his first name is Jose, and thats how he spells it.” (first grader) Students monitored and adjusted their predictions based on continued interpretations about text. Yagmur, a third grade advanced reader, reported, “Like if you make a prediction about the book and you read it, and youre right, and the prediction was right, it is sort of exciting.”,
