It has come to that time of our inquiry where we are looking at academic research and readings to see what changes that we can make to support our hypothesis and inquiry. I have been fortunate enough to take part in RPI this year where we have been able to look at some academic research into reading and the changes that we have made so far to our practice in the teaching of reading. For my inquiry this year I have also sourced some academic research to have a deeper look into changes that will make to my practice to raise reading achievement for my learners this year. I had a look at three pieces of academic research will I will outline below in this blog post.
Reading One:
The first piece of academic research that I looked into was "Improving pupil group work interaction and dialogue in primary classrooms." This research outlined how structured group work can make a big difference in student engagement. When teachers set up group activities in a thoughtful way, students get more involved and have better discussions.
What I learned from this reading is that I need to be more intentional about how I organise group work. So, I’m planning to mix things up by giving students specific roles in their groups and creating tasks that encourage them to think critically and talk to each other.
With being part of RPI this year I have also been able to implement ground rules for talk which aligns really well with what I have found in this academic research.
Reading Two:
The second piece of academic research that I looked into was "Fundamentals of inferencing during reading." This article emphasises how important it is for readers to make inferences using their background knowledge. Good readers connect new information to what they already know, which is key for understanding what they read.
What I learned from this reading was the need to focus on teaching inferencing skills in my classroom. I plan to introduce lessons that help students practice making inferences while reading. I think the key thing to start with is gathering students prior knowledge using topics I know they are confident with to start discussions and make those connections.
Through RPI we are given a range of different graphic organisers that can focus in on this skill. Another thing I would like to try in the classroom is continue to use key into inference as well as using images in follow up tasks so that students are able to make inferences with images and then transfer this into what they are reading.
Reading Three:
The final piece of academic research that I looked into was "How Can Teachers Facilitate Productive Talk?" This article highlights how the way teachers talk can really impact small-group discussions. It introduces a lot of effective teacher dialogue and moves to help students engage more meaningfully with what they are reading.
What I learned from this that my role as a teacher in leading discussions is super important. I want to start using specific questions that encourage deeper thinking and conversation. For example, I’ll ask open-ended questions that prompt students to elaborate on their thoughts or respectfully challenge each other’s ideas. I want my classroom to be a space where everyone feels comfy sharing their opinions and using evidence from the text to back them up. Again this links in really nicely with ground rules for talk from RPI.
I’m really excited about these changes and can’t wait to see how they impact my students learning. These articles have been helpful in shaping my next steps, and I’m looking forward to trying these strategies out in my class. With a little tweaking along the way, I hope to create an even more engaging and effective learning environment for my students!
References:
Cook, A. E., & O'Brien, E. J. (2017). Fundamentals of inferencing during reading. Language and Linguistics Compass, 11(7), e12238. https://doi.org/10.1111/lnc3.12238
Wei, L., Murphy, P. K., & Firetto, C. M. (2018). Improving pupil group work interaction and dialogue in primary classrooms: Results from a year-long intervention study. The Elementary School Journal, 118(4), 568-588. https://doi.org/10.1086/697175
Wei, L., Murphy, P. K., & Firetto, C. M. (2018). How can teachers facilitate productive small-group talk? An integrated taxonomy of teacher discourse moves. The Elementary School Journal, 118(4), 589-608. https://doi.org/10.1086/697176
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