Monday, June 30, 2014

Is reading still reading? (Notice and Note Question 1)

This summer I've done a lot of professional reflection.  It's been good. I think I've grown from it, and I'm getting excited about trying some new things next year.

(Of course 70% off of office supplies at Office Depot due to it's change in location also excited me - wow, was that fun to happen upon. HOWEVER, that is a story for another time.)

So #ELAchat is doing a book study - a "slow chat" where you search the hashtag #ELAchatNN to see what others are thinking as we work through the book Notice and Note by Kylene Beers and Robert E. Probst.  This week we are focusing on Part 1 (pages 1 -61).

This is the question that caught me -- Is reading still reading?

In my notes from the first time I read it, I jotted down in the sidebar "In 1815 educators were concerned about using paper instead of slates -- now we face an electronic change in interacting with paper with e-readers.  What will it be like in 200 years?"  There were serious debates on the movement from slates to paper (much like paper to computer today).  From a principal's publication in 1815: "Students today depend on paper too much. They don't know how to write on a slate without getting chalk dust all over themselves. They can't clean a slate properly. What will they do when they run out of paper?" (Thornburg and Dwyer's research)  I laughed when I read this.  What will we do when the program doesn't work?

However, let's focus on the topic at hand -- changes in reading.

While I'm admittedly more on the side of holding a book in my hands and writing notes in my own writing, I can see the enchantment of e-readers. Imagine interacting with a text where you could instantly click to find more, hear the author's words from his mouth, see additional charts, graphs, pictures, videos.  There are more and more distractions from the original text.  Sometimes these distractions are informative, other times they answer what I want to discover from the text myself.

Then I consider books on tape.  Is this still reading? Does your brain still figure out meaning?  I know that it's been beneficial to struggling readers as we approach complex texts (especially those with dyslexia).  They still engage in the words, ideas, thoughts. It allows them to make connections in the brain that seeing and hearing together help solidify the message.  However, is it a distinct disadvantage to not practice decoding the words on the page?  How do we use visual and audio together to enhance these skills?

Yet some things will hold true for all time and across all texts and methods of presentation.  "We still decode symbols to make sense of text; we still must interact with the text, bringing our own experiences to the words; we still must question what was written, must infer what wasn't written, and must make connections between the text an ourselves and others and the world around us.  We must decide when we agree with the author and when we reject his ideas or her attitudes." (p. 15)

So my goal is this - to look beyond the distraction and have students question.  What is the purpose? What is the method? What strategies did the author use? How did the author manipulate your thoughts? feelings? attitudes? How were you changed by this information? What evidence supports your answers?

See, in my mind being able to enjoy a piece, savor the ideas, delve into the intentional choices will serve my students well in life.  Be it on paper, an e-reader, a voice are all methods to differentiate to achieve this ultimate goal.  Our world is changing, and as an educator I choose to embrace that change as a method to meet the needs of my students.  Learning skills that help you focus on critical thinking - engaging in words - figuring out the "why" will serve you well forever.

Because I want my students to think for themselves, otherwise others will do their thinking for them.

It scares me when people let others do their thinking for them.

So I go back to my note in the margin.  What will it look like in 200 years?  Crazy to even suppose what it will look like.  I think back to the changes that took place when I left the classroom for 10 years.  (That was the hardest question to answer when interviewing -- how did you use technology in your classroom?  Well, I had an overhead . . .).  I think things will continue to change.  I think how we interact with texts will move with it. 

Therefore, I will continue my quest to excite students to ask, "Why?"



4 comments:

  1. I too have thought about the books on tape question, in particular. But if the purpose of reading it to learn, think and consider new information, why do you actually have to be "reading" to be getting what you need. I know someone who routinely listens to books on tape - in the car, before bed, you get the point. He knows the same stuff I would know if I read it myself... for auditory learners, it definitely makes sense.

    At first I was adamantly against reading anything but an actual book, but I've taken to reading on my devices, particularly my phone when I wait in places. I love the highlighting features and the fact that I can write notes and share them just as easily. Thanks for sharing your ideas about your reading :)

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  2. It's amazing to see what the slate/paper debate was from 200 years ago. And you're right, what will the next change be?

    We want our students to interact with the text and be able to gain meaning from it. So in that case it can take many forms. However, I do prefer an actual book when given the chance. You have some great questions to think about - thanks!

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  3. I think while what reading looks like is evolving, the core skills involved remain the same. We still have to make meanong from the words, sentences, and paragraphs we read. I agree that I want to prepare students to be able to think on their own. Thought provoking ideas as always!

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  4. I think that reading for pleasure is still reading, whatever the preferred format. In my own family, we are all readers but one of us says she hates audiobooks, another refuses to pick up an ereader, and another uses print, ebooks, and audiobooks with equal satisfaction.

    In my classroom, I see students with definite preferences for paper over electronic or vice versa. This gives me pause as I think about our upcoming use of Subtext to read some class novels this year. We'll be following the Whole Novels for the Whole Class approach, but our district is committed to Subtext, soooo...electronic sticky notes? Or do I acknowledge the importance of student preference and invite individuals to participate on paper? The class novels are sold as a bundled package for iPad (we are in our third or fourth year of 1:1). Hmmm...this will be a year of reading exploration.

    I do think textbook reading for study isn't always the same when it's electronic. I've been reading articles about students preferring paper: easier to find their place, to know where they've marked something they want to revisit. Students who read paper textbooks connect with information both mentally and spatially. That physical/mental connection correlates with retention. Makes sense to me, and my own college daughter definitely wants paper textbooks only.

    Thanks for the thought-provoking post. I've read Notice and Note--will have to join the slow chat!

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