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Encouraging Reflective and Critical Thinking during Silent Reading: An Action Research Project in a Grade 2/3 Classroom.
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | Webster, Jennifer A. |
| Copyright Year | 2004 |
| Abstract | In this action research project, undertaken in a Grade 2/3 classroom, I posed the question: How can I encourage the readers in my class to become reflective and critical thinkers as they read? My aim was to support students in becoming reflective about what they read as well as about the strategies they used while reading, and to support the students in becoming critical thinkers about how they could improve their current reading strategies and understanding of the text. A particular activity upon which I focused was silent reading time. As I modelled strategies, discussed with individual students their skills and how they could improve, directed their thinking with questions, and provided support (such as scribing for struggling writers), I found that the students became much more engaged in their reading and provided thoughtful written and/or oral answers and comments after reading. The students also performed well on the provincial Grade 3 test during which they read and reread the text carefully and provided detailed answers. Introduction The art of teaching and the act of learning are intertwined. As the teacher creates learning opportunities for the students, s/he then reflects upon and critically analyses these opportunities in terms of their outcome, both intended and realised. The teacher, in turn, can then learn how to be a more effective teacher in the face of the individuality and complexity of the learners in the classroom. Viewing teaching and learning as two activities that go hand in hand in a kind of symbiotic relationship allows me to imagine things differently. It is not necessary for me to rely solely on external guidance or to feel trapped in a particular method or tradition. My own experiences (both inside and outside the classroom), combined with creative and critical thinking, brings my teaching to the level of an art I imagine possibilities, search for deeper understanding, build knowledge, and then create varied and respectful learning environments in which each individual feels valued and cared for as they learn. The journey from words on a page, whether in curriculum documents or the above philosophical understanding, to action in a classroom takes many twists and turns. Action research is one means of professional development that makes the journey one of discovery and excitement. There is no doubt that teaching within the educational system as it is today and has been for many decades is a great challenge, full of obstacles and unrealistic expectations. How can we possibly meet the individual needs of students, scaffolding instruction in order to carry them effortlessly from one level of understanding or skill to the next, when we have such a range of skills and abilities within one classroom? It is an impossible task, but we forge ahead in any case, doing the best we can. And my salvation in terms of professional development has been action research. The particular action research project I would like to share with you was conducted during a year of teaching a Grade 2/3 class. Over the previous few years, the literacy levels of students in Ontario had become a focus of the provincial government, Boards of Education and individual schools. At my particular school, the primary team had already begun to examine their literacy practices and were well on their way to embracing a ‘balanced literacy’ approach from Kindergarten through to Grade 3. We had levelled many of the books in our classrooms according to Fountas and Pinnell (1999), purchased new resources that were levelled by the publishers, and read professional literature and attended workshops that suggested ways of implementing a block of time devoted to literacy. As I began to learn much more about the development of reading and writing skills through professional reading and my experiences with students, I became very aware of the difference between being able to read words on a page and being able to truly comprehend and construct meaning from the text. |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| Volume Number | 7 |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://oar.nipissingu.ca/PDFS/V723.pdf |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
