Guest Blogger: Jamila Cupid
Every semester, I have at least one student ask how to become a better writer. Once in a while I also get inquiries regarding how to grow one’s vocabulary and how to get better at copy editing. Every semester, I reiterate to students the best way to improve these skills is to read, read, and read some more. Yet, a couple of classes into the semester, I walk into a room full of pupils who have not cracked open the textbook, reviewed any of supplemental material and certainly have not done any independent reading on related topics. Many of them even reveal limited knowledge of current events plastered across print and online newspapers. The question that haunts me with each class prep, the question that seeps into my dreams at night, is “How do educators get students to not just read, but want to read?”
I reached out to colleagues and mentors
to find out what techniques they use to convince students to read. The method that ranked number one was
quizzing students after each chapter.
Some said they administer quizzes in class, but many now set up timed
exams online for the students to take prior to class. Other methods at the top of the list were
assigning reaction papers and small group presentations. Others said they always lead the lecture with
questions related to the reading. These
are all terrific ideas, tried and true.
The only problem was that I had already implemented most of these
tactics in classes. It seemed that over
time their effectiveness had been waning as some newer students did not mind
accepting an assignment, quiz or class participation grade of zero for the day
and were not the least bit embarrassed about being unprepared for class
discussions. What a conundrum!
Well then, imagine my surprise when I
came across the 2012 U.S. Book Consumer Demographics and Buying Behaviors
Annual Review that claims Millennials (Generation Y) passed Baby Boomers in
book purchasing in 2011 (Bowker.com).
This statistic raised a gaggle of questions in my mind. What kinds of books are they buying? Are they actually reading the books? What are they reading? Where are they reading it? Do these books serve more of a decorative
purpose, like a coffee table prop or a new age tea cup coaster? I imagined these books stacked into pedestals
holding up iPads and smartphones in positions of reverence. Then I came across further findings which
revealed that many Millennial book purchases are across digital spaces and they
are ushering in the digital shift for the book industry. The stacks of books toppled, making way for
the expansion of e-book and audio book applications on the shiny mobile
devices.
Perhaps, the copious notes, reaction
papers, quizzes, and printed textbooks are on their way to obsolescence. For now, many of us still find them somewhat
effective. Thus, we may not need to
abandon traditional methods, but it may be time for us to transition in more
than a few reading assignments that are broken into shorter segments on digital
platforms in audio formats followed by fireworks. (I’m just joking about the fireworks …unless
it works.) Additionally, classroom
flipping – the method in which homework and activities occur in class while
lectures and PowerPoint presentations are administered online outside of class
time – may be a missing link in our curricula.
With its flexible nature, classroom flipping could advance traditional
teaching methods to accommodate the brains of the “digital natives” we are now
charged with training. The only way to
find out is to give it a whirl. So I
find myself compartmentalizing the reading assignments and relating them to
topics the students can’t stop chatting about, then extending the conversation
to topics beyond their daily scope and comfort zone. I am considering full flipping options
through the correct university channels and processes for upcoming
semesters. Until then, more class time
is now dedicated to increasing class activities that get students engaged and
even catapult the higher performing students into leadership roles amongst
their peers. Also, more of the real
world is physically brought into the classroom with every opportunity that
arises. Much of it works, some of it
does not, but the process is ongoing and more of my students are opening their
book (apps). There is still, and always
will be, tons of room for growth. So
please share the things you do to get students to read, think critically, and
engage.
I think we need to decide what the goal is and reinforce it across the curriculum; and, then, assess it at the end of each class. Literacy involves, at a minimum, reading and writing; it does not have to be books (i.e. reading and writing books). We need to decide what distinguishes a college student from an illiterate or a pre-college student and uphold the standards. Whatever standard we adopt -- whether it is reading books at a sufficient level of difficulty, it will be difficult to maintain, if we do not enforce it across the curriculum in almost every class. The earlier we have a general faculty dialogue or discussion about this, the better.
ReplyDeleteSafro Kwame
TIMBUKTU BETRAYED
ReplyDeleteReading and writing go hand in glove. Each semester I share with my students the cover of a book entitled, 'Reading Is Learning'. I also require my students to read and summarize subject-specific information. Why? All of us can read English, say a Chemistry book. But how many can say that we understand Chemistry, even if we are reading English words? Reading and understanding are two different things.
One needs to develop a disciplined mind for that discipline, to stimulate thinking. If a person is learning Spanish, one needs to understand the spoken words and how they are put together for communication. We may require students to recite and memorize what they have learned in order to use it for communication. Learning more requires one to read more in that subject and master the discipline for grammar, the peculiarities, sometimes called idioms of the language and its cultural idiosyncrasies as it is spoken and written in practice.
I mastered Spanish through reading and writing. Then, I applied the same principles to the Russian language as a non-native speaker when I was eighteen years old. Why did I want to learn Chemistry and Spanish, to name two examples? It was my curiosity that caused me to read and learn. I sped up my learning through writing and summarizing. Many of my students who read and write technical stuff seem to have a way to learn and learn fast, as I did. Lack of reading breeds the expectation among some students that teacher will teach to the test.
During our Convocation on November, I listened to a nationally renowned professor of mathematics, Dr. Abdulalim A. Shabazz on getting students to think and learn mathematics. During his presentation he was reading from a printed book. I was impressed. He and I would engage in conversations about learning mathematics while I visited his office. I was always impressed by his neat and elegant writing of mathematics, the symbolic language of that discipline. Presumably, he got his knowledge from reading first, then writing it down second.
Profesor Shabazz's methodology of learning and stimulating thinking reminded me of two of my mathematics teachers in Guyana as an undergraduate, then a Chemistry major. These professors were Mr. Norman E. Cameron and Mr. Chunilall. They both taught mathematics to English and Science majors, Arts and Science.
This morning at 3 A.M. I felt compelled to write a poem to honor Dr. Shabazz on a topic he and I always talked about. He made a fleeting reference to it at our convocation. The poem is entitled 'Timbuktu Betrayed'. The greatness of the famed Timbuktu lies in its written manuscripts, some of which have survived until today. Will we have legendary works in all of our subjects and all of our disciplines for public free and college libraries or will we be paying subscriptions as we do for magazines, to create thriving and profitable corporations in the digital world, widening the digital divide? Will our libraries suffer the fate of Timbuktu?
Ganga Prasad Ramdas, Lincoln University.
I wonder what our students will take from the 90-year-old World War II veteran who said "I want to read one book before I die."
ReplyDeleteNovember 8, 2013, CBS News: "It's a hard life, let me tell you," said 90-year-old Ed Bray. "You ain't never lived hard until you go through what I've been through." Ed served in World War II. He was at Normandy on D-Day, has two Purple Hearts and more than a dozen other medals. But when we first met him in March, he couldn't even read what they were for. Not because it was too painful, but because he simply couldn't read. "The toughest thing that ever happened to me in my life was not being able to read," he said. Illiteracy can be that damning. "I've covered this up for 80 years," he said. "Nobody in this town knows I can't read." Read full story at:
http://www.cbsnews.com/2102-18563_162-57611600.html
Safro Kwame
For your question regarding motivating student to read, your instinct to reach “out to colleagues and mentors to find out what techniques they use to convince students to read,” is certainly a useful and valid way of sharing the collective knowledge on the subject—what Stephen North would refer to as “the pragmatic logic of lore.” I have certainly learned a lot from formal and informal conversations with other professors, which is the thrust of this very blog. I will first add to that lore, but I will also implore that another important stakeholder needs to be added to the conversation.
ReplyDeleteOne way I have tried to address the issue at a broader level is by altering the “participation grade” to an academic deportment grade that is assigned to the class as a whole. The idea is that each student has a personal responsibility to every other student in the class. One way this has manifested itself is that students are encouraged to form reading groups to make sure students are reading and understanding what they read as a large number of poor quiz grades will affect the class’ academic deportment grade.
Due to another research project I am working on, I am very sensitive to student input in conversations that affect students (think assessment.) I would add that another valid and interesting way of answering your question would be to talk to the students. This can be done formally or informally. A setting outside of the classroom would probably be best as students may be more likely to give the answer the “teacher wants to hear.” Regardless, some student input on the question may lead to some interesting answers that will add to the dialogue.
I intend to migrate my text and lectures to ibooks. This will take a year and I will let the faculty know the results.
ReplyDeleteDr. Poe, thanks for this initiative.
DeleteWill the ibooks be given upt free of charges?
Are our Library holdings that are non-reference and special collections being digitized for you to use as references in your ibooks?
How will you treat publishers textbooks in the subject areas?
How will you get your text into an ibook format?
Will your ibooks be supplements to the existing textbooks?
Do you have information on any Government or College initiatives to digitize free library books in their current holdings?
The reason I am asking this question is that I suspect that some libraries are replacing books with ipads and at the same time they have stopped purchasing books, especially those recommended as additional readings by faculty for the reference section of the library in the course that the faculty teaches.
Regards,
G. Ramdas
********************* .
What happens when students start using their computers, iPads, iPhones, or iPods to read their ibooks or e-books (instead of reading them themselves)?
ReplyDeleteSafro Kwame
A device 'reads' or downloads content. Humans use their eyes and brains to understand the downloaded content.
DeleteThe humans in my movie script use their eyes as a devices to read and understand content without computer, iPads, iPhones, or iPods. I am migrating them to earth 2 into another galaxy!
G. Ramdas
*************
As a writing teacher, I have always assured my students that one learns to write better by writing and one also earns to write better by reading. Had they but world enough and time, that would perhaps be all that was needed. But in a 15-week semester it's a little disingenuous; there's only so much students can do even with the best of intentions, so that poses the much harder question of "what's the best way to help students improve their reading and writing over the next couple months?" (Not to mention the question of what "writing" and "reading" are in the digital age where layout and graphics and format play such important roles in making meaning.)
ReplyDeleteI don't have answers to any of the larger questions, although I spend much time thinking about them and I really thank you, Jamila, for bringing the topic up. On a much smaller scope--to answer the question about what sort of assignments can improve writing and critical thinking-- I wanted to mention one writing/thinking assignment that is built into the MHS program, weekly logs. In their Field Integration Seminar, students summarize the main points from their classes each week (forcing them to review notes and reading) and then add a "significant incident" in which they discuss an event that happened (in the world, on their job, personally, whatever) that week, explaining it in light of theory learned from each of the three classes. The idea is that if one looks at an event from more than one angle (students take classes in ethics, psychology, and systems) one gets a fuller understanding and begins to get out of the habit of just reaching for the easy explanation.
'
Bill, I love the idea of the "class deportment" grade! What a great lesson to teach students.
Dr. Stein,
DeleteThanks for your reading and writing emphasis in teaching and learning. Your analysis has some deep implications for study abroad courses that our faculty teach to our students. For example, it had always been my concern for teaching the Senior Seminar in ten days plus weekends on vacation mode.
We should identify study abroad courses that has the appropriate amount of assignments that can stand up to scrutiny by middle state assessments--the rubric and the student assignment samples. We should also advertize our courses, make them broad based across the country and place ourselves in a competitive mode, for the long haul.
G. Ramdas
*************
oops! courses that have, sorry.
DeleteGRamdas
Giving the appropriate time to learning is very important in the overall learning process. As a current student of Lincoln University, I think it is going to be nice if our professor’s start each course by defining their goals for their students. This is because by establishing what they want their students to learn (including both knowledge and skills) will help them determine the appropriate content, teaching methods, assignments, and exams. Also, they need to Keep in mind that the methods and approaches they use will be shaped not only by their course goals, but also by the size of the class and the types of students who will be taking the course (majors or non-majors; first-years, seniors, or a mix; etc.).
DeleteWhat a lively discussion! Colleagues, I thank you all for your contributions and engagement in this topic.
ReplyDelete