Programs and Activities

Alvermann, Donna E. Peer-led Discussions: Whose Interests Are Served?

Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy 39 no. 4 (Dec-Jan., 1996): 282-289.

Abstract : The author reports on a case study of three eighth-grade gifted students, one male and two females, and their attitudes towards peer-led literature discussion groups. The author observed weekly peer-led discussions over a course of six months and also interviewed the three students. One female student had a reputation for being outspoken but developed an increasing tendency to withdraw from group discussion, reminiscent of studies done on girls' loss of voice and self-esteem as they approach adolescence.
Two out of three times that this student was interrupted, it was by a male student. Although these interruptions were cooperative in nature, the effect was to silence the female student. The second female student was an avid reader who naturally kept a distance from her peers. She had a confident appearance and her outspokenness was largely unchallenged by the group. The male student was naturally talkative and encouraged to be so by the teacher, who saw him as a leader. While several group members grew to resent his frequent contributions to discussion and tried to shut him out upon occasion, the student defended himself by referring to the teacher's enfranchisement of himself as speaker. The groups experienced numerous arguments and each student expressed concern about this, although neither female student faulted the male student for arguing. The male student perceived the more ambitious and athletic female student as being more quarrelsome, and in a less "cheerful" way than the other female student. Both the female students described the male student as a leader who could get the discussion back on track if it went off course. The arguments between the two female students were more competitive than those between the male and female students. The author concludes that teachers cannot afford to overlook the gendered nature of peer-led discussion groups.
Subject Category : Programs and Activities
Research Methods : Observation, Interviews
Language : English
Keywords : Literature Discussion Groups
Identifier: University of Georgia, Athens, GA, US

Goatley, Virginia J. The Participation of a Student Identified as Learning Disabled in a Regular Education Book Club: The Case of Stark.

Reading and Writing Quarterly: Overcoming Learning Difficulties 12 no. 2 (April-June, 1996): 195-214.

Abstract : Two educational trends, that of integrating special education students in regular classrooms and that of literature-based instruction in elementary classrooms, are behind a case study which examines the participation of a fifth-grade special education student's integration into a regular classroom with particular focus on his participation in a student-led literature response group. Previous to this integration, the student's education had focused on the skills of reading rather than the higher-order processes. The student was both learning disabled and had social problems such as difficulty getting along with other students and lack of self-control. The student participated in three different literature response groups over the course of the study. Initially the student established a pattern of assertiveness, tried to dominate the discussion, and focused on what he perceived to be the "right" answer rather than accepting a variety of different ideas. The student often displayed inappropriate behavior such as yelling over other students, starting arguments and walking away from the group. With continual teacher support the student eventually learned to let other members of the group speak and to listen to what they were saying. The student's questions to the group were initially highly text-based and would not promote much discussion, which the student found frustrating. He eventually began to ask less literal questions which prompted more group discussion. Over the course of the study the student demonstrated improvement in reading and understanding literature as well as in using writing as a tool for reading and discussion. His understanding of group norms also improved. These improvements were due to the instructional support of his regular and his special education teachers, his own persistence and positive attitude towards reading, and consideration from his peers. The student's assessment of the value of a literature discussion group was that it helped him have more ideas. By the end of the study the student's integration was deemed successful.
Subject Category : Programs and Activities
Research Methods : Observation
Language : English
Keywords : Reading; Special Education
Identifier: State University of New York, US

Johnson, Helen L., Susanna Pflaum, Ellen Sherman, Patricia Taylor, and Patricia Poole. Focus on Teenage Parents: Using Children's Literature to Strengthen Teenage Literacy.

Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy 39 no. 4 (Dec-Jan., 1996): 290-296.

Abstract : The Family Literacy Project: Focus on Teenage Parents is a program designed to develop the literacy skills of teenage parents through activities which also increase their understanding of child development and parenting issues. The four-year-old program has been run at six high schools, one community site and a residential shelter. At each site a credit course in children's literature is offered by a faculty team of one classroom teacher and one staff member from the New York Board of Education's LYFE program. A library of about 200 children's titles has been established at each school. Continual staff development includes workshops on child development, early language and literacy, writing activities, storytelling, and ways of using children's literature in the classroom. All students are required to read a range of children's books and are also assigned child development readings. Storytelling activities such as interviewing family members and presenting family stories in class, telling stories from favourite books, or participating in storytelling contests form part of the program. Each student must read regularly to a young child at home and another in a local elementary school and keep a journal about these reading experiences; class discussions include how to select a book for a particular child and how to sustain a child's interest in a story. Writing assignments include journal writing, topical writing about child development issues (for example, reaction pieces to magazine articles on parenting), and the development of a children's book by each class which is displayed at an annual recognition ceremony at the end of the year.
The program is open to both parents and nonparents in recognition of the fact that parents and nonparents bring different viewpoints to class discussion and that many students assume child-care responsibilities for other family members. The program is successful in both building literacy skills in student parents and encouraging them to read to their children.
Subject Category : Programs and Activities
Language : English
Keywords : Reading
Identifier: Queen's College, Flushing, NY, US