Hello Reader,
Today I will refer to the reading “Teaching Comprehension of Complex disciplinary.” One part of the reading that stood out to me was on the part of the expectations some teachers have with middle and high schoolers. This section reminded me about how in my freshman year in high school my teacher from a social studies class told another teacher about how their students are behind in their reading and writing skills, and I remember her also saying that many of the students don’t know how to write a simple essay. My teacher and the other teacher were talking in the back of the classroom somewhat quietly. Listening to their conversation did not make me feel good because it kinda made me feel as if I was also behind. This then made me wonder why is it that high schoolers and middle schoolers are behind in their reading skills?
On the other hand, something I really appreciated from my AP Language and composition teacher is that he did not expect us to know everything in writing or reading skills. I remember for a week we went over grammar rules. Some classmates were very familiar with the rules and for others it was a good refresher. I also remember that he would provide us with handouts that would help us break down the main idea and its supporting arguments in the text.
Another point that stood out to me is where it stated in the reading that “traditional practices in disciplinary classrooms have been to assign reading and to assess performance but not teach comprehension.” I think such practices may continue to occur in classroom settings because of the fact that standardized testing is the norm in the United States school systems. Especially when it comes to the SAT multiple choice sections students tend to have to skim for answers because the exams are timed. So the student needs to have enough time to answer questions. The timed exam limits the ability to truly comprehend the text for students. In addition to some degree it is important for students to know how to skim the reading for answers because the goal for students is to perform well on the SAT. Performing well on the SAT is important because it opens doors to scholarships and possibilities to enter good universities. This makes me wonder if perhaps standardized testing affects the ability for students to learn to read for comprehension instead of reading to perform well in an exam.
What has been your experience in high school when it came to reading practices you learned in a core subject?
That is all for today. Have a great rest of your day!
hi!
ReplyDeleteThis is so thoughtful!
Yes, I also wonder how would eliminating standardized testing would affect the ability for students' skills to develop in depth. I feel like tests have such high stakes that I see in my observations that teachers have to run through the material in classes like AP Government, AP US/Europe History and even AP Psychology. I feel like students are expected to master all these complex topics and write about them in a sophisticated and advanced manner. I cannot image those in Advanced sciences and math classes. As a student how can you manage? What do you do when you have 3-4 classes that have tests that you need to do good for in order for all that hard work to pay off?
hello!
ReplyDeleteYes I agree, often times students are punished for "falling behind" rather than giving the students the benefit of the doubt. We don't know why the students may not know a concept, we don't know if they missed a class, moved from another school, or any other reason. As a high schooler, I also often felt bad about being "behind", especially after covid, so we as teachers need to help students manage.