Reading Comprehension

Task Discussion

• 
  Anonym   July 10, 2012, 2:19 p.m.

  I think reading is critical in teaching writing at all levels.  I am currently struggling with this in my own courses.  CUNY has a system-wide exit examination out of basic writing (math, and also reading).  The exit exam from writing is a 90 minute exam writing in response to text--usually a provocative or interesting article on a contemporary topic published in a magazine or newspaper.

  This examination is MUCH BETTER than our old examination which required students to essentially make up evidence about a civic or educational topic.  

  In the new exam, they are reading and using textual evidence as part of their argument.

  I'm struggling in particular because I used to theme my course around a particular idea (e.g. "You Are What You Eat," "Imagining America," "The CyberPlanet."  In those courses, I chose a highly readable, engaging text (usually a novel) as the center of the course.  By the end of the course, students had finished reading the book and had written several essays on the topic.  Some of the books I taught were Esmeralda Santiago's When I Was Puerto Rican, Max Berry's Jennifer Government, Leslie Marmon Silko's Ceremony, and Edwidge Danticat's Krik? Krak.  Lately, however, I've found that this approach puts my students at a distinct disadvantage because their reading topic at the end of the semester could be on any topic.  So, I've been using essays from the New York Times, Atlantic Monthly, and other periodicals for students' essay assignments.  I find with this approach, that students are much less able to dig deeply into a topic developing real heft and engagement.

  With my newer approach, I have students keep a reading log where they diagram articles into parts to determine the main ideas and main evidence used in the article.  In addition to this reading log, they have to read outside of class on a topic or topic(s) of their choosing and log those as well.  In the begining of the semester, we use these logs as notes for writing essays.  Later in the term, most students are able to do this in one session--reading an article and responding to it--during a timed task.

  I'm interested to hear how others are working with reading in their classrooms!

  Liz

• 
  Rhonda Traylor   July 10, 2012, 4:13 p.m.
  In Reply To:   Anonym   July 10, 2012, 2:19 p.m.

  Hi Liz,

  So many of my students have no idea how to approach writing a position paper, one of the important papers written in regular college courses.  In reading, I try to use articles from Time, Newsweek, The New York Times, or any other current relevant source. In doing this, we use informational text that appeals to them. I like articles where students have to take a side. We then play "Four Corners", a game where students must take a position, strongly for, for, strongly against, or against.  Students take notes on the arguments made and it gives them a starting point for their papers. Oral discussion greatly increases students' written work.

  Just one of the things we do in our class to make reading and writing work, together.

  Rhonda

• 
  Malkiel Choseed   July 10, 2012, 9:53 p.m.
  In Reply To:   Anonym   July 10, 2012, 2:19 p.m.

  Your post made me think about just exactly what is that we want students to be able to do with their literacy skills in our classrooms.  I think what I poorly expressed in my earlier post was related to this but not very clear.  We should be able to assume basic literacy, competency in the majority of tasks that were listed 1-10.  What we can do as college teachers is help cultivate an ability to read analytically and critically.

• 
  Julie Lemley   July 11, 2012, 3:23 p.m.
  In Reply To:   Anonym   July 10, 2012, 2:19 p.m.

  I believe your approach to expose students to a wider variety of texts is a good idea. I try to incorporate a variety of texts which are relevant, but as you stated, students often do not seem to develop any depth into a topic. Do you think it has is in direct relation to the vocabulary used and how much of it they do or do not truly comprehend?

• 
  Anonym   July 13, 2012, 5:39 a.m.
  In Reply To:   Julie Lemley   July 11, 2012, 3:23 p.m.

  Hi Julie,

   

  Definitely.  One part of the reading logs I have students keep is focused on vocabulary.  They do not regularly work on vocabulary improvement.  So, I think reading comprehension is often a huge issue. 

   

  Liz

• 
  Ruth Rominger   July 10, 2012, 12:16 p.m.

  Joseph shared this in his introduction pertinent to our Reading discussion: 

   

  This charrette will be helpful as I work with students struggling to balance information literacy and close,critical reading.  Some students have experienced reading to find responses to multiple-choice questions and abandon the text after finding the answers. 

  Moreover, students struggle to transition from what they read to how a text communicates a message. 

  We are introducing strategies and routines for students to adopt as the read and write to learn, include self-regulation and metacognition.

  The book How Learning Works: Seven Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching (2010) has been helpful for discussions among faculty on student learning in higher education: 

  http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0470484101.html 

  I recommend reading the sample Chapter 1, which provides a vignette on prior learning with methods and strategies to use in the classroom. 

  Your ideas and suggestions are welcome.

  Sincerely,

      Joseph  (R. Joseph Rodriquez)

• 
  Rhonda Traylor   July 11, 2012, 3:47 a.m.
  In Reply To:   Ruth Rominger   July 10, 2012, 12:16 p.m.

  In reading chapter one of How Learning Works, two important concepts spoke to me: assessment and relevancy.  As teachers do we really know what our students when they come into our classrooms or are we assuming what they know? Whether our students have taken the Accuplacer or some other evaluatory tool to placed in DEV we still must create our own formative assessment to gain information on where each student is, the accurate, inaccurate, or inappropriate knowledge they come in the door with.   Can you aid in activating prior knowledge if you don't know what that knowlege is? Probably, but it sure would help to have a starting point.

  Assessing what students know is more easily done when the context used is relevant to the students.  When context is relevant, students are triggered to work at a higher level of thinking thereby gaining "ownership" of the knowledge enabling application and creative thinking.

  I found this chart on many different websites. I liked this one because it was in color

• 
  Rhonda Traylor   July 11, 2012, 3:48 a.m.
  In Reply To:   Rhonda Traylor   July 11, 2012, 3:47 a.m.

  The chart did not appear, not sure why! Here's a link http://wvde.state.wv.us/teach21/thebigpicture/OutcomeIncreasedContentRigor.htm.

• 
  Julie Lemley   July 11, 2012, 4:48 p.m.
  In Reply To:   Rhonda Traylor   July 11, 2012, 3:47 a.m.

  After reading this chapter, I think what becomes clarified is that just because something was taught doesn't mean it was learned. I can't tell you how many times I think to myself that learners at a particular level should have particular skills or knowledge. While it may be true that they should - the reality is that often they are at various levels of knowledge. I begin wondering why they don't have the knowledge or skills they should - and how far back we need to go to ensure this doesn't continue to happen.

  One thought which has come to mind often in the last few years is that learners through 3rd grade are learning to read, and afterward, are reading to learn. It becomes obvious when dealing with progressive grade levels that it isn't always happening. I personally believe if a learner is not reading proficiently at the end of the 3rd grade that it needs to be addressed before the learner can advance to the next grade. Potentially, if we devote more of our resources with those first few years to assure proficiency, we will not have to utilize resources to bridge that gap later on. Literacy is the basis of all other subjects to a large degree, and I think we would see much less need for remediation as learners progress through high school (as they are moving toward the collegiate level). Maybe this line of thinking is too simplistic - and maybe not.

  When my youngest (now 14 and entering high school this fall) had finished kindergarten, her teacher advised us to put her into Summer Reading Academy, as her reading skills were not quite where she thought they should be. My response was an emphatic "yes" - as my logic was that right at that moment, the problem was small: the smaller the problem, the easier to fix. She did go to Summer Reading Academy - and received reinforcement through the first grade and her reading skills are great!

  While we still have to deal with the disparity in ability we see, I think we also need to put thought and effort toward minimizing the disparity so it isn't as much of an issue by the time a learner leaves high school to attend college..

• 
  Ruth Rominger   July 10, 2012, 12:04 p.m.

  Developmental English: Reading Comprehension

  In looking across the changing landscape of standards/skills/competencies proposed for students graduating high school, the college placement exams, association frameworks, and state-based adult education criteria, we are all faced with the challenge of figuring out just what a common set of learning objectives should be for Developmental English courses today.

  For example,  one common college placement exams test these six "reading" skills students need to be prepared from college level courses:

  • œ Recognizing main ideas 
  • œ Identifying supporting details 
  • œ Recognizing implied main ideas and the central point 
  • œ Understanding relationships that involve addition and time 
  • œ Understanding relationships that involve illustration, comparison or contrast, and cause 
  • and effect. 
  • œ Understanding purpose and tone 

   

  The other common placement exam tests these skills:

  • Finding the Main Idea  
  • Vocabulary: Word Meaning and Context  
  • Supporting Details 
  • Inferences  
  • Implied Main Ideas and Central Points   

   

  The new Common Core (6-12) Anchor Standards for Reading include:

  Key Ideas and Details

  • 1. Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
  • 2. Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.
  • 3. Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.

  Craft and Structure

  • 4. Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.
  • 5. Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (e.g., a section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole.
  • 6. Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.

  Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

  • 7. Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse formats and media, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.¹
  • 8. Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of the reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.
  • 9. Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take.

  Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity

  • 10. Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently.

   

  MY QUESTION IS:  What are the key competencies students need to be able to continue their post secondary education?

  For this charrette, we are assuming our student population has not aquired the sufficient skills to place or succeed in a college level English course. 

   

• 
  Malkiel Choseed   July 10, 2012, 2:23 p.m.
  In Reply To:   Ruth Rominger   July 10, 2012, 12:04 p.m.

  The question was asked in the introduction section about what are the differences between a Dev Ed class and a standard FYC.  I think this is a similiarly tough question to quantify.  I suppose one way to answer it (perhaps unsatisfactorily) is to say that when students are starting college level work, they need to be able to read 'critically.'   

  Ideally, we would to be able to assume that reading for comprehension, main idea, etc. is done at a level of basic competency.  I know this is not always the case.  By reading critically, I mean that students have to be prepared to go under the surface of words, to start to read with and against the author.

  One text I really like is Bartholomae and Petrofsky's Ways of Reading.  The introduction is very sharp and available online in some places (not vouching for the legality of those sites - the one below is the publsihers).

  http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/Catalog/product/waysofreading-ninthedition-bartholomae

   The text is very sophisticated, but was originally intended for Dev Ed classes in Reading and English.  I've had colleagues tell me that they thought it was above the heads of our Community College students, but  I regularly teach it with great success in my FYC as well as sometimes in DEv Ed.  Essentially, the authors posit that reading, writing, and thinking are all linked activities.

• 
  Anonym   July 10, 2012, 2:25 p.m.
  In Reply To:   Ruth Rominger   July 10, 2012, 12:04 p.m.

  Hi Ruth,

  To begin their post secondary education (placing into composition one, right after basic writing), I think they need:

   

  1, 2, 5, 6, 7.  

   

  They are all very important skills and I'd love to see all entering first year students have all of the skills, but if I have to choose the ones that I think they need first (and am assuming hopefully, they will develop over time) and then mature in those skills as they gain others.

   

  Liz

• 
  Michael Damian Jeter   July 10, 2012, 3:25 p.m.
  In Reply To:   Ruth Rominger   July 10, 2012, 12:04 p.m.

  My own response is that I wouold like FYC students to be able to identify *A* main idea and defend their choice by showing how idea X is a main idea. I use this phrasing becasue in my experience, the idea of "main idea" is actually subjective.

  Rather than ask what is THE main idea, a more interesting question is what did YOU get out of the reading and Why - why do YOU(the student) see this idea as important?

• 
  Rhonda Traylor   July 10, 2012, 3:58 p.m.
  In Reply To:   Ruth Rominger   July 10, 2012, 12:04 p.m.

  Number 10 is the key to being able to be successful in post secondary education. The reading level of our students has been drastically lowered. Lowered reading levels decrease vocabulary exposure and students therefore struggle with higher level texts.  Since most students take maybe one or two literature courses, informational text must be comprehended independently to ensure success. 

  Number 8 enables students to develop written responses to text. It also enables them to create their own argument in favor of or in juxtaposition to the text..  Students must be able to decipher what is being said and who is saying it.

  Students can be parrots or they can be thinkers. We need to create thinkers who can apply the knowledge they can through reading, and reading well.

• 
  nabb   July 11, 2012, 8:10 a.m.
  In Reply To:   Ruth Rominger   July 10, 2012, 12:04 p.m.

  I have been thinking things through as we discuss the differences First Year Composition and Developmental English/Reading Courses and think that a big part of the challenge is that we often use language that makes the students feel that they are deficit, e.g. "has not acquired the sufficient skills".   Whether we mean to or not, when we refer to our students and their performance in this way we are playing into all the negative aspects of the affective domain of learning that was referenced in "A Review of Research".   Sometimes it is not the Developmental English/Reading Faculty who perpetuate this negativity, but the faculty in the content areas. 

  What I like most about the suggested Reading Comprehension Common Core is that the outcomes are not merely knowledge-based.  The sample Common Core provides a rigorous set of expectations that could easily be expected of and beneficial to all students, not just students who test into a developmental class. 

• 
  Michael Damian Jeter   July 11, 2012, 9:48 a.m.
  In Reply To:   nabb   July 11, 2012, 8:10 a.m.

  I agree that the language we use is important, and like you, I try never to remind my students that the class is Developmental. In a similar way, I tell my FYC students that all classes are "developmental" - the student and teacher, hopefully, never cease developing.

  With this in mind, though the texts may be different, my approaches in the different classes are often the same - reading that challenges, writing that analyzes, expresses, and argues.

• 
  nabb   July 11, 2012, 10:43 a.m.
  In Reply To:   Michael Damian Jeter   July 11, 2012, 9:48 a.m.

  Michael, 

  So true!   I try to foster a community of learners in my classes.   The community does not always come together as seamlessly as I would like, but they get that we're all in this together.  

  One thing I do  to set the goal of where we are going is that I set my last assignment as something similar to the first assignment I would use in to the credit class or the next class in the dev ed sequence   It gives them an idea of what we are working towards from the beginning of the class.   They can directly see how the assignments and skills we are working on support them on their journey towards that assignment and the next class.  And they support each other on that journey.

  I do the same thing when I teach a credit composition class.   The final assignment is always a lead in to what they will be expected to do in the next class -- whether that course is a lit-based compostion course, a research-based composition course, or a WAC/WIC course in their major.

  It helps us all see the bigger picture. 

• 
  Michael Damian Jeter   July 11, 2012, 11:09 a.m.
  In Reply To:   nabb   July 11, 2012, 10:43 a.m.

  Teaching in anticipation of the next class is also an approach I use. Were we on Facebook, I would simply click "like." I am wary of introducing "research" too soon, preferring Developmental classes write more reflectively("YOU are the source(s)"), first semester FYC's to limit their sources to the common texts of the class, allowing for/demanding of close readings, since the texts and its questions provide the basis for papers, and 2nd semesters to use formal "research" using texts not common to the class as a whole, but specific to particular problems/topics. I have a suspicion that my preferences may be out of line/out of date with the profession.
• 
  nabb   July 11, 2012, 11:22 a.m.
  In Reply To:   Michael Damian Jeter   July 11, 2012, 11:09 a.m.

  Agreed.  It is a fine balance, and you don't want to overwhelm students.  I wouldn't say that you are out of date/line.  Just a supportive, caring instructor.

  My final assignments are not an exact copy, nor do I use the exact same rubric.   But I do show them the assignment and the rubric that would be applied to their work in the next course.  We use all the critical reading and thinking skills we've talked about all semester to think through the assignment and decode what is expected of them for the first assignment next time around. 

  Then, I share the final assignment for the current course.  Most are relieved that it's "easier" -- fewer pages, fewer sources, fewer something.  It might still be a reflective piece or an expository piece, or something else.  That all depends on the focus of the program I am teaching in.  But, they would see the connection to what is to come next semester.   For example, I might require students to include citations for all reflections on the reading -- where in the text made you think/feel/react that way and try their hand at writing citations.  I emphasize that they'll learn more about citing and incorporating sources in the next class.  I'm not grading them on those expectations in the same way (or perhaps at all) as I would be for the next course.   I just want them to give it a try, get my feedback, and have a better idea of what they'll be expected to do and why they might need to reach out to those resources -- like a writing/learning center or the faculty office hours -- we've been talking about and promoting all semester.   

• 
  Julie Lemley   July 11, 2012, 1:44 p.m.
  In Reply To:   Ruth Rominger   July 10, 2012, 12:04 p.m.

  Ruth -

  While in a perfect world, FYC students would have a reasonable command of the entire skill set, the reality is that there is great disparity in their ability. Last semester, for example, of my online high school students, I had 5 seniors: 1 who had low ability, 3 of AP caliber, and 1 average ability student (I don't like the "labels" - but it is only in an attempt to differentiate the levels of general ability). Only one student demonstrated command of the full skill set before going to college. I often get the impression from the work submitted that many only read what they feel they need to in order to "get by" and have great difficulty making inferences and supporting conclusions. Additionally, I often find they struggle with evaluating arguments. Of the skill set, rather than choose, I would prefer to rank them in terms of most needed first:

  10, 7, 1, 2, 4, 8, 9, 3, 5, 6.

  Given there can often be so much writing in college, they need to have a solid command of these skills. I will be making some changes in my Creative Writing Course to include exercises in grammer, sentence structure, paragraph structure, etc. because of the disparity of ability I consistently see. It is my goal to help them become better readers (Creative Writing doesn't mean writing mechanics are disregarded!) and better writers.

• 
  Julie Lemley   July 11, 2012, 1:58 p.m.
  In Reply To:   Rhonda Traylor   July 10, 2012, 3:58 p.m.

  Rhonda,

  10 was my first choice as well. My favorite quote is:

   The aim of education should be to teach us rather how to think, than what to think -- rather to improve our minds, so as to enable us to think for ourselves, than to load the memory with the thoughts of other men.  - Bill Beattie

  One only needs a parrot to hear what he/she thinks!

• 
  Julie Lemley   July 11, 2012, 2:01 p.m.
  In Reply To:   Michael Damian Jeter   July 10, 2012, 3:25 p.m.

  Michael,

  When you use that approach, what type of results are generated? Are there any responses that would not qualify?

• 
  Julie Lemley   July 11, 2012, 3:03 p.m.
  In Reply To:   nabb   July 11, 2012, 11:22 a.m.

  You mentioned the use of rubrics - which I am a major fan of. I have been experimenting with different rubrics, as I want it to be clear and concise as to what the expectations are, but what I seem to encounter all too often is that they don't seem to follow the rubric. I also provide similar examples (so they don't all write about the same thing based on an example I provided). One of the most common things I encounter is simply not reading directions.

• 
  Rhonda Traylor   July 11, 2012, 3:32 p.m.
  In Reply To:   Julie Lemley   July 11, 2012, 1:58 p.m.

  Great quote Julie! There are enough parrots out there; we surely don't need anymore.

• 
  nabb   July 11, 2012, 4:26 p.m.
  In Reply To:   Julie Lemley   July 11, 2012, 3:03 p.m.

  Julie, 

  I build the rubrics into the class conversation.   For the first assignment we spend a lot of class time going over the assignment and what a rubric is.   I ask them about rubrics they might be aware of or more familiar with outside of class -- employee performance evaluatino scales, ratemyprofessor.com, sport statistics, consumer guides  -- and what the role of a rubric is.   We move to past experiences with rubrics in the classroom.   And then to a discussion of our rubric. 

  The first assignment, I use a rubric I create.   We talk through the rubric and how those expectations connect with the assignment and the course outcomes.  

  As we move through the assignments, rubrics become more and more collaborative.   Students contribute the expectations, and sometimes they are tougher on themselves than I would be.   They begin to build the connectionss between the course outcomes and the assignments.  And if they do not do well, they created the rubric with/for me.   They may disagree with how I applied the rubric, but that's an entirely different conversation, and one they usually persuade me to see their perspective and positively impact their final assignment grade, than the conversations I had when I set the rubrics alone or used open source rubrics. 

  I don't start off with them actively engaged in the rubric development process and including them in the process does take a lot of time, but I think it is time well spent.