Academic Readings

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. 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. 

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. 

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. 

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

Hunches Response

During our CoL meeting last week we looked at our hunches and were able to share these with our other colleagues with this meeting. It is always a really helpful process sharing hunches and ideas with others as we often are given a range of different suggestions that can help with what we are trying to achieve. Below is some the feedback I had from my discussions on our meeting along with some things that I would like to try in the classroom. 

Hunch One
If I encourage my students to share their thoughts and ideas in pairs, then they will gain the confidence to share these ideas in guided reading sessions. 

Introduce ground rules for talk into sharing in pairs within the group then gradually move to the whole group. Use Vosaic to film guided reading sessions to see what I can improve in my teaching to facilitate this. Along with filming groups working on a follow up activity to see how much extended discussion the students are having when not facilitated by the teacher. 

Hunch Two
If I focus on setting up table groups and discussion points before guided reading sessions then the students will improve their ability to have conversations about what they are reading. 

Film students using Vosaic while they are working at table groups to see what types of discussion they are having and what I can work on. Filming groups working on a follow up activity to see how much extended discussion the students are having when not facilitated by the teacher. 

Hunch Three
An emphasis on using images and structured response to text tasks that always incorporate inferring and other reading comprehension skills will enhance my students ability to understand more complex parts of the text and answer questions that require inferring and referring back to the text.

Change my follow up tasks to be more focused looking at key elements of adding in inferring questions, could have a focus on adding in multiple choice questions so that they are able to learn how to answer questions like this. 

Hunch Four
An emphasis on understanding how to have basic conversations as well as teaching social skills and norms will enhance my students ability to share during reading sessions. 

Upload reading texts to Notebook LM then add in some key questions and turn this into a podcast for the students to listen to. Integrating conversations into guided reading sessions and involving students in more collaborative discussions. 

Formulating an Hypothesis (Hunch)

In preparation for our PLG today we have been asked to formulate a hypothesis or hunch around our inquiry. We were asked to generate a minimum of three hunches from what you have learnt so far about your students and their learning environment. Below I have listed my hunches that I am looking forward to discussing with other at our PLG this afternoon. 

1. If I encourage my students to share their thoughts and ideas in pairs, then they will gain the confidence to share these ideas in guided reading sessions. 

2. If I focus on setting up table groups and discussion points before guided reading sessions then the students will improve their ability to have conversations about what they are reading. 

3. An emphasis on using images and specific generic tasks to show what inferring and other reading comprehension skills will enhance my students ability to understand more complex parts of the text and answer questions that require inferring and referring back to the text.

4. An emphasis on understanding how to have basic conversations as well as teaching social skills and norms will enhance my students ability to share during reading sessions.