ECI 522 Trends & Issues in English Language Arts
• “new” understanding: importance of conducting action research & refraction
• Inquiry Learning Project: “Finding the Right Reading Balance,” action research to determine how best to support middle school readers
• Review of literature: reading processes we use as adults not the ones we “impose” on kids (Atwell); teachers are expert readers who use automatic processes (Wilhelm); time spent on assessment far outweighs time spent teaching comprehension skills
• Student survey: 42% preferred silent reading; 36% chose following along while teacher read out loud
• Results indicated the need for more direct instruction on comprehension strategies for some students & more time for independent reading
• Developed plan for Reading Workshop pilot program based on what I learned from researching the literature & interviewing teachers; instituted it in pilot form and later in two nine-week blocks per year
• Inquiry Learning Project: “Finding the Right Reading Balance,” action research to determine how best to support middle school readers
• Review of literature: reading processes we use as adults not the ones we “impose” on kids (Atwell); teachers are expert readers who use automatic processes (Wilhelm); time spent on assessment far outweighs time spent teaching comprehension skills
• Student survey: 42% preferred silent reading; 36% chose following along while teacher read out loud
• Results indicated the need for more direct instruction on comprehension strategies for some students & more time for independent reading
• Developed plan for Reading Workshop pilot program based on what I learned from researching the literature & interviewing teachers; instituted it in pilot form and later in two nine-week blocks per year
