Chapter 15 “How Am I Doing?”

1. Chapter 15“How Am I Doing?” Students’ Perceptions of Literacy and Themselves Tierra Blair EDCI 690

2. Food For Thought *The first order of reality in the classroom is the student’s point of view. Paley (1986, p.127) *In order to gain a more complete understanding of best practices in early literacy, it is necessary to consider “the perceptions and views of the major participants in learning, the learners themselves” (Wray & Medwell, 2006, p. 205).

3. Guiding Questions • Why is it important for teachers to understand what children think and how they feel (perception) about literacy instruction and learning? • How can knowing this information guide literacy instruction as it relates to the learners’ perspective?

4. Reading Perceptions in a Classroom • Reading perceptions differ by the students’ abilities • Children in a high reading group may perceive reading as learning, social, and pleasurable • Children in a low reading group may describe reading as saying words and completing schoolwork • Students in low reading groups may receive considerable instruction focused at the word level • Students in the high reading group may read more intact text • Researchers conclude that the focus of instruction and students’ experiences shape the literacy perceptions of primary-grade students

5. Perceptions of Literacy: Thoughts and Emotions • Determining how children feel and what they think about literacy is important. The following three constructs can be examined by teachers and researchers to better understand students’ thoughts and feelings concerning literacy • Attitude • Motivation • Self-perception

6. Attitude “A system of feelings related to reading which causes the learner to approach or avoid a reading situation” (Alexander & Filler, 1976, p. 1). Students with positive attitudes toward reading: *look forward to reading *accept and meet reading challenges *persevere when reading becomes complex

7. 3 Factors that contribute to students’ attitudes in reading • 1. Beliefs about the outcomes of reading in light of the judged desirability of those outcomes (Do I read as well as you think I should?) • 2. Beliefs about the expectations of others in light of one’s motivation to conform to those expectations ( Do I care enough about how you feel about my reading to try to meet your expectations?) • 3. The outcomes of specific incidents and experiences of reading (The last time I read in front of the class everyone laughed or whenever I read with my parents they smile.)

8. How do we measure a students ’reading attitude? • ERAS –Elementary Reading Attitude Survey (McKenna & Kear, 1990). This test includes: • 40 questions • Pictorial Likert scale with picture of Garfield: Garfield’s frowns represent negative attitudes – Garfield’s smiles represent positive attitudes • Measures academic reading attitudes (20 questions) • Measures recreational reading attitudes (20 questions) • Proven valid and reliable • Used for grades 1 through 6 • Can be administered whole class, small group, or individually

9. Results of ERAS • When Mrs. Wiggs gave the Elementary Reading Attitude Survey to her 6 Title 1 Students, who were all considered struggling readers, the results showed: • attitude toward reading is multifaceted • it is necessary to consider the full scale and the two subscales • not all struggling readers have negative attitudes about reading

10. Motivation Reading motivation can make the difference between learning that is shallow and superficial versus learning that is engaged, internalized, and lasting (Gambrell, Palmer, Codling, & Mazzoni, 1996; Guthrie, Wigfield, & You, 2012). When students are motivated to read, they will generate their own learning opportunities and invest in their growth as readers (Guthrie, 1996).

11. How do we measure a students’ motivation to read?MRP – The Motivation to Read Profile (Gambrell et al., 1996) The Reading Survey The Conversational Interview A section that probes motivational factors related to the reading of narrative text Elicit information about informational text reading Examine factors related to reading motivation • 20 items (10 self- concept, 10 for value of reading) • 4 point response scale * This test is reliable, valid , and underwent extensive field testing

12. Results of the MRP • Mrs. Wiggs administered the Motivation to Read Profile individually to three students. She decided to use the think aloud approach which allowed the students to further explain why they chose their responses. As a result, Mrs. Wiggs gained a greater insight as to where the motivation to read or not to read came from.

13. Self-Perception Readers’ self-perceptions involve evaluations and judgments of themselves and their abilities to succeed at reading, which differ from their thoughts and feelings directed toward the task of the reading process. It is very important to understand self-perceptions because they are influenced by the students’ literacy experiences.

14. How do we measure a students’ self-perception? The Early Literacy Motivation survey and The Reader Self-Perception Scale ELMS – The Early Literacy Motivation Survey (Wilson & Trainin, 2007). This test was created as a developmentally appropriate measure for students in kindergarten through second grade. It also: * uses scenarios, short tasks and visual aids * examines students’ perceived competence, self-efficacy, and attributions *field tested and proven reliable with moderate internal consistency

15. Results of the ELMS When first-grade students’ self-perceptions were studied, there were significant differences concerning perceptions in reading, spelling, and writing tasks. Wilson and Trainin (developers of the Early Literacy Motivational Survey) speculated that these differences were related to teacher feedback (e.g., first -grade students receive more specific task feedback in reading than in writing.

16. The Reader Self-Perception Scale RSPS - The Reader Self-Perception Scale Henk & Melnick, 1995) is a highly valid and reliable instrument for self-perception that is grounded in self-efficacy theory (Bandura, 1977, 1982). It also contains the following four subscales: * Progress ( how one’s perception of present reading performance compares with past performance) * Observational Comparison ( how a child perceives his or her reading performance compared with the performance of classmates) * Social Feedback (direct or indirect input about reading from teachers, classmates, and people in the child’s family) * Physiological States (internal feelings that the child experiences during reading).

17. Results of the RSPS Mrs. Wiggs administered the Reader Self-Perception Scale individually and allowed for further explanation of responses. All responses were diverse and gave more information concerning the self-perception of the students’ literacy development. It was determined that students’ perceptions of teacher and peer perspectives further act to influence how they “are” as readers.

18. Final Thoughts… As educators, we often relate our students’ progress solely on how they perform on tasks. When doing this, we miss other critical aspects of reading development – their “perceptions” about reading. Just taking into account how learners view themselves as readers – along with the instructional goals and student work, could help create multidimensional readers in the classroom. These students report happiness, frustration, avoidance, or enthusiasm as it relates to any reading experience. Using this information to guide reading instruction could allow teachers the ability to better address students’ needs.