Blog Post #1

After reading “Apprenticing Adolescents to Reading in Subject Area Classrooms” and “What is Metacognition”, one of the main ideas I gained was that being a good reader is not just about being able to read words on a page. Students need to fully understand how they are reading, recognize when they are having a difficult time understanding something, and figure out and know how to improve their understanding. This further connects the ideas of reading apprenticeship from Schoenbach et al as well as with Martinez’s explanation of metacognition. Both readings demonstrate students becoming stronger and more independent learners when their teachers make the process behind readings and learning more visible and accessible. 

In the first reading, “Apprenticing Adolescents to Reading in Subject Area Classrooms” authors Schoenbach, et al explain how students often struggle with academic texts as they are not taught how to approach a difficult/high-level text in different subjects. The reading further focuses on making the teachers' reading methods more visible and accessible and by helping their students understand their own reading methods. I thought this was interesting as teachers sometimes will assume their students either know how to read an academic text or they just aren’t “good enough” readers. The reading, however, explains that students can be strong readers in one subject, and weak readers in another. An example of this can be, I am a strong reader when reading historical books, but when it came to reading books in biology, I struggled so much I had a difficult time understanding the material. Basically the information went in one ear, out the other… 

This further connects to Martinez’s definition of what is metacognition as was mentioned in the reading “the monitoring and control of thought” (Martinez, pg.1). Students need to be able to recognize whether they can or cannot understand what they are reading. Martinez further states how students can read a textbook page without even realizing they are not fully grasping the concept. This is why strategies such as summarizing, questioning the author, making connections, as well as thinking aloud can be so helpful. They further encourage students to stop and think rather than just reading through and memorizing the material.

Furthermore, think-alouds and discussions are very important, as in both readings it explains how teachers can model their own thinking when struggling with difficult texts by slowing down, rereading, and asking questions. Both readings also emphasize the importance of student discussion where they talk with their classmates and discuss the readings together and to be able to clear up any confusions amongst each other. 

Overall, both the readings changed the way I think about reading methods. It should be an opportunity for students to learn how to monitor their own understanding and become more independent. As a future teacher, I would think it is important to create a classroom where my students would feel comfortable admitting they are having trouble/are confused, and take it as a part of the process of learning, rather than just keeping quiet, and failing. By modeling ones own thinking and teaching students different methods/strategies, they can become more independent and strong readers.