Pros and Cons of Implementing Literature Circles - Assignment Example

Literature Circles - Elementary Education in Constructivist rooms - Table of Contents I.Introduction ........................................................................................... 3 II. Overview of Literature Circles .............................................................. 4 III. Pros and Cons of Implementing Literature Circles ............................. 7 IV. Gender Issues on Literature Circles .................................................... 8 V. Strategic Ways on Implementing Literature Circles to Improve Constructivist Learning in Elementary Classrooms .............................. 9 a. Literature and Reading Ability of the Students .................. 10 b. The Application of Constructivist Learning in Science ... 11 VIII. The Future Trend of Teaching Method ................................................ 13 IX. Conclusion ............................................................................................ 14 Appendix I – Literature Circles Planner ........................................................... 15 Appendix II – Literature Circles Vocabulary Enricher ...................................... 17 Appendix III – Literature Circles Connector ..................................................... 18 Appendix IV – Literature Circles Discussion Director ...................................... 19 Appendix IV – Literature Circles Literary Luminary ......................................... 20 Appendix V – Literature Circles Summarizer .................................................. 21 References .................................................................................................. 22 - 26 Introduction Literature circles have been widely used in different educational institutions in order to increase the learning performance and reading skills of the students. Aiming to improve the benefits of this teaching method, literature circles became the subject of a lot of research activities and critics particularly in gender-related issues (Clarke, 2005; Evans, 2002; Johnson, 2000), strategic ways to improve literature circles in different subjects, and usual format of literature circles (Clarke, 2005; Brabham & Villaume, 2000; Peralta-Nash & Dutch, 2000; Burns, 1998). Elementary teachers usually use the concept of literature circles when conducting a lesson plan with the purpose of improving the students’ comprehensive skills. As part of the normal literature circles practices, this teaching concept is commonly used when teachers conduct a free reading activity, word games, drama activities, or upon completing a worksheet for a language subject for K-12 class. (FunLessonPlans, 2007) For the purpose of this study, the researcher will choose several peer-reviewed educational journals and books that discuss about the overview of literature circles, the pros and cons of implementing literature circles in elementary classrooms, the gender issues on literature circles, and the recommended strategic ways wherein teachers could improve the constructivist learning in elementary classrooms through the implementation of literature circles. In line with the recommended strategies, the researcher will discuss issues on how to use literature circles to improve the reading and literature skills of each student as well as their learning experience of science subjects. The future trend of teaching method will also be discussed in order to highlight its indirect impact on the benefits of literature circles. Overview of Literature Circles The main purpose of literature circle is to engage the student(s) in a discussion wherein they will be assigned to share their personal thoughts and ideas with regards to the topic or issues being examined or explored by the author(s). In the process of a group discussion or a critical thinking process, the student(s) are expected to insinuate open-ended questions which may arise from reading books and/or journals. Based on these questions, the group members are expected to explore and develop a list of hypothesis which they will explore as each of the students learn to interconnect the general facts gathered as stated in the reading materials. The concept of literature circles was first used as an instructional practice that promotes a transactional learning experience in class (Rosenblatt, 1978) which was eventually subjected to further modification over the years. (Clarke, 2005) According to Pitton (2005), literature circles is a good strategy when it comes to enabling the students to go through a “collaborative educational experience.” A literature circle is a process wherein a student or a group of four to six students are assigned to gather and/or read the same book or journals. (Lopez, n.d.) Some researchers stated that the ideal number of participants in each literature circles is composed of four to eight students. (Brabham & Villaume, 2000; Burns, 1998) It is also possible for a literature circle to have either lesser or more participants depending on the learning situation. Each member of literature circles are given enough time to be able to share their personal ideas and react on the thoughts of his/her group members in a professional way. (Brabham & Villaume, 2000) The students are also given the opportunity to be in-charge of their own learning experience particularly in leading a group discussion or even when it comes to deciding on the students’ preferred reading material for a given group meeting. (Peralta-Nash & Dutch, 2000) Teachers or the leaders of each group usually assign each member of the literature circles a specific task related to: ‘questioner’ wherein the student will be asked to develop questions that are significant for discussion; ‘illistrators’ related to drawings related to the discussion; ‘literary luminary’ which identifies specific interesting topics or selections from a chosen book; and ‘connectors’ wherein the students will be asked to related the text from one source to another or the text from the reading materials in connection with the real-life situation. (Daniels, 2002) Each member of the literature circle will be provided with an assignment sheet according to his or her assigned role. (See Appendix I – V on page 15 – 21) In other cases, students may be asked to write down their personal reaction and reflection on the subject matter or any possible questions that may arise in the reading process. (Brabham & Villaume, 2000; Peralta-Nash & Dutch, 2000; Burns, 1998) Students are expected to meet their group members for a discussion at least once a week. (Hill, Schlick Noe, & King, 2003) The students should be able to complete their own assignment sheet prior to the group meeting wherein the students will be allowed to share their ideas and finding to other group members during the literatur circle discussion. During a class activity, as soon as all members of the literature circles were finish reading a book or any reading materials and has successfully completed the assignment sheet based on his / her assigned role, students are normally asked meet their assigned group to start the discussion but not limited to what they have written in the assignment sheet. (Peralta-Nash & Dutch, 2000; Burns, 1998) In case the students have a limited experience in conducting the process of literature circles, teachers are expected to guide them with regards to proper understanding of the important discussions or interpersonal skills and professionalism in order to avoid posible conflicts that may arise out of misunderstanding. At this point, students are expected to brainstorm as the initial stage for launching a major class discussion. Eventually, each of the literature circles in class will have to go through the ‘fishbowl’ process wherein each members of the literature circles will have to take turns in reporting their group discussion in front of the class. (Hill, Schlick Noe, & King, 2003) In general, literature circles implemented in the classrooms could provide the students with a better discussion. (Evans, 2001) For this reason, applying the use of literature circle in class is considered effective when it comes to enhancing the learning experience of the students and developing the social interaction in class. (Clarke, 2005) Pros and Cons of Implementing Literature Circles The practice of literature circles are known for its ability to improve the students’ engagement in class activities and enhances the students learning comprehension as it promotes the development of critical thinking. (Clarke, 2005) Since students are encouraged to be involved in a group discussion and working collaboratively (Pitton, 2005), this learning technique greatly influence each of the students’ sociocultural development and self-esteem building (Reynolds, Morgan, & Stringer, 2003) aside from the fact that it could enable the students to learn more about themselves. The promotion of social interaction via class collaboration increases the students’ interest in participating in the class discussions. (Pitton, 2005) Basically, literature circles promotes diversity among the students, the importance of self-choice, and the students’ intiatives in learning. (Daniels, 2002) The literature circles improves the academic performance of the students particularly in their ability to connect texts with their own personal experiences and listening skills. It also teaches the students to become cooperative and responsible because each one of tehm will be assigned a specific responsibility to work on. (Burns, 1998) Considering all the benefits and positive effects of implementing literature circles in the elementary classrooms, teachers are able to enjoy the opportunity of developing competitive human resources for our country because of the fact that improvement in both the personal and social improvement of the students enable them to easily adopt with the continuously changing needs of the workforce. (Cazden, 2001) Other teaching techniques limit the opportunity for teachers and learners to learn from one another. Considering that the students are given the opportunity to choose and decide on their chosen reading materials, other students and teachers are able to learn from each other. (King, 2001) Also, students are able to get to know the topics they are interested more than when they are regularly directed by the teacher to use a specific book. Contrary to the positive effect of implementing literature circles in class, this type of teaching-and-learning strategy may not work effectively on students who prefer to read and/or work on the class activities on their own. (Pitton, 2005) Therefore, teachers who are planning to implement the use of literature circles in class should know how to balance their teaching instruction for the whole class and among the group members of the literature circles. Gender Issues on Literature Circles For many years, gender-related issues in the implementation of literature circles has been considered as one of the main concerns of some literacy educators. (Benjamin & Irwin, 1998) Clarke (2005) conducted a research study to determine the impact of gender-related issues on the way students respond to the implementation of literature circles. Because of the gender differences, boys and girls are often seen in homogenous groupings. (Evans, 2002) Researchers reveal that boys have a bigger chance of acquiring a symbolic power within a group. In the process, girls often becomes a victim of power-related issues. (Evans et al., 1998; Evans, 1996b; Cherland, 1994) On the other hand, girls maintain their position by “voicing another” in order to disempower the boys. (Bakhtin, 1986) Even though boys are often found to have more symbolic power and dominate the dicussion more than girls do (Evans et al., 1998; Evans, 1996b; Cherland, 1994), Johnson (2000) concluded that adolescent girls in a ‘girls only’ literature circles in the middle school level are expected to sustain their voices more than the boys since girls are able to sustain and maintain their self-composure as compared to the traditional ones. Strategic Ways on Implementing Literature Circles to Improve Constructivist Learning in Elementary Classrooms A constructivist learning occurs when a student learns to construct and understand a newly discovered facts or information by systematically organizing and interconnecting these data with their previously acquired knowledge. (Wilke & Staits, 2001) In the process of a constructive learning, students are trained to be able to mentally construct the information provided into a new idea wherein they could meaningful connect or apply the information provided to them into the real world environment. (Greece, n.d.) Upon using the literature circles for the purpose of improving the constructivist learning of the students, teachers are encouraged to be more proactive when handling a discussion group. (Clarke, 2005) Allowing a smooth interaction in class prevents conflicting issues that may arise out of gender, intellectual capacity, and the socioeconomic differences of the students. Literature and Reading Ability of the Students The students’ ability to read is an important factor that affects the learning experience of the students. Students who were able to successfully develop a life-long reading skills or habit acquires a better result in a standardized reading test. (Daniels, 2002) The study of Daniels (2002) shows that elementary students who have undergone a literature circle-based activities in classrooms were able to attain a 10% higher score as compared to students in other schools who did not go through the same teaching method. Considering that elementary students are rarely interested in reading (Kolloff, 2002), the article written by Gebhard (2006) in The Lost Boys (and Girls): Readers in Neverland discussed about designing a constructivist course that can be effective improve the students’ reading when applied in an elementary classrooms. Since teachers are considered to be the most effective person that could influence a child to read (Allington & Johnston, 2001), teachers should adopt several constructicist learning theories in the development of a preferred teaching strategy. For instance, book-sharing strategy, read-aloud strategy, sharing a PowerPoint presentation about the subject matter, assigning of book genre projects wherein a group of students will be assigned to create a puppet show, conduct a story telling, or role-playing in class can be used to increase the students’ interest in participating in class learning activities. (Gebhard, 2006) In some cases, teachers can use a videotape discussion or adopt a ‘fishbowl technique’ (Clarke, 2005) so as to improve the learning performance of the students. According to Supon (2001), a higher literacy rate among the students could improve their social interaction as well as their conversational ability. In order to increase the literacy rate of the elementary students, teachers should know by heart the topic they are teaching since familiarity in the subject matter enables the educators to teach the students how to connect between text-to-text, text-to-self, or even apply the text with the real world (Keene & Zimmerman, 1997). The study of Blum, Lipsett and Yocom (2002) shows that literature circles does not only improve their reading skills but also encourage the students to increase their motivation and abilities in analyzing literature selections as well as in sharing their personal opinion on the subject matter. In line with the reading improvement, the study of Berninger et al. (2003) suggests that a combination of ‘word recognition enhancement program’ and a ‘reading comprehension program’ could enhance the phonological decoding of students with low reading ability better than implementing only word recognition or the practice of reading without proper instruction. Even though providing the students with reading program with proper instruction shows a little improvement in the reading skills of elementary students, the positive result is still significantly less as compared to combining a ‘word recognition program’ with a ‘reading comprehension program’. The Application of Constructivist Learning in Science Students who learn from their personal experiences learn more than students who acquire their knowledge from a lecture-based instruction. (Wilke & Staits, 2001) According to Johnson and Lawson (1999), the ability of the students to a good reasoning could result to a better achievement in school especially in science. Exposing the students to more reasoning situations could enhance their reasoning skills which is needed in constructivist learning. In line with this matter, Pellegrino, Chudowski and Glaser (2001) highly recommend that students should go through several real-life problem-solving experiences in order to enhance their reasoning abilities. A real-life problem solving is considered one of the best learning strategy in a constructivist learning since students who are assigned to solve such cases are expected to come up with a new solution to a new problem based on their current knowledge. (Kolodner, 1997) It is used widely in the study of science for the reason that it enables the students to learn from discovery-based learning. Aside from increasing the motivation of students to learn more, this type of teaching-and-learning strategy trains the students to become self-directed learners. (Svinicki, 1998) Teachers can eventually maximize the benefits of real-life problem solving by applying it with the literature circles. Instead of assigning each student to solve a real-life case scenario individually, educators could improve the learnig experience of science students by assigning a group-based laboratory work, research papers, or even by going through a computer-assisted simulation. (Stevens & Palacio-Cayetano, 2003) By simply adopting the concept of literature circles in solving real-life cases, science students could learn more and gain more positive experience that create a huge impact on learning-by-doing or from a discovery-based learning. Designing the IMMEX problem-solving framework is one example that enhances the learning-by-doing experience of science students. (Stevens and Palacio-Cayetano, 2003) By linking the IMEX design framework with other multimedia such as the use of the Internet, science teachers could easily assign each member of the literature circles to participate in simulations or real-life problem solving at the comfort of their own home where the time allocation for students to complete the class requirements is longer. The study of Wilke and Staits (2001) emphasizes that traditional lecture-based instruction should not be abandoned since the combination of a traditional class discussion and the benefits of discovery learning could result to a better learning experience among the students. Therefore, science teachers should continue improving their existing teaching strategy. The Future Trend of Teaching Method As part of improving the constructivist learning in elementary schools, teachers should be aware of the future trend of teaching methods. Shepard (2000) discussed about the evolution of teaching method based from the dissolutionment of the old teaching paradigm – composed of a combined traditional instruction and assessment strategy; to the current paradigm which is characterized by a combination of classroom assessment, a reformed vision of curriculum, and the cognitive and constructivist learning theories). The author suggests that the future paradigm will focus on ‘scientific measurement’, ‘social efficiency curriculum’ and the ‘hereditarian theory of IQ or a combined associationist and behaviorist learning theories.’ Knowing the future trend of teaching method is essential part of improving the teaching-and-learning strategies applicable to elementary education. Enabling the teachers to know the futre trend of teaching method will make it easier for educators to adjust well with the proposed future teaching techniques. It will also inspire them to develop new ways of improving the flaws in the existing teaching techniques such as the literature circles. Conclusion Changes in the teaching techniques such as the literature circles is uncontrollable. Each day, research studies are being conducted to develop new ideas and recommendations to make the implementation of literature circles more efficient in the elementary classrooms. Teachers play a crucial role in making each of the existing teaching techniques more effective in terms of improving the students’ academic performances. Teachers should be aware that the use of literature circles is not limited to the improvement of reading skills and literature of the students. The concept of literature circles can also be applied to different subject like sciences. Through the teachers’ resourcefulness and creativity, it will be easier for the mentors to maximize the teaching-and-learning effectiveness of literature circles regardless of the subject matter. *** End *** Appendix I – Literature Circles Planner Literature Circles ©2006abcteach.com Planner A literature circle is a group of students that are reading the same book/journals. When they meet, they discuss the parts of the book/journals they have read and plan for the next session. Often, Literature Circles are enhanced with extra “assignments” – making time lines to help understand the book/journals better, or writing a chapter from a different character’s point of view, or researching a historical element of the text, illustrating a scene*… or whatever the students feel would increase their appreciation of the book. They may choose to do these assignments individually, in pairs, or as a whole group. Use this form to help you plan your Literature Circle. Journals Gathered: _______________________________ by ________________ Names of Literature Circle students: 1. _______________________ 4. _______________________ 2. _______________________ 5. _______________________ 3. _______________________ 6. _______________________ What are some assignments that will help you understand and appreciate what you read? • _______________________________________________________ • _______________________________________________________ • _______________________________________________________ • _______________________________________________________ • _______________________________________________________ • _______________________________________________________ • _______________________________________________________ Literature Circles Notes Literature Circle Group ________________________________________ Date __________________ As you read sections of this book, write down any vocabulary words you would like to understand better. Also, be sure to make notes about questions you would like to ask the group, and important points that you’ve noticed that you’d like to share with the group. Write the page number or key words to help you remember what inspired your thought. Today’s section: __________________ Vocabulary words: _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ Questions: ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ Notes: ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ Appendix II – Literature Circles Vocabulary Enricher Name: _________________________ Book: ______________________________ Date: _______________________ Assignment: _______________________________ Vocabulary Enricher: Your job is to look for a few important words in your reading. If you find words that are puzzling or unfamiliar, mark them down on this page while you are reading. Later, you can look them up in a dictionary and write down their definitions. You may also find words in the reading that are significant to the story. Mark these words too, and be ready to point them out to the group. When your circle meets, help members find and discuss the words. Words Definition Appendix III – Literature Circles Connector Name: _________________________ Book: ______________________________ Date: __________________ Assignment: _______________________________ Connector: Your job is to find connections between the journals you are reading and the outside world. This means connecting what you read with your own life, to what happens at school or in the community, to similar events at other times and places, or to other people or problems. Once you have shared your connection to the journals, each member of your group will also relate their own connection to the journal, although they may refer to a different passage. Describe the part in the journal, and then explain your connection. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Appendix IV – Literature Circles Discussion Director Name: _________________________ Book: ______________________________ Date: __________________ Assignment: _______________________________ Discussion Director: Your job is to write a list of questions that your group might want to discuss about this part of the journals. The best questions will come from your own thoughts, feelings, and ideas about journal. You also need to write your own answers to these questions. Questions: 1.______________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 2.______________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 3.______________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 4.______________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 5.______________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Sample Questions: What was going through your mind when you read this? How did you feel when…? Can someone summarize this section? Did anything surprise you about this section of the book? Predict something about the next section of the book. Appendix IV – Literature Circles Literary Luminary Name: _________________________ Book: ______________________________ Date: __________________ Assignment: _______________________________ Literary Luminary: Your job is to choose a paragraph or sentences from the journal to discuss with your group. Your purpose is to help other students by spotlighting something interesting, powerful, funny, puzzling, or important from the text. You can read parts aloud yourself, or ask another group member to read them. Include your reasons for picking the paragraphs or sections you did. Please record the page number and paragraph. Paragraph and reason for choosing: 1.______________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 2.______________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 3.______________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 4.______________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 5.______________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Appendix V – Literature Circles Summarizer Name: _________________________ Book: ______________________________ Date: __________________ Assignment: _______________________________ Summarizer: Your job is to prepare a summary of the reading. Don’t tell the whole story, just focus on the important parts. The other members of your group will be counting on you to give them a quick statement that tells about the story (the summary), and the key points. Summary: ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Key Points: 1.______________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 2.______________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ 3.______________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 4.______________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 5.______________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ References: Allington, R., & Johnston, P. 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Johnson, M., & Lawson, A. (1999). What are the Relative Effects of Reasoning Ability and Prior Knowledge on Biology Achievement in Expository and Inquiry Classes. In Stevens R. and Palacio-Cayetano J. (ed) Design and Performance Frameworks for Constructing Problem-Solving Simulations . Journal of Research in Science Teaching , 25: 89 - 103. Keene, E., & Zimmerman, S. (1997). Mosaic of Thought: Teaching Comprehension in a Readers Workshop. Portsmouth, NH: Helnemann. King, C. (2001). I Like Group Reading because We can Share Ideas: The Role of Talk within the Literature Circle. Reading , 35(1): 32 - 36. Kolloff, P. (2002). Why Teachers Need to be Readers. In Gebhard S. (ed) The Lost Boys (and Girls): Readers in Neverland. Gifted Child Today , 25(2):50 - 54. Kolodner, J. (1997). Educational Implications of Analogy. A View from Case-Based Reasoning. In Stevens R. and Palacio-Cayetano (ed) Design and Performance Framework for Constructing Problem-Solving Simulations. 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The Reader, the Text, the Poem: The Transactional Theory of the Literary Work. In Clarke L.W. (ed) Power through Voicing Others: Girls Positioning of Boys in Literature Circle Discussions. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press. Shepard, L. (2000). The Role of Assessment in a Learning Culture. Educational Researcher , 29(7): 4 - 14. Stevens, R., & Palacio-Cayetano, J. (2003). Design and Performance Frameworks for Constructing Problem-Solving Simulations. Cellular Biology Education , 2(3): 162 - 179. Supon, V. (2001). The Student Teacher Literacy Project. In Gebhard S. (ed) The Lost Boys (and Girls): Readers in Neverland. Journal of Instructional Psychology , 28: 113 - 117. Svinicki, M. (1998). A Theoretical Foundation for Discovery Learning. In Wilke R.R. and Straits W.J. (ed) The Effects of Discovery Learning in a Lower-Division Biology Course. Advances in Physiology Education , 20: 4 - 7. Wilke, R., & Staits, W. (2001). The Effects of Discovery Learning in a Lower-Division Biology Course. Advance Physiology Education , 25: 62 - 69. Read More