After noticing a lack of motivation from one of my guided reading groups, I decided to see how technology would increase engagement. This particular group was a group of "high-fliers" who were in need of some motivation. They seemed bored during guided reading groups, and I wanted to do something to help them be more engaged and still learn. According to Bean & Dagen (2012), "Working with digital technologies increases motivation" (p. 300). Therefore, I decided to use a program called "RAZ Kids," which my school has already purchased to find books at the appropriate levels. From the moment we got the Chromebooks out, I could see their excitement. Every time we have guided reading they ask- "Are we using the Chromebooks today?!"
After noticing their levels of engagement, I wanted to see how my students felt about using the Chromebooks for guided reading as opposed to regular books. I gave them a short survey of 4 questions. Here are the results:
As you can see by the graph, my students prefer to use Chromebooks. However, three out of six still say that they are excited about using regular books as well. All six students also claimed that they think they learn better when we are using Chromebooks. These findings were exciting, because now I know that I can use a variety of texts that will still engage the group.
Technology in Practicum Experience
During my practicum experience, my professor observed me and offered the suggestion that I use more technology as a part of tutoring. While my student enjoyed the topic that we were learning about, I noticed a significant difference in his engagement when we began to use a Chromebook to read. At first, I started with the RAZ Kids program to find books on his level. Then, I discovered that you could get a Google Add-on that works like a pen and allows you to mark on webpages. I started finding articles on NewsELA that were of interest to him, and we were able to practice self-monitoring skills right on the webpage. We worked on the INSERT Strategy (Interactive Notion to Effective Reading and Thinking), where the student marked places in the passage where he already knew something, was confused by something, learned something new, or read something that contradicted what he thought (Guided Comprehension, 2017). Through using a gradual release of responsibility, the student was able to practice this skill on multiple texts. My student has shown improvement in reading comprehension from using this strategy along with technology.
Bean, R. M., & Dagan, A. S. (Eds.). (2012). Teachers as Literacy Leaders. In Best Practices of Literacy Leaders (pp. 300). New York: Guilford Press.
Guided Comprehension: Monitoring Using the INSERT Technique - ReadWriteThink. (n.d.). Retrieved April 16, 2017, from http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/guided-comprehension-monitoring-using-230.html
Guided Comprehension: Monitoring Using the INSERT Technique - ReadWriteThink. (n.d.). Retrieved April 16, 2017, from http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/guided-comprehension-monitoring-using-230.html