Reflection
I was excited to get my surveys back. I read them over and over, compiling all the information in several different ways until I was able to make meaningful connections and a thoughtful response. I was not able to include every piece data in my survey paper but I wanted too. I also realized that several of my questions relating to different kinds of assignments (written vs oral) were a little vague. If I was utilizing this type of survey in a specific classroom I would gear my questions toward more precise types of assignments. I think this change would present an even clearer picture of the student’s perceived strengths and weaknesses.
One factor in my survey that I was unsure how to handle was the background information on my survey population. I know this assignment was only a snapshot used to draw general conclusions but I could not help being aware that the results I gathered came from what I consider an atypical source, an Expeditionary Learning school of choice. Though after comparing my survey results with the results of several others in the class, I recognized that my survey population had similarities to theirs. The connection we made between our surveys is if there is an atmosphere that reading is considered “cool” at a school or among a circle of friends it seems to have a strong influence on the reading habits of teens.
You Will Never Know Until You Ask
Discovering the “Why’s” behind an individual’s actions and beliefs can open up learning possibilities for not only the person asking the questions but for the individuals answering those questions. On this particular occasion I was the one asking the questions and learning from my “Why’s”. My objective was originally to focus on those students that had been struggling readers in lower school and the growth they had made into their middle school years. But the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to understand the differences between students that enjoy reading and those that do not. No classroom is that perfect place where all students need or want the same things. With these things in mind, I created my survey questions focusing on several ideas used to encourage struggling readers. What I wanted to learn was whether or not the discrepancy in a classroom between those students that enjoy reading and those that do not would be so polarizing as to show no common ground.
Once the focus was clear and the questions were written, what I needed were the survey subjects. A middle school humanities teacher at the Rocky Mountain School of Expeditionary Learning volunteered to set aside some time for her students to complete the survey. The Rocky Mountain School of Expeditionary Learning, RMSEL for short, is a K through 12 school with approximately 325 students. The middle school is set up in multi-grade crews. Each crew includes a combination of 6th, 7th, and 8th graders and they attend their science and humanities classes together as a crew. Math is the only class taught by grade level not crew affiliation. The survey was anonymous and was not tagged by grade level of the student. Instead the survey focused on the distinctions between how the student rated their feelings toward reading: Love, Like, O.K. or Rather not.
This survey produced many detailed and thoughtful provoking responses. Several times after asking a yes or no style question there was a further prompt as to why they had answered the way they had. One of the surprising things to come out of this was to the question about an oral book report vs. a written book report. Teri S. Lesesne in her book, Naked Reading, labeled numerous writing activities as the least favorite postreading activity among readers (2006). Yet my survey seems to show some very persuasive arguments across all levels for writing a book report; even though the results were divided twenty-one to twenty in slight favor of a written book report. The data for the groups that enjoyed reading, the love it and like it readers, were very similar. Many students thought they could be “more articulate and meaningful” and “clearer” through their writing.
The most interesting data was split between those that think reading is O.K. and those that rather not read. The group that believes reading is O.K. would rather write a report. They gave reasons for their decision relating to quality of their work: “I [can] read over and make sure I said good things” and “I can take my time and put quality and things that are needed into it”. I would have thought this group of students would have similar responses as the group that rather not read. Those struggling with reading typically do not enjoy the process of writing. This information seems to be validated in the group that rather not read; more would chose to give an oral report than written. Several reasons given for choosing an oral report had to do with being better at talking than writing and being able to get out of writing altogether.
The next area of interest in the survey has to do with listening to books on tape. I will admit to having preconceived ideas toward what the results in this portion of the survey would yield. I myself thoroughly enjoy listening to a story CD on a long road trip. So I was pleased to discover that 30 out of the 42 students surveyed had listened to at least one book on tape and several who had not were willing to give listening a try. The responses for the groups that enjoy reading and the students that rather not read were not surprising. The students that love to read rather read a book and those students that rather not read would chose listening to a book on tape. The responses from the group that thinks reading is just O.K. opened my eyes to some of the weaknesses in listening versus reading. These students worried about becoming distracted while listening and how when reading they could go back and read something over if they did not understand it the first time. The most heartfelt response was from one student who would choose to read so he could improve his reading. Listening to books on tape is a helpful tool for those struggling to read but what works even better is following along while listening. Several of the students that rather not read mentioned how listening and following along was very helpful for them and one student pointed out how “it makes me feel like I can catch up”.
The last section in the survey touched on whether or not the students had someone in their lives to share their reading with or guide them in the process. Almost everyone had someone to share a book with if they chose to do so. The survey also asked if they would be interested in talking about books or getting recommendations at school from someone besides their friends. Twenty-two would like getting recommendations and talking about their reading while the other sixteen did not like the idea. Several of the reasons given for not liking the idea had to do with worry over whether or not the person giving the recommendations would understand what they like to read and recognize that they just do not like to read as much as other people.
Overall the reasons given for their answers plus the willingness to put their thoughts and fears on paper, is I think, cause for enthusiasm. If a teacher understands the “why’s” and “why not’s” they can figure out the solutions needed in the classroom to find that common ground between readers. One of the most important pieces in building lifelong readers is having enthusiastic role models. The best news in my survey was the answers to the question: Are there members of your family who love to read? A whopping forty out of the forty-two students surveyed said yes, there was a member of their family that loved to read. And if that is not enough hope for the future of these students becoming lifelong readers then the comment, made by a student that thought that reading is O.K., just might convince you. When asked if they had a favorite book? They responded with, “Not Yet”. Not giving up is what it is all about.
I wrote this survey looking for some insight into how a teacher might be able to a take a classroom of individuals with different interests and levels of reading and accomplish the same goal for everyone; building a community of lifelong readers. I wanted to find some common ground. What I discovered with these students was a willingness to try new things and to share who they understood themselves to be in the community of readers. What I learned is that the most important part of understanding is taking the time to ask the questions.
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