DaveShearon

Reading, Homework, Engagement, and Learning

We do a pretty good job of teaching students to read and a lousy job of getting them to read to learn.  Knowing how to read is just not enough; it is the habit of reading for the pleasure of the story and the tingle of new learning that matters.  (Buy the print here!)

E.D. Hirsh, Jr. writes here about the importance of knowledge to reading comprehension.  He notes:

"According to the latest scores from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), the reading achievement of eighth-graders has declined since the law was passed in 2001, and the large reading gap between advantaged and disadvantaged children -- "the achievement gap" -- has stayed where it was. Today's eighth-graders had recorded gains in fourth grade, but these have not led to improvements in later grades -- when reading scores actually count for a student's future."

He argues that the focus in K-4 on teaching kids to read works, but that the continued focus on that same topic in 5-8 produces diminishing returns.  Thus, reading in middle school needs to move from "how" to "why" -- from teaching to leading.

So, why should kids read and how can we get them to read?  For some, it's easy.  Their character strengths of curiosity or love of learning make it easy to get them started reading to learn and they take it from there.  Others may require different approaches.  The principle, however, is the same.  As kids find out that reading helps them gain knowledge and experience that turn their talents into strengths, they will want to read more.  Twenty-five books per year, or more. Or the equivalent in news articles, magazines, etc.  The key is that reading builds knowledge, and knowledge enables reading.  Again, from Dr. Hirsch:

[Hmmm... those are my beliefs, but I think I've just put forth what could serve as hypotheses for research.  For example, are students for whom curiosity and love of learning are top character strengths more likely to be prolific readers?  Does helping students connect to reading material that enhances their strengths increase the likelihood that they will read significant amounts?]

As Dr. Hirsch points out, it is not just the ability to read that matters.  It is reading!  Lots of reading. 

"Studies of reading comprehension show that knowing something of the topic you're reading about is the most important variable in comprehension. After a child learns to sound out words, comprehension is mostly knowledge. Many technical studies support the assertion that after students can fluently sound out words, relevant knowledge is the crucial difference between students who are good or poor readers."

So who's going to lead the effort to re-direct more time and attention in middle school to reading for knowledge and learning?  Teachers, if anyone.  Some will focus on making time available for students to read.  Others will defend reading against ill-informed attacks.  Overall, however, it's teacher led instructional improvement that offers a realistic path to sustained superior performance.

The Sydney Opera House - Positive Psychology in Organizations - Stretch Goals

My monthly post is up over at Positive Psychology News Daily.

Positive Deviants in Love

This is the beginning of an article in Friday's Wall Street Journal that is an example of how fields of science other than positive psychology are beginning to study positive deviants.  The article goes on to note that functional magnetic resonance imaging (fmri) scans revealed that the few couples they've scanned so far showed the same brain activity as those newly in love, plus activity that seems associated with long-term pair bonding.

Keeping Love Alive

Neuroscientists are probing why some married couples can maintain the spark for years.

By SAM SCHECHNER
February 8, 2008; Page W1

Ann Tucker is pushing a shopping cart through the produce section of a supermarket in Plainview, N.Y., when she turns to kiss her husband. The supermarket kiss is a regular ritual for the Tuckers. So are the restaurant kiss and the traffic-light kiss. "I guess we do kiss a lot," says Mrs. Tucker, a 39-year-old mathematician at a money-management firm.

Mrs. Tucker is living happily ever after, and scientists are curious why. She belongs to a small class of men and women who say they live in the thrall of early love despite years of marriage, busy jobs and other daily demands that normally chip away at passion.

Most couples find that the dizzying, almost-narcotic feeling of early love gives way to a calmer bond. Now, researchers are using laboratory science to investigate Mrs. Tucker and others who live fairy-tale romances. The studies could help reveal the workings of lifelong passion and perhaps one day lead to a restorative.

Living in a World of Possibilities

This picture grabbed my attention in an ad on a website.  It's from Wayfarer's Moon, an on-line cartoon.  I noticed it because it is archery and the arrow is drawn on the correct side of the bow and the character is using a correct form for drawing the string.  I see so much art with the arrow away from the archer (only correct for kyudo) and the archer "pinching" the string between thumb and index finger.  Putting the arrow on the side away from the archer would make the arrow spin off the rest and out to the side as the fingers roll on the string as it is drawn.  "Pinching" the string won't work at the draw weights of target bows, much less those for hunting or battle as in the fantasies that the art represents. 

Beyond my hobby interests, however, the picture reminds me that we live in an time more characterized by possibilities and less by threats than almost any time in human history in any culture.  Folks can make a living from skills in writing and arts, and even the gate-keeping function of published media has been breached, for good and ill.  Thus, the effect of positive emotions, thought patterns, and relationships in helping us take advantage of opportunities is multiplied by more and bigger opportunities.  Further, more individuals have a real chance to structure much of their "work" around their real strengths.  This is good, very, very good!