Student-driven learning can facilitate engagement through choice, relevance, and peer collaboration. Student engagement is enhanced because they decide what they are interested in learning and utilize new technologies to research and learn more. Student-centered classrooms are often dialogic, where teachers serve as facilitators of student discussions through the use of open-ended questions (Gambrell & Morrow, 2015, pg. 22). “In this, more students can be involved and engaged because the onus of understanding is a collaborative venture where knowing a correct answer is no longer a required point of entry; rather, thinking and supporting one’s thoughts become the driving force toward comprehension and consensus (Malloy & Gambrell, 2011a). This type of instruction helps to gain student buy-in from the beginning and helps to increase their sense of accomplishment once it is complete. It also provides students with the opportunity to apply various literacy skills collectively in the context of an authentic task while actively collaborating with their peers.
Student Goal Setting
The purpose of this research action project was to determine the impact of student goal setting on attitudes towards reading and reading growth over a span of nine weeks (1 quarter). I have witnessed many students make growth in reading, but I know that they are capable of so much more. I wanted to find a way to help them become more intrinsically motivated. Our education system and the world have set up several extrinsic motivators for people. These extrinsic motivators are successful, but not always sustainable. I want students to develop the ability to identify achievable and measurable goals and push themselves to meet that goal. Additionally, this practice can help students develop a love or passion for reading. “An interested student reads because he enjoys it, a dedicated student reads because he believes it is important, and a confident student reads because he or she can do it” (Guthrie, 62). I think that this research question can guide research and provide valuable results for a practice that can be implemented in classrooms to help students develop their intrinsic motivation in reading and could also be applied to other subjects.
|
|
Interactive Read Alouds
|
Interactive read alouds are an engaging way to model fluent reading, support students in their ability to discuss texts and create a community of readers (Scharer, Pinnell, Lyons, & Fountas, 2016, pg. 26). During an interactive read aloud, the teacher reads an authentic text aloud while modeling fluent reading, metacognitive thinking through think alouds, and provides structure for group discussions about the text. This approach makes a text accessible for all learners and provides them with an opportunity to connect with their peers by sharing their thoughts about the text. In ECI 541, I planned and conducted an interactive read aloud with the picture book, Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts. Before reading aloud, I activated my students’ prior knowledge about the sustainable development goal or SDGs for poverty (The Global Goals). We had been learning about poverty and what it means, we had looked at real world examples and this book helped us to build our knowledge on the goal. During reading, I asked meaningful questions and had students think-pair-share with their partners. I also modeled fluent reading and how I was thinking as a reader through think-alouds. My students were excited to make connections to their learning and discuss the book as a community of readers.
|
GLobal PBI
An additional strategy to engage students in their learning is through Project Based Inquiry or Learning. During this process students work to answer a compelling question. Throughout the process students are working collaboratively to research, revise and publish their findings (Project-Based Inquiry Global (PBI Global). During the NLGL program, I planned two different PBI lessons. Both lessons addressed goals developed by the United Nations known as the sustainable development goals or SDGs (The Global Goals). These lessons engaged students through student-driven learning and collaboration about their world.
|
My students engaged in student-centered learning throughout the entire PBL. They began by engaging in research that was education and a learning experience. Then they chose a topic they were interested in researching and were given the opportunity to create a final project that tested various ways. Our PBI project allowed the teaching and learning to be personalized while providing them choices. The students were provided the different types of resources to choose from which allowed them to make choices and contribute to their final project.
|
|
References
- Boulhrir, T. (2017). Twenty-First Century Instructional Classroom Practices and Reading Motivation: Probing the Effectiveness of Interventional Reading Programs. International Journal of Education and Literacy Studies, 5(3), 57–66. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.prox.lib.ncsu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1153959&site=ehost-live&scope=site
- Cabral-Marquez, C. (2011). The effects of setting reading goals on reading motivation, reading achievement, and reading activity (Order No. 3457771). Available from ProQuest Central; ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global; Social Science Premium Collection. (874246328). Retrieved from https://proxying.lib.ncsu.edu/index.php/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.prox.lib.ncsu.edu/docview/874246328?accountid=12725
- District Facts. (2018). Retrieved July 23, 2019, from https://www.wcpss.net/domain/100
- Dotson, R. A. (2016, January 1). Does Goal Setting with Elementary Students Impact Reading Growth. ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.prox.lib.ncsu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=ED567665&site=ehost-live&scope=site Elliot, E., & Dweck, C. (1988). Goals: An approach to motivation and achievement. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54(1), 5–12. doi:10.1037//0022-3514.54.1.5
- Gallagher, K. (2010). Reversing Readicide. Educational Leadership, 67(6), 36–41. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.prox.lib.ncsu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ896438&site=ehost-live&scope=site
- Gambrell, L. B., Morrow, L. M., & Pressley, M. (Eds.). (2015). Best practices in literacy instruction (5th ed.). Guilford Press.
- Guthrie, J.T. (2015). ‘Best Practices for Motivating Students to Read’, in Morrow, L. M., & Gambrell, L. B. Best practices in literacy instruction. New York: The Guilford Press, pp. 62.
- Katz, S. (2015). Enhancing Self-Efficacy of Elementary School Students to Learn Mathematics. Journal of Curriculum and Teaching, 4(1), 42–55. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.prox.lib.ncsu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1157525&site=ehost-live&scope=site
- Malloy, J.A., & Gambrell, L.B (2011a). The contribution of discussion to reading comprehension and critical thinking. In R. Allington & A. McGill-Franzen (eds.), Handbook of reading disabilities research (pp. 253-262). Mahwah, NJ. Erlbaum.
- Orkin, M., Pott, M., Wolf, M., May, S., & Brand, E. (2018). Beyond Gold Stars: Improving the Skills and Engagement of Struggling Readers through Intrinsic Motivation. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 34(3), 203–217. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.prox.lib.ncsu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1179999&site=ehost-live&scope=site
- Patel, P., & Laud, L. E. (2009). Using Goal-Setting in “P(paw)LANS” to Improve Writing. TEACHING Exceptional Children Plus, 5(4). Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.prox.lib.ncsu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ967746&site=ehost-live&scope=site
- Project-Based Inquiry Global (PBI Global). (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.fi.ncsu.edu/projects/project-based-inquiry-global/
- Reed, D. K., & Lynn, D. (2016). The Effects of an Inference-Making Strategy Taught with and without Goal Setting. Learning Disability Quarterly, 39(3), 133–145. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.prox.lib.ncsu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1108114&site=ehost-live&scope=site
- Smithson, M. (2012). The Positive Impact of Personal Goal Setting on Assessment. Canadian Journal of Action Research, 13(3), 57–73. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.prox.lib.ncsu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ997349&site=ehost-live&scope=site
- Stevenson, N. A. (2016). Effects of Planning and Goal Setting on Reducing Latency to Task Engagement for Struggling Readers in Middle School. Journal of Behavioral Education, 25(2), 206–222. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.prox.lib.ncsu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1100487&site=ehost-live&scope=site
- The Global Goals. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.globalgoals.org/
- Tucker, T. G. (2016, January 1). The Effects of Teacher-Set and Student-Set Accelerated Reader Goal Setting on Reading Comprehension and Student Attitudes towards Reading in Fourth- and Fifth-Grade Students. ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.prox.lib.ncsu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=ED576127&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Claire Straub
NLGL Literacy Cohort
Spring 2020
NLGL Literacy Cohort
Spring 2020