The National Library Trust (UK), defines reading for pleasure as 'Reading we do of our own free will, anticipating the satisfaction we will get from the act of reading.' With this in mind the questions I am asking this year is, 'Will a focus on Reading for Enjoyment increase student self efficacy and capability in Reading?'
Earlier this term I walked past the student trays in our class and noticed that the library books I had seen earlier in the week were in exactly the same place. I half heartedly asked my class if the books they took out of the library each week just stayed in their trays until the following week when they returned them to the library... what then completely shocked me was that most students very honestly replied, 'Yes!' We then discussed why this was and I unravelled the missing piece of the puzzle which was simply that no one said they could take them home. Immediately I thought about ways I could change this that were both fun and engaging.
A few weeks later I was speaking to Naomi Rosedale who in an earlier blog comment had already challenged me to think about inquiring into and tracking learners’ reading dispositions and interests. I know from a personal perspective that if I'm not interested or engaged in something, I simply don't do it. Sometimes this is because I don't think I could do it, or think I wouldn't enjoy it, and other times it's because I haven't made a personal connection to it. This made me think about my current student's self efficacy in reading. A few years ago I inquired into ways I could grow this with a group of struggling learners in my class. These students are all well into their college journey now, so with the students I teach now in mind, I can see a number of them are exhibiting the same aversions to reading. Motivation is intrinsically related to engagement so learner engagement is vital if I am to establish a culture in my class where my learners are motivated to read for enjoyment and understand the benefits that reading outside of the classroom will bring them. My challenge now is to find out why the links in the chain appear to be broken again. To do this I will be looking at shift or change in:
- Disposition
- Data
- Reading mileage
- Student voice
Having decided on my inquiry focus this year I approached Naomi to talk it through. I came away from a very rich learning conversation with a tentative pathway mapped out going forward but also a renewed sense of enthusiasm. I'm not starting at this point from scratch as I have been able to use Naomi's Reading for Enjoyment survey with my class to help me get to know my students as readers. Responses in this survey has opened both my eyes and my student's eyes. I'm excited to see where this inquiry takes us this year.
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