I found these articles quite interesting! Not only do I understand the type of reader I am, but I could identify many of the students in my Ct's classroom. I find myself identifying my reader type depending on what I'm reading, and what I'm interested in. If I am very interested in the story or content, I feel I am a literalist. I am able to break down all of the content, find the meaning, and have deep discussions on it. These are books that I'm interested in and read for pleasure, such as in my book club or for reading for enjoyment. I am a fuzzy or Quiz contestant type of reader if I am reading the material for academics and it is assigned to me. If I am forced to read it and it is not meaningful I identify with the term fuzzy or quiz contestant because I do not make connections with the content, and give okay responses that I will get credit for, and wait to discuss them in class. Unless I am interested or it is meaningful I am not a literalist reader. The students in my CT's class demonstrate author type of readers to me because they listen to the story lines but it seems they do not make connections with it and create their own story line of story details. As amusing as it is, I start to notice that maybe they aren't being creative, and are just not making a connection with the literary references.
These readings help me to understand the students in my classroom. I have noticed that their fun, creative, out of context answers are probably not them simply being creative, but them not understanding the context or directions. I don't think they are making connections to the readings because they are not meaningful or similar to their lives. I think that after these readings I will be able to help them make more meaningful contexts and connections. If I make the reading more important to them, maybe they will be more meaningful to them and easier for them to make a connection. Teachers who push and motivate their students with challenging discussion questions are more likely to have more advanced readers by stressing the importance in reading.
Lauren and Rose, do you find your CT is doing a good job engaging your students into the readings, and what type of readers do you see in your classroom?
I also found the articles to be very interesting and actually fun to read! I could relate to the different types of readers, and like you Gabe depending on what I was reading I seem to shift on what type of reader I am. Like you, when I read something for my own pleasure I find myself being a literalist. I like discussing books that I really enjoy with other people and get insight from them. However when I am forced to read for class and I do not fully enjoy the readings I find myself to also be fuzzy. Being forced to read definitely makes reading less enjoyable. I see this a lot of the students in my class. There are some students who simply dislike reading, and when they are forced to work on it you can see in their body language they are very unhappy and disengaged. I think its our job as teacher to help make reading enjoyable and an activity students want (or at least dont mind) to do.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both of you that it depends on the type of literature I am reading to be able to say which type of reader I am. I found it interesting in the Tompkins reading when he said that there are five key features of the reading process. These are: prereading, reading, responding, exploring, and applying. Within reading, there are many different types of reading such as: independent reading, buddy reading, guided reading, shared reading, reading aloud to students, popcorn reading, and more! I think it is awesome there are so many alternatives to simply reading alone, this makes it more enjoyable for kids.
ReplyDeleteAs for comprehension, Tierney defines it as a creative, multifaceted thinking process in which students engage with the text. Comprehension is very imperative to learning, for if a student is unable to comprhend what they are reading, they are not going to learn or remember anything from that reading.
When it comes to me, I am changing my type of comprehension all the time. Different factors that influence my comprehension are: the type of book I am reading, if it is for pleasure or work, if I am alert or not, plus more. It is easy for me to understand comprehension though very important to learn is not static and depends on many factors. If a student comprehends one story beautifully one day, that does not mean they are able to comprehend any other type of genre or any other book in the same genre for that matter.
Teachers too often ask recitation questions about the students readings, forcing them to memorize unimportant and disconnected facts. They should instead however, be askong questions that lend themselves to true discussions and higher order thinking. According to Applegate, questions such as these have several common characteristics such as: They do not lend themselves to a single correct response, answers to them must be justified logically by readers, and they encourage discussion and the acknowledgement of multiple viewpoints. Unfortunately, I rarely see this type of questioning by my CT in my placement. I assume Rose and Gabe you too do not see this higher level type of questioning...