COMPREHENSION WITHOUT TEARS

1. COMPREHENSION WITHOUT TEARS HCI-NYGH CONFERENCE 24 JANUARY 2011 Mrs Rosalind Lee & MrsYeong-Loke LF

2. ORDER OF PRESENTATION • Objectives • Introduction – theoretical • background • Methodology • Strategies (ICT) • Survey Findings • Implications

3. STUDENT PROFILE • Age of Technology • Reading skills – skimming, scanning, interested in merely the gist of the information • Uncomfortable to read for a prolonged period of time. Glare of the screen. • Widely read? • Depth of reading?

4. READING SKILLS • Construction of meaning • Read, pick up information, connect information to what • we already know, interpret, read between the lines for • deeper meaning, evaluate information and ideas • Internet technology – enhances and expands the • curriculum beyond the physical classroom

5. READING SKILLS • Teachers need to guide students to build up intensive reading and research skills. • Need to reflect and review what has been read. • Small group and cooperative learning activities that will help students to solve problems or work with concepts that were discussed within the reading.

6. MUST LEARNING BE TAUGHT? • Hillocks & Vygotsky – “teachers who believe that kids will naturally grow and learn, are letting themselves off the hook.” • Anything that is learned must be actively taught. • Learning-centred teaching requires explicit teaching.

7. HILLOCKS & VYGOTSKY • All knowledge is socially and • culturally constructed. • What and how the student • learns depends on what • opportunities the teacher • provides. • Learning is not “natural” but • depends on interactions with • more expert others.

8. VYGOTSKY • Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) – texts that are chosen such that the child can learn with the assistance and support of a teacher, peers and the instructional environment. • Students develop cognitive abilities when a teacher leads them through task-oriented interactions.

9. VYGOTSKY • Allow the students to do as much as they can on their own, and then to intervene and provide assistance when it is needed, so that the task can be successfully completed. • Challenging tasks so that they can successfully complete it with appropriate help. • Scaffolding

10. TEACHERS’ ROLE • Observe learners closely • Scaffold learning • Match individual and • collective curricula to suit • learners’ needs • Create environment of • inquiry

11. Comprehension Without Tears TEACHING MODEL - VYGOTSKY

12. GUIDELINES TO DEVELOP LEARNERS’ ABILITIES Text characteristics Pre-reading tips During-reading tips After-reading tips

13. Text characteristics • Good readers expect to understand what they are reading. • Where there is unfamiliar vocabulary, teachers can introduce key vocabulary in pre-reading activities – encourage learners to use their background knowledge e.g. meaning of a title, illustration, key words.

14. PRE-READING • Lighten students’ cognitive burden. • Teacher-directed : key vocabulary, ideas are explained. • Interactive approach : teacher leads a discussion draws out information students already have and interjects additional information necessary for further understanding.

15. PURPOSE OF READING • Skimming – reading rapidly for main points • Scanning – reading rapidly to look for a specific piece of information • Extensive reading – reading a longer text, often for pleasure • Intensive reading – reading a short text for detailed information

16. DURING- READING • Active reading : • Making predictions • Making selections • Integrating prior • knowledge • Skipping insignificant • parts • Re-reading • Making use of context • or guessing

17. DURING-READING • Breaking words into component parts • Reading in chunks • Pausing • Paraphrasing • Monitoring

18. AFTER-READING • Post-reading – focus on processes that lead to comprehension • Discussing the text • Summarizing • Making questions • Answering questions

19. AFTER-READING • Filling in forms and • charts • Writing reading logs • Completing a text • Listening to or reading • other related materials • Role-playing

20. Comprehension Without Tears Suggested Strategies

21. Suggested Strategies Clarifying Background Close Textual Reading Analysing Questions Feedback • Use of ICT • Pre-Reading • During- reading • Post-reading • Answering • techniques • Good vs • bad • answers • Identifying • question • types • Setting • Questions

22. Clarifying Background • Source of the passage • Geographical features • Pictures • Movie/ video clips • Related websites • Contexts

23. Source of the Passage • http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/26/world/africa/26iht worm.1451843.html?_r=2&pagewanted=1&sq=a%20rare%20and%20stubborn%20pestilence&st=cse&scp=1 • Refer Exercise 1

24. Geographical Features http://www.africaguide.com/afmap.htm Refer Exercise 1

25. Pictures/ Images (refer exercise 2)

26. Movie & Video Clips http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWDwJIBqjSU Refer Exercises 2 & 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddaNSHdgp6k

27. Related websites http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7693351 NPR Exercise 1 http://s868.photobucket.com/albums/ab249/Codeman_photo/?action=view&current=213cd4e1.pbw&newest=1 Gallery slideshow Exercise 3

28. Research into Contexts • Theodore Roosevelt • The Rough Riders • The American Civil War • Charles Dana Gibson • Frank Merriwell, the blue-blooded • superathlete of Yale • The Princeton creations of F. Scott • Fitzgerald • The Smithsonian Institution • (see Exercise 3)

29. Analysing Questions • Identifying Question Types • See Exercise 1

30. Analysing Questions • Setting Comprehension Questions • See Exercise 2 • Use of Discussion • Forum and School • Workbins

31. Providing Feedback • Comparison of students’ answers • Based on Exercise 3

32. Survey Findings • Brief sharing of statistics

33. Implications • On pedagogy • On assessments

34. QnA Session