Overview:

To better familiarize myself with my students, I conducted a project in which I administered a reading survey to my 11th grade students and I interviewed other English teachers at Bentonville High School to elicit their perceptions of students’ strengths and limitations of readers. The goal of my project was to evaluate students’ strengths and limitations as readers, both inside and outside of school, as well as teachers’ attitudes toward teaching literature. Moreover, my main goal was to gain insight into their preferred genres and modes of reading inside and outside of school, their views on previous and current literature instruction, their perceptions of what would motivate them to read more often, and their viewpoints on what distinguishes a “poor” reader from a “proficient” reader.

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The Survey:

In order to understand my students’ experiences with (and perceptions of) reading, I administered a survey to one of my on-level English classes, and this consisted of 10 closed and open-ended questions. This survey was administered to my students via Google Classroom.

 

I also sat down with other English teachers to get their thoughts on Bentonville’s literature curriculum and resources, their rationale for teaching literature, their preferred methods of assessment, and their perceptions of what students’ strengths and weaknesses are in relation to reading. This interview consisted of 10 open-ended questions.

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My Findings:

In conducting this research, one common thread that emerged from my students was their thoughts on what made a “good” reader. The majority of students surveyed expressed that good readers will actively engage in a story, primarily through analyzation. I think that this attitude is due to English teachers’ emphasis on literary analysis. This is something that I have not only experienced as a student, but it is a skill that is most often taught in my students’ classes. What was interesting, however, was that this was not something necessarily that English teachers believed made a good reader. In fact, one teacher who was interviewed stressed that good readers are those who read often and early.

 

Another finding that grew out of my research was the disconnect between what teachers felt the aim for teaching literature was and why it’s important to teach literature, and the way students felt about what they read in school. Teachers surveyed communicated that literature was important so students could make personal connections to what they read. Moreover, teachers shared their belief that reading literature provided students with opportunities to learn and gain empathy toward those who are different from them. Students, however, did not see it this way. They felt, for the most part, that what they read in school did support their learning, but only because reading could help them with learning skills necessary for college. I believe that although students know that literature can be intrinsically valuable, they see this value as something that would only help them in regard to college or more advanced English courses. I believe that students would benefit from instruction that not only prepares them for college, but instruction that also emphasizes empathy and understanding of others.

 

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Implications:

After reflecting upon my findings, I believe there is a gap between what we want students to gain from reading literature and what they believe literature can offer them. My own thoughts echo what I heard every English teacher say: literature cultivates empathy, and has the ability to empower students. In order to impart this to students, to truly make literature relevant to their lives, I fully believe that students should be given instruction that precisely communicates why learning literature is valuable, whether or not college is something they wish to pursue.

 

As I am transitioning to taking over the classroom full-time, I know that my planning and teaching must change to include more than just analyzation of a text; it must include time for students to create text-to-self and text-to-world connections. Although I believe analyzation is a critical skill in literature, I know that I want to incorporate instruction that stresses what students can learn from literature, rather than simply focusing upon an author’s craft. To do this, I believe one of the first steps is to incorporate student choice. This is something that Bentonville stresses, as the English department expressed that it creates a sort of buy-in for their students. If students feel as though they have a choice in what they read, it will in fact seem more relevant to their lives. Students given a choice, I believe, are more likely to associate reading as a lifelong actively, rather than something they are resigned to do only in school. In fact, most teachers at Bentonville that have incorporated student choice have seen the positive effects; students are much more engaged and read more frequently.

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I also want to plan frequent conversations, whether in the form of writing, or through the use of dialogic tools such as fishbowl conversations or Socratic Circles where students are able to express what they are learning from their respective books and how that book has changed or strengthened previously held opinions. These discussions will be accompanied by research into real-world topics that relate to their books, such as the judicial system, racism, sexism, or anything relevant to the text they are reading. I believe that multimodal texts, such as videos, art, and images incorporated into my lessons could help students understand the value of literature, rather than focusing on printed text as the only resource taught in my classroom. Furthermore, I believe that students should feel empowered after they read a text, and I want to allow for students to have the opportunity to create a variety of ways to demonstrate their understanding, whether it be through a traditional essay, recording a podcast, creating a piece of art, or designing a research project to present to their community.

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Conclusion:

It is imperative to me that students are able to see themselves in literature, and I know that giving students access to materials that both mirror and provide windows is something I must stress when teaching. I believe that surveying students is something I must do every year as a teacher, as I know that students should feel supported and engaged in academic learning. I think that taking the time to learn about what reading materials my students access is integral to my instruction. Surveys provide an opportunity to inform my planning so that I can find ways to blend students’ interest, culture, and choice into the classroom. Having the chance to administer this survey to get to know my students gave me the opportunity to understand my students more deeply, and to see them beyond just the context of my classroom.