My research question is as follows:
How can I increase my students' self efficacy and engagement in reading through collaborative learning strategies?
Classroom construction:
Since the first day of school, my students have been grouped with 4 desks to a table, and our rituals and routines have depended upon my students working in these groups. For example, even passing in or out papers requires a group effort. We're shared supplies, had turn and talk time in each lesson, and have learned reciprocal teaching roles through mini-lessons. I also have taught my students how to use each role while reading and talk to their table mates about their reading through reciprocal teaching. We still need a lot of practice in talking about reading through reciprocal teaching roles, but the strategy has been introduced to students.
Initial information collected from students:
I gave my students a survey in all of my classes (advanced and enrichment reading both 6th and 7th grades) that gave 10 different statements related to their self-efficacy and their engagement in reading. Students had to select numbers 1 - 7, one being strongly disagree and 7 being strongly agree, based on whether or not the statement reflected their beliefs. I really tried to encourage students to be honest, because sometimes I think that they like to write what they think I want to hear on surveys rather than their actual opinion. I made sure students did not put their names on the survey because I wanted to them to feel that they could be totally honest. The following table shows the statements asked and the average response results for each number.
| 8/21 - 8/26 | Statement | 2nd | 3rd/6th | 4th/5th | 7th |
| 1 . | I enjoy reading books, stories, and other texts in school. | 4.47 | 4.32 | 4.48 | 3.5 |
| 2 . | I enjoy reading books, stories, and other texts at home. | 4.7 | 4.71 | 4.56 | 4.05 |
| 3. | A good book can keep me interested for a long time. | 5.75 | 5.76 | 5.52 | 4.11 |
| 4 | . I believe I am good at reading. | 5.6 | 5.12 | 5.04 | 4.05 |
| 5. | I can learn new words if I work hard and practice them. | 6.15 | 6.04 | 5.92 | 5.75 |
| 6 | . I can become a better reader by working hard on my reading skills. | 6.05 | 6.28 | 6.04 | 5.5 |
| 7. | I am successful in school. | 5.75 | 5.72 | 5.48 | 4.65 |
| 8 | . I am able to do well on tests and quizzes in class. | 5 | 5.08 | 4.56 | 3.9 |
| 9. | I am an important part of my school. | 4.65 | 5.36 | 4.04 | 4.65 |
| 10. | I can always improve my grades if I work hard. | 6.3 | 6.84 | 6.44 | 5.65 |
I also asked my students to specifically tell me what they think needs to happen in class for them to become more engaged in reading during class time. I chose this follow up question because I noticed that almost all classes responded the lowest to the statement about enjoying reading books and texts in school. I was curious as to what they felt the needed to become more engaged and interested in their reading and how I can help them to truly enjoy reading. The following is the results. I only asked two classes (4th/5th and 3rd/6th - both enrichment reading/language arts cohorts - all level 1 readers). I read all student responses and tallied how many student responses fell into each category.
| Question (9/13/13): What needs to happen in class for you to enjoy and be engaged in reading? | ||||
| Reading Games | 3 | |||
| Interesting Stories and "Good Books" | 13 | |||
| Plays/Drama | 1 | |||
| Partner and Group Work (Collaboration) | 5 | |||
| Projects | 1 | |||
| Creative Lessons | 4 | |||
| Reading at a Level I am Capable of | 3 | |||
| Book Choices | 3 | |||
| I Just Don't Like Reading at All | 3 | |||
| Forced Reading | 1 | |||
From here, I know that my students really want books they are interested in and to work in groups. I'm really excited about their answers because my students are totally primed for what we are beginning together!
Now my next steps are to really start to reinforce reciprocal teaching this week. Tomorrow we are going to the media center for an introduction to the library as well ans signing up for our classroom's Edmodo page. Through the Edmodo page, my students already have tasks, questions, and reading set up and they can collaborate and respond to each other. We're also going to explore our first literature circles as a part of collaboration and classroom discussion this week.
I also need to create a form that will serve as a classroom notes page for field notes. I have had a challenging time getting someone to be able to observe me for student engagement, so I have had to put off this initial observation. I'm looking for someone to observe me to look for student engagement. I also plan to teach my students my exact definition of what it means to be engaged in what you are reading and teach that definition as a whole class activity. Hopefully this observation will be able to happen this week and I can get an initial baseline before we really get rolling with our collaborative strategies.
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