There have been numerous research articles affirming that the digital literature circle provides students with opportunities to engage in critical thinking and reflection as they read, discuss and respond to the story / book. The evaluation of reading was based on specific assessment tools outlined by the school with the main purpose of being accountable to interested parties such as parents, management, BOT and the Ministry of Education. Most of these assessment tools are standardised and I feel that the content of these tests cater for native speakers of English. The Ministry of Education (2007) affirms that ‘The primary purpose of assessment is to improve students’ learning and teachers’ teaching and that a range of assessment approaches is needed for successful and effective decision making. As a syndicate we wondered if the results collated from these standardised assessment tools were adequate, valid and reliable but we thoroughly analysed the data from these high-stake summative assessments before I embarked on this innovation.
When the innovation was implemented, I found that our students needed longer scaffolding time than I anticipated before they could do it independently. I started off with books (Literature) lower than their reading level then progressed through to more complicated texts. We began by doing a book as a whole class and we went through doing the roles or tasks that each member of a group would do. Then the students were divided into groups but used the same book /story for all the groups. In each group students are given their assigned role (summariser, questioner, connector, director, predictor and vocab investigator) before they get together with students from other groups who have the same role as them, like all the summarisers get together work together, all the connectors work together and so on. Later, the students returned to their original groups and they shared / reported their findings orally with others but all the members have access to the same Google presentation where they collaborate as a group. When students are assigned specific roles , they have to be prepared to discuss their responses; they feel a sense of responsibility to the group. The effectiveness of this was clearly evident from the quality of work produced by the students. Having the students with the same roles working collaboratively was a success as they benefit from each other's contributions. Although it was challenging for most students at the beginning, I have noticed an improvement in the level of engagement, interest in reading and students’ comprehension ability.
Complication in Evaluating the Outcome
The students and I were excited about our new way of learning that we implemented in our classroom, then Covid-19 struck and all the restrictions associated with it. Our innovation was stopped in its’ tracks by the uncertainty of school. Therefore, we focused on just finding ways to continue with it during our online lessons. This was not an easy move but we were courageous enough to make it work. It was a rewarding experience as our innovation was put to the test where students were able to continue collaborating online and there was an opportunity for discussions when we had our Google Meets. I can't wait to do an assessment but I think that assessment needs to be more than just summative because I can see that the targeted students have shown improvement with their comprehension skills and engagement.
Conclusion
It was evident that our learners participated in literature circle discussions, showed high levels of comprehension, higher-level thinking, and an ability to engage deeply in texts. However, teachers have to be prepared to be a facilitator and provide students with necessary scaffolds so they can actively make worthwhile contributions towards completing their tasks to a higher standard. According to Dalie (2001) when students are doing literature circles, we are giving them ample opportunities to practice and develop the skills and strategies of good readers.
References
DaLie, S.O. (2001). Students becoming real readers: Literature circles in high school English classes, in
Ericson, B.O. (Ed.), Teaching Reading in High School English Classes. Urbana: NCTE, 84-100.
Eeds, M., & Wells, D. (1989). Grand conversations: An exploration of meaning construction in literature study groups. Research in the Teaching of English, 23(1), 4–29.
Glasser, W. (1986). Control theory in the classroom. New York: Harper & Row.
Ministry of Education (2007). The New Zealand Curriculum. Wellington: Learning Media Limited.
Roskos, K. & Neuman, S. (2014). Best Practices in Reading: A 21st Century Skill Update. The Reading Teacher, 67(7), 507–511. Retrieved from: https://www.readingrockets.org/article/best-practices-reading-21st-century-skill-update
Thomas A. F. (2014). An Action Research Study Involving motivating middle school students’ learning through online literature circles. Journal of Ethnographic & Qualitative Research (serial online). Fall 2014.
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