As a high school teacher, I spend all day with students. When I'm not teaching them, I'm usually observing them, grading their work, or engaging in some sort of conversation/activity. Through these interactions, I've been able to determine their overall work habits and research skills. The demographics of my students are fairly even in that most of them come from low socioeconomic backgrounds. My students are struggling readers and also qualify under the category of learning disabled and high risk. This means that approximately 78% of my students have some sort of learning disability that hinders them from either reading well, writing well, or both. I teach all ninth grade students, but that doesn't mean my students read on the ninth grade level. On average, they are at a middle school reading level, and a small percentage of them are even lower. And then there are an even smaller percentage of students who are repeaters. This means they are repeating English I for the second or possibly third time. Needless to say, my students' research skills fall into place with the process Mr. Carr described in his article. While research is not an actual ninth grade SC English standard, I still make my students do small amounts of research and expository writing throughout the school year. Below, I have broken done how their style of research compares with my own, and what this would mean if these students hypothetically wound up in an online classroom environment.
Similarities: Power Browsing and Skimming from Source to Source
There is no doubt that my tendency to skim through sources is the same as that of my students. Many of the sources available to them on a certain topic are way above their reading level in the first place, so they will take one look at a page of information, and if it looks too difficult, they will toss it to the side and move on. Also, most of my students start with a database like I describe doing. Of course, their database is Google where mine is more scholarly, but the concept is the still the same. I do spend several days explaining the importance of finding reliable secondary sources, so they do devote a small amount of time looking at the original source. For example, we do a research project on Greek gods and goddesses during our Odyssey unit. Whenever I take them to the computer lab or checkout Chromebooks, they immediately bring up Google and type in their assigned deity. From there, I can guarantee I will see thirty hands shoot up, waiting patiently for me to come by and give the "okay" on sources. My desire is to one day break them of this co-dependency and force them to ask the appropriate questions when deciding on a source's reliability.
Differences: Reading Critically and Reading for Details
One major difference between how I research and how my students research are critical reading skills. Reading for details and finding evidence to support an argument are skills my students severely lack. Their age and knowledge of the "digital world" enables them to browse online sources quickly and efficiently, however; their processing and learning disabilities hinders them from isolating passages and then transferring them onto paper in order to support an argument. Some of them overcome this obstacle, but many of them do not, and have to learn to compensate for their disability. That's where I come in as a teacher. It's my job to figure out how to modify and adjust assignments based on students' needs and abilities. Warnock mentions things in his book that can be applied to this concept of
What's Effective:
The ability to locate information quickly and efficiently is effective for both my students and myself. What needs to be tweeked is where information comes from and how it can be applied to a topic. I am able to gather large amounts of information, wade through it, and isolate the best sources. But I'm a graduate student, not a high school student. This is the largest disconnect between how I research and how my students research. There needs to be a bridge that connects the gap between gathering digital information and then using it, and I think this can be taught through an online learning environment in the same way it's taught in a f2f classroom.
What this means for online teaching:
Online courses can be a valuable thing for students like mine. In my opinion, there are lots of accommodations available on the online environment that can help learning disabled students or students with lower reading abilities. For example, podcasts, visual presentations, and recordings can all be posted in a virtual classroom. These would be helpful for students who need to hear instructions multiple times because they can always go back and rewind an replay again. You cannot rewind a teacher, and if a student is shy or embarrassed, he or she may not ask for a teacher to repeat information. Also, Warnock talks about "chunking" information in the textbook, which is piecing together important elements of a subject in easily manageable portions. I utilize "chunking" in my own classroom, by breaking down assignments into smaller parts. Finally, an online course gives the opportunity to work at your own pace. This could allow students like mine to go back and work on assignments in parts, and also keep them focused on one element at a time. Finally, the flipped classroom can be a GREAT tool for students like me. Videoing an assignment and showing examples with minimal distractions would be ideal for those with attention or processing difficulties. A flipped assignment would allow students to review it over and over again while receiving "direct" instruction. Overall, I think online teaching can be an asset to students with disabilities if the right teacher is prepared.
Below is a link from a book I received when I joined ASCD my first year teaching. Unfortunately, I have let my membership expire due to the expense, but this book has been valuable to me since I received my first batch of reluctant readers. I think Ms. Tankersly does an excellent job addressing high school needs. So many supplementary texts that are available focus solely on younger readers, but this one is different. The link takes you to chapter 1, which gives you a good overview of what my students are like. Enjoy!
http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/104428/chapters/The-Struggling-Reader.aspx
Similarities: Power Browsing and Skimming from Source to Source
There is no doubt that my tendency to skim through sources is the same as that of my students. Many of the sources available to them on a certain topic are way above their reading level in the first place, so they will take one look at a page of information, and if it looks too difficult, they will toss it to the side and move on. Also, most of my students start with a database like I describe doing. Of course, their database is Google where mine is more scholarly, but the concept is the still the same. I do spend several days explaining the importance of finding reliable secondary sources, so they do devote a small amount of time looking at the original source. For example, we do a research project on Greek gods and goddesses during our Odyssey unit. Whenever I take them to the computer lab or checkout Chromebooks, they immediately bring up Google and type in their assigned deity. From there, I can guarantee I will see thirty hands shoot up, waiting patiently for me to come by and give the "okay" on sources. My desire is to one day break them of this co-dependency and force them to ask the appropriate questions when deciding on a source's reliability.
Differences: Reading Critically and Reading for Details
One major difference between how I research and how my students research are critical reading skills. Reading for details and finding evidence to support an argument are skills my students severely lack. Their age and knowledge of the "digital world" enables them to browse online sources quickly and efficiently, however; their processing and learning disabilities hinders them from isolating passages and then transferring them onto paper in order to support an argument. Some of them overcome this obstacle, but many of them do not, and have to learn to compensate for their disability. That's where I come in as a teacher. It's my job to figure out how to modify and adjust assignments based on students' needs and abilities. Warnock mentions things in his book that can be applied to this concept of
What's Effective:
The ability to locate information quickly and efficiently is effective for both my students and myself. What needs to be tweeked is where information comes from and how it can be applied to a topic. I am able to gather large amounts of information, wade through it, and isolate the best sources. But I'm a graduate student, not a high school student. This is the largest disconnect between how I research and how my students research. There needs to be a bridge that connects the gap between gathering digital information and then using it, and I think this can be taught through an online learning environment in the same way it's taught in a f2f classroom.
What this means for online teaching:
Online courses can be a valuable thing for students like mine. In my opinion, there are lots of accommodations available on the online environment that can help learning disabled students or students with lower reading abilities. For example, podcasts, visual presentations, and recordings can all be posted in a virtual classroom. These would be helpful for students who need to hear instructions multiple times because they can always go back and rewind an replay again. You cannot rewind a teacher, and if a student is shy or embarrassed, he or she may not ask for a teacher to repeat information. Also, Warnock talks about "chunking" information in the textbook, which is piecing together important elements of a subject in easily manageable portions. I utilize "chunking" in my own classroom, by breaking down assignments into smaller parts. Finally, an online course gives the opportunity to work at your own pace. This could allow students like mine to go back and work on assignments in parts, and also keep them focused on one element at a time. Finally, the flipped classroom can be a GREAT tool for students like me. Videoing an assignment and showing examples with minimal distractions would be ideal for those with attention or processing difficulties. A flipped assignment would allow students to review it over and over again while receiving "direct" instruction. Overall, I think online teaching can be an asset to students with disabilities if the right teacher is prepared.
Below is a link from a book I received when I joined ASCD my first year teaching. Unfortunately, I have let my membership expire due to the expense, but this book has been valuable to me since I received my first batch of reluctant readers. I think Ms. Tankersly does an excellent job addressing high school needs. So many supplementary texts that are available focus solely on younger readers, but this one is different. The link takes you to chapter 1, which gives you a good overview of what my students are like. Enjoy!
http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/104428/chapters/The-Struggling-Reader.aspx
Boy, do I hear you on the critical reading deficit! You are so correct--students can find sections of text but have trouble connecting them in a logical way. Then, they often overlook the deeper meanings, implications, or bias within those passages. I suppose you could say they miss the nuances of the text. I love your suggestions!
ReplyDelete