Hi Everyone,
Welcome to part two of the latest installment of two questions for you, where I ask adult educators two questions about their practice. If you missed part one about helping self-identified non-readers, you can catch up here. Many thanks to Aliscia Niles of Lane Community College in Eugene Oregon for her thoughtful and thorough response!
2. What effect has this technique [bringing in essays from former students who self identified as struggling readers] had on your non-reading students?
“The first thing I observed was that, unlike previous class readings, students were readily willing to engage with the student essays with fervor and high interest. Even students who were often reluctant to read or otherwise engage in learning activities relished in the student essays. They offered to take notes, make connections, and comment during the group and class discussions. There was an overall engagement throughout the reading and writing process at all levels. Group discussions were lively and deep and the majority of students participated. Students readily shared their personal experiences and explored deeper connections with the author.
“What was most encouraging is that as we moved into the core curriculum, I noticed that students were more readily engaged in reading lessons than in previous classes. When frustration or feelings about a challenging text came up, we took time out to reflect on those feelings through self-reflection in our journals and in discussions to recognize our thoughts, and then readjust our approach. These pauses helped our class get unstuck so that could move forward with the learning process.
“While I do not have access to my pre and post-test data sets from this cohort of students, empirically speaking, I was pleasantly surprised to see significant gains across the board. Thinking about this further, it makes sense that students entering a testing environment for reading proficiency with the mindset that they hate to read or they aren’t good at reading, might impact their performance. However, students who can approach a reading assessment with an openness, while focusing on strategies, can both more accurately assess the reading level, while also demonstrate new learning. This would be interesting to explore further as more information comes out about mindset and metacognition in learning.
“The student essays I used were not text-perfect in that they included issues with conventions and organization. I was concerned about this at first but decided we could integrate these examples into the writing development part of the lesson. I learned students appreciated that these essays had some imperfections. They said the essays felt more accessible and approachable as developing writers. Students said they were reluctant to write in class because they felt like their writing had to be perfect. All of the writing samples and texts we had used previously felt out of reach. Students said they could see that writing doesn’t have to be perfect to be meaningful and reach their readers.
“Of course, as an adult learner educator, I strive to select readings that are relevant and interesting. Yet even though all the texts and curriculum designed specifically for adult learners to date, I never experienced such a high level of engagement with past texts. Something else had to be driving this high level of interest and motivation. These observations made me take pause, and reflect more closely on the concept of self-perception and connection to like-learners.
“Here are some of my reflections:
Students who self-identify as non-readers often share memories of teachers who did not help or did not understand how to help them when they were struggling to read. In their experiences, teachers were not all-knowing and could not be trusted to support their learning needs. The practice of using learning reflections and self-evaluations within our language arts content is valuable in the adult learner classroom. This approach suggests a shift from teacher-centered learning towards learner-centered approaches.
“I saw this shift in two positive ways. First, students shifted their focus from the teacher, me, to the experience of other students, removing me from the center of learning. Second, reading texts written by students with a shared experience allowed students to shift the orientation of the lesson to life‑centered learning, in which students could make personal connections and find motivation in these stories.
“Students have often shared they do not feel a sense of belonging in a school environment, usually attached to past experiences. Students who reflect on their learning and participate in self-evaluation to identify their areas of strength, as well as their areas that need improvement, tend to be more successful not only in academic programs but also in their careers and personal relationships. Reflecting on their sense of self as a learner, and making connections to the student authors helped students to develop intrinsic motivation for learning. Students gained a sense of belonging and saw learning as a strategic practice rather than a permanent condition.
“What I concluded is that intentional self-reflection and connection can help adult learners redefine their self-perception from non-readers to developing readers. This transformative process helps students believe in themselves and find the intrinsic ability to reach their educational aspirations. I continue to explore these concepts specifically through the metacognitive reading and writing relationship to grow and reflect on my skills as I strive to meet the complex needs of our adult learners.”
How do you help self-identified non-readers in your class?
Thanks in advance for your responses,
Steve Schmidt, Moderator
LINCS Reading and Writing Community