RPI - Data Reflections - Do Students Enjoy Reading?

 Room 9s Data

Before the Data Collection

Like all wonderful teachers, when given a form, I checked it out and couldn't see anything missing. I thought there were many questions, but my next thought was that the RPI leaders know what they are doing, and it will provide good information.

1. Following this process, the question is 'Do Students Enjoy Reading?'

2. Using the profile survey we were able to collect data across the class, (3 other classes have completed RPI and I am interested in comparing results at another point in time).

3. Checking the data I found one student was super keen and submitted twice. 

4. Analysing the data with the students took time, especially with trying to get their thoughts. (My main statement was what can you see, there is no right or wrong answer).

5. Here I am sharing my findings which I have also done with my Principal and Class.

6. Act on the data will occur in stages: 

• Discuss specific answers with individuals
• Talk to students about what they would like to read more about
• Find books to increase reading enjoyment
• Encourage all students and talk about improvement not level

When I First Started Looking at the Data 

I realised I could compare Year 7 against Year 8 students, but I couldn't compare males against females. Legislative practice always involves comparing gender, ethnicity, and age. And although I didn't want to go too deep, I did want to see the variation between males and females. Then I thought, 'Do I include 'other' for the students who don't recognise themselves as male or female?' So I checked back to the Manaiakalani Student Survey and how they gathered this information.

Although this was an afterthought, my class was happy to just use the two main categories, making analysis easier. But it did bring up some interesting questions.

Do males actually know what reading entails when at home? Finding out how to set up the TV or PS5 all entails reading.

Having discussions with the different student groups and the principal, it was interesting to see their thoughts on the data. 

A couple of important facts to be aware of in Room 9 we currently have 24 students, 9 are Year 8 and 15 Year 7s. 13 of whom are female and 11 are male. (So glad they all add up to 24)😁

The Data

 

It was interesting even the student said wow what a lot of slides. I responded by explaining that we were doing them all in one day.

Check out our thoughts with each slide. But here is our summary of the data of the most interesting or pertinent points. 

Analysis of the Data

What I/we found out:

• Overall 30% of Room 9 don't like to read 
• More boys go to the library this could be because there are more graphic novels or a larger choice
• Wow, what a contrast 86% of Year 7s enjoy reading compared to 22% of Year 8s.
• 80% of students understand reading will help them, leaving 20% unsure how it helps. A conversation with students is necessary not to persuade them but to understand what they mean.
• The most common genres of books are fiction, comics and pictures
• A few students read a wide range of genres
• 50% of the class read at home on the way to bed or in the evening
• Over Summer more than 50% read a book a week
• What whanau thinks about a student's reading ability is similar to their belief in themselves.
• For goals, many thought understanding what they were reading was a priority

Questions the WE asked - 

• Why don't a third of the boys like reading?
• The boys who don't like reading at home are they the same as those who don't like to read at school?
• How do I get these non-readers into reading?
• How do we get more than 50% overall enjoying reading in Room 9?

Favourite Responses:

• I love reading and I can't stop
• I need help
• I only have feelings about the graphic novels and the images, not chapters book feel with words only
• To be able to Understand the Secret Meanings

Final Thoughts

The survey has given me a lot to think about and discuss with individual students. 

Following this process, the question is 'Do Students Enjoy Reading?'

Using the profile survey we were able to collect data and this will be interesting to see again mid-year and later in the year.

RPI 1 - Reading is Core

 Reading is Core - Day 1 - RPI

Like all good learners, it is important to know our focus/goals for the next nine sessions.

Dorothy - Scene setting

Reading, equity, and Life Outcomes stem from the ability to read. We need to confront the effects of poor reading because students must be able to read to access the entire curriculum and continue learning throughout life. Unfortunately, when individuals are unable or are less confident readers, this can lead to various issues across the community. Merely discussing the average reader or reading age overlooks the extremes, and this is where our focus needs to be.

On many occasions, Rebecca Jensen has spoken to us about acceleration and how it is not just about achieving and getting students to where they deserve to be. It's not simply moving at the same rate as everyone else. Dorothy's example of a travelator and walking along it while others walk along the path. Rowing the waka together.

Students can make great gains in a year, but this progress needs to continue year after year! 👌

The Manaiakalani Team consistently stays up to date with the ministry and government changes to ensure that what they offer teachers is relevant and practical, enabling teachers to implement best practices.

What Makes a Good Reader?

If learners are not engaged, they are not learning to their full potential. 

Imagine a driver not engaged in what they are doing. OMG

Richard Johnston on Reading Across the Curriculum

Reading doesn't just occur within the confines of a reading class; it happens across the entire curriculum. The most effective learners develop their reading skills through a variety of methods.

He uses the example of planting beans.

• Reading the bean packet
• Jack and the Beanstalk
• Ways to help beans grow
• Journal stories on growing vegetables

Once learners have read about a topic, they can then write about it.

The language used in academia differs from that found in fiction. Reading non-fiction texts presents a distinct challenge compared to reading fiction, as it requires understanding technical terms, especially in subjects such as science and social studies, before one can derive enjoyment from the reading experience. This is also important as teachers that we have a shared understanding of the terms we are using.

Case Study

We looked at a case study by Robyn Anderson, her focus was on improving reading for enjoyment. 

A few ideas that resonated with me included

• Book Chain - My learners are already starting to share their thoughts about what they have read, and this is taking it to the next level.
• Leaders in the Library - Tuakana/Teina, the idea of older students reading to younger learners at lunch. Utilising the open library.
• Reading Challenge - A range of different 'Create' activities for learners to choose from.

Robyn also explained how she used the results in a math lesson. Students studied them to draw conclusions and apply their reading ideas to math, and their findings to reading, especially as they can see themselves as part of the data.

Discussion about Text

It's important to establish ground rules for discussions. We all have different ways of participating in discussions due to our culture and home life, such as

• Speaking over one another, 
• Avoiding difficult conversations by changing the subject
• Remaining silent

These ground rules for the class are important and need to be explicitly taught and reinforced. Students can even report back on how well they think their group did.

Example from Reading Practice Intensive.

Looking at the Research

I looked at the National Reading Panel Report

For many years, the reading comprehension practice and instruction provided in schools have focused heavily on the reading of literature texts alone (Duke, 2000; Venezky, 1982). The problem with that approach, due to the big differences between literature and exposition, is that students cannot easily generalize these literature-reading skills to science or social studies.

When teaching comprehension, students cannot be struggling with decoding, as this is where their headspace will be. Building an understanding of characters and relationships, plot, structure, and how episodes interconnect is important. Reading comprehension practice and instruction provided in school have heavily focused on the reading of literature. Reading in science and social studies, which uses exposition texts and skills, is not easily transferred. We need to teach both genres and ways to understand them.

Here is an example of reading across the curriculum:

Where to from Here -

In returning to class I want to use the Student Survey to find out more about my class as readers. Then establish Ground rules for all discussions. With the students self-evaluating their discussion group. As they are Year 7-8 I think this will be a great reflection tool for them (Although I think they are the best class ever 😃). We are also looking at graphing so having the class read the graphs and purposefully read during maths to find trends and solutions will be interesting.

These are the Pillars of Practice Manaiakalani has established. The Green squares indicate what I believe I am successful with the blue are areas I would like to be more successful in. I am looking forward to seeing how this looks at the end of the RPI.