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Lydia Sheldon

17 February 2013

EDUC 515

Penn Mentor: Sandi Richards

Fieldwork Notebook Entry 3Reflection on Literature Circle Participation

This month my 8th grade classes and I begin our study of Anne Frank and some

(limited) background study of the Holocaust. In recent weeks, I havent been satisfied with

my students participation in the reading assignments. Ive wondered if our practice of

whole class reading techniques is too unwieldy and unfocused for consistently productive

reading. While I think its important for us to read and discuss as a whole class, Ive noticed

that some personalities seem to dominate our discussions. It took me a while to realize that

my own perception of my students reading comprehension and engagement with the text

was mediated through these recurring individual voices. Notably, in 8B, Samir and

Makeishas questions and engagement worked for me as representatives of those studentsat lower ability levels, while Wei and Aminahs reactions to the text and participation in

class represented what I thought of as higher level ability students. As I analyze my own

reactions here, I realize how faulty this method of assessment is.

In an effort to focus and structure class reading better, Ive divided both 8th grade

classes into literature circles for our study of Anne Frank. I assigned students to groups of

4-5, and based my assignments on what I knew of my students ability levels, personalities,

work ethics, and relationships with each other. (*Note: for the purposes of my inquiry,

what kind of tangible data can I use to represent those factors? Are my own written

reflections sufficient?) Your own anecdotal data seems sufficient, since it is based on your

many hours spent with these students over the past months. As you gather more personal

information about them from surveys and self-assessments, you can use these tosupplement your own carefully formed impressions.

I wanted to find out how my students thought of themselves within their literature

circles. I also wanted to be able to measure any change over time in their understanding of

their strengths as scholars of literature. (*Note, to that end, I want to assign a similar

journal entry to my students at the end of our unit in literature circles). I asked my

students to answer the prompt: What are the strengths you bring to your literature

circle? What do you hope your other group members will do to make your study of Anne

Frank better? Now that Ive read their responses, I wish thatI had structured those

prompts more clearly. Im not sure that all of my students understood what I was asking. I

should have been more specific, and given them examples of what strengths I meant. Some

of them gave thoughtful, revealing answers. I love these questions! They encourage thestudents not only to identify and lift up their own positive qualities, but also to hold one

another accountable for productive sessions in their circles. You could easily ask the same

questions again after a span of time to monitor increased self-awareness and personal

pride.

During this artifact collection and analysis, I am most curious about those students

who are consistently quiet in our group discussions, but who demonstrate strong ability

through projects and written work. Im focusing on two students in 8A, Mark and Ethan.

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(*Note: am I using the right term here, i.e. ability?)Ability vs, performance can be tricky

to distinguish from one another. What makes the most sense to you?

Marks response to this prompt shows sophisticated metacognition.

I think that some of the strengths I bring to my table is originality. I try my best

to think about what other people dont think of. Everyone makes a huge

contribution to our group. Everyone comes up with a new and different POV. Somany different ideas come from just the four of us. I think everything is perfect

the way it is now.

Mark is right: he is original. Mark consistently demonstrates remarkable creativity in his

written work. When he does volunteer comments in class discussion, it takes him a while to

formulate his thoughts, and he sometimes seems dissatisfied with how hes articulated

them. (*Note: Again, can I document this somehow other than just my own written

reflections?) Other possible types of documentation include attentive monitoring and note-

taking by Dr. M, videotaping or tape-recording the class/Mark regularly, and one-on-one

interviews with him to dig in deeper to his behavior. Marks response here seems to

indicate that he is staying engaged in the class discussion, valuing other students

contributions. But how can I make him more confident to participate, and ensure that hedoesntfeel rushed? Is it even important that I do so? My thought is that a smaller group

(i.e., his literature circle) will create enough room for Mark to feel comfortable and

motivated to speak up in discussion. How will I track Marks growth during this unit?

Ethans response reveals his concerns as someone who takes his work seriously,

who consistently hands in assignments on time, and as someone who takes a leadership

position in the extracurricular technology needs of school events.

Things that strengthen our literature circles is that we actually separate the

work among ourselves. For example the two objectives that had already been

done we split the work the info to the class was by me, then the picture book is

by Jason, then Terence, and Montana.

I feel as if we need to communicate more as a group about Anne, because itseems as some of us are having trouble.

I deliberately assigned Ethan to this group because I have observed his leadership skills. He

expresses frustration when the class doesnt stay on task, and instead of complaining

quietly to himself or his friends, he verbally asks everyone to return to the task. In this

context, it doesnt surprise me that he would be concerned about the members of his

literature circle contributing. (I put Montana in that group because I knew that though she

often chooses not to participate in class work, she has demonstrated the ability to

thoughtfully analyze a text and make connections. Montana illustrated this perfectly by

declining to participate in writing a response to this prompt). Am I doing Ethan a disservice

by utilizing his leadership skills in an effort to reach Montana? How can I use this literature

circle to encourage Ethan to volunteer his analyses of the text, not only his organizationalabilities? Perhaps another question you could ask the circle groups is to identify an area in

themselves that is in need of growth or improvement, and make that part of the students

focus along with their strengths.

I know that both Mark and Ethan are capable of sophisticated work in class. I

suspect, though, that both students are quiet during whole class discussions because they

choose to not compete with other students for a voice. My hope is that their literature

circles will challenge them to channel their ability in new ways. For Mark, I want him to

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learn to contribute his thoughtful reflections on a text vocally within a group. For Ethan, I

want him to value his own analyses enough to contribute them to the group, and engage in

that aspect of literary analysis as much as he does on the organizational side. I also want to

make sure that he doesnt feel that hes bearing the burden of work in his group. How can I

monitor both students work in measurable ways? Another factor I may consider is that

both of these students are in 8A, which is generally a quieter and more orderly class than8B. I am concerned that students in 8B have even less inclination to contribute because of a

few dominant personalities. Implementing structured ground rules for discussion in their

literature circles may help to yield more quantifiable data about the students contributions

when they sit with their assigned classmates. It is also interesting to think about the social

and cultural factors, forces, and frictions that come into play (though well beyond your

control and most assuredly underground!) in the classroom setting. How might these areas

help to inform and illuminate your inquiry research?

Your analyses are exceptional in their level of depth and openness to new discoveries.

Great for you, Lydia.