Analysis of Student Practicum

Amy Kennedy
December 9, 2014

Analysis of Student Practicum

Comprehension can be seen as the process of using ones own prior knowledge and the writers
cues to construct a set of meanings that are useful to the individual reader reading in a specific
socio-cultural contextWhen the reader consciously selects a process for a specific purpose,
that process can be called a reading strategy. (Irwin, p. 10)
The Role of the Student
In the beginning of the practicum my student was very confident in her reading. She was
quick to share that she was reading slightly above her grade level and always understood
everything she read. She selected text based on interest and mostly read fiction stories. When
asked about her reading strategies, she said that she sometimes has difficulty pronouncing the
words and will ask an adult for help. The reader brings their own experiences or prior
knowledge, attitudes, interests, expectations, cultural background and skills to the text (Irwin, p.
8). This was also true for my student. Her experiences and interests where in the area of fiction.
She had a positive attitude toward reading and enjoyed reading for pleasure. She was aware that
meaning broke down for her when she skips a word, line or page. She was also aware that
meaning breaks down when her reading is interrupted and that she sometimes needs to go back
and reread a section to remember the story. The practicum lessons provided opportunities for the
student to select, evaluate, and regulate her reading comprehension strategies once she became
aware of her need for the reading strategies. She was also challenged to read both fiction and
non-fiction text and apply the strategies. During the practicum the student was able to maintain
her confidence in her reading ability and apply her knowledge of fix up strategies when meaning
broke down.

The Role of the Text

The role of the text was to give the student the opportunity to use the fix-up strategies that were
taught. The text had to be just difficult enough for the student to struggle without being too hard
and her feel defeated. The text also had to either provide enough support within the text or the
student to have enough background knowledge about the text to make meaning (Irwin, p.165).
In selecting text I looked for text that would balance the student prior knowledge, and my
students reading ability with the prior knowledge and abilities that student would need to read
the text. There were many selections that I looked through to determine what would be the best
fit for my student. Incorporating non-fiction into the lessons was critical since my student was
not as comfortable reading non-fiction. I also wanted her to be aware that the same strategies
that we use for fiction could be applied to non-fiction and non-fiction to fiction. I also had to be
aware that if the student had too much knowledge of a topic or the information that was being
read that she would not have to rely on the strategies to help her make meaning. The fiction
stories where usually within the instructional readability range that her Developmental Reading
Assessment and Accelerated Reading tests determined as her reading range. Her reading range
was 3.2 to 4.5 and her DRA was 34 independent level. The non-fiction text, Living at the
Bottom of the World, was written on a 2nd grade level. The non-fiction text, Stealing Beauty, was
written for 6th and 7th grade. I selected this text because I needed to show her a text where even
as an adult I had to use reading strategies to comprehend text. The non-fiction pieces were in
her independent range because of the high number of vocabulary words that were used in writing
of the text. As stated in our text, there are at least two broad criteria for matching students with
materials so that they can comprehend: interest and readability (Irwin, p.170). Both of these

criteria were used to start the selection of the materials, but I also had to look at the text
structure, vocabulary, and within text support to select the best text to use for the lessons.
The Role of the Task
The tasks were designed to build on each other and allow the student to become aware of the
inner conversations that occur while reading and to self monitor her comprehension. The task
also allowed her to practice the fix-up strategies of re-reading, reading on, and identifying
confusing words. In selecting the task I also had to be aware of what the student was already
able to do so the task would add knowledge. The comprehension task involved finding a reading
strategy appropriate for the intended purpose. The task included what, why, when, and how to
use the strategies. These questions were used to make the anchor charts for practicum 4. The
anchor charts would have been more effective if I had let the student help me create the charts.
The lessons were conducted during the school day in varies rooms. I did notice that the student
seemed the most comfortable when we were seating side by side at a small table. This allowed
for both the reader and me to see the text and work through it together. The definition of
literacy as creating meaning was emphasized in the lessons. The individual components of the
task had to be planned with a gradual release of responsibility component since the goal is to
have the student work toward recognizing when meaning is
breaking down and fixing up the problem in their own independent reading.
The Role of the Teacher
The role of the teacher is to select the best materials for each section of the lesson, plan the
lesson where there is explicit instruction, ensure that the student feels successful, supports and
encourages the student while moving the student to independence. The materials must be

examined and selected keeping in mind the interests and ability of the student. The teaching of
the lesson must include making sure that the student knows what strategy is being taught, why
we use the strategies, when we use strategies, and how to use them. The teacher must be specific
and clear in the word choice and feedback that is given to the student. The teacher must decide
the level of support to give and when. The teacher asks questions to help clarify thinking. The
teacher must look at data to determine a starting place, but then also make decisions about next
steps based on the strengths and weaknesses of the student at the end of each lesson. The teacher
must assess their own instruction to improve their effectiveness. The practicum lessons let me
not only observe how my student was growing, but also how I was changing as a teacher. The
first lessons were broad and not as focused, but as I reviewed and read more about the teaching
of strategic processing I made adjustments to the instruction. I also became more aware of my
own strategic processing in reading.
Learning to become an effective teacher of strategic processing takes time (Almasi and
Fullerton, p. 263). Just as there are many components to comprehension and it takes time and
work to become a better reader the same is true for becoming a better teacher. The practicum
just started that journey for me as a teacher of strategic processing. At the beginning of the
practicum I did not realize all the components that were involved and all the thinking that had to
occur in my own planning of each lesson. Each component from the text, the task, the student
and the teacher all had to be examined, planned for, reviewed and adjusted to help the student
become a confident reader and me become an effective teacher of strategic processing.

References
Almasi, J.F. & Fullerton, S. (2012). Teaching strategic processing in reading. New York, NY:
Guilford Press.
Irwin, J. W. (2007). Teaching reading comprehension processes. Boston, MA: Pearson
Education, Inc.