Course Correction Par 2: The Interview

Interview with 7 year old “A”, First Grader
March 26, 2009
11:12 pm
A-I’ve got some ideas
M-You’ve got some ideas?
A-MmmHm!
M-You seem very excited. Why did you want to come over here to talk to me?
A-Because it’s like so much that It’s just like a big challenge it’s like so fun
M-It’s so fun. Ok.
A-We should do this more often like when you we have a new class you should do this the second day.
M-You think we should do this at the beginning of the year? Why?
A-‘cause so they so they like go one step ahead
M-Oh you think it would get them one step ahead
A-Yeah and it will be real nice
M-Oh, thank you for that idea
A-Yeah and we should ask them the details too.
M-Like what?
A-Like if we get enough money we could change the office, change the centers and you guys can by a plant. We could make a lot of money by this
M-How could we raise the money?
A-Some how. You know the trash bags?
M-Yes
A-That’s pretty much what we are doing. Putting them up in the hall. If they like them they might pay us. They might. I don’t know.
M-Who might pay us?
A-I don’t know. Just people who will like it. I don’t know.
M-Ok. Thanks for the idea
A-Who do you want next?
M-Can I ask you a couple more questions?
A-Yes
M-What is this a picture of?
A-The pictures of the cars in the hallway
M-How many do we have?
A-No
M-How would you find out if you wanted to know?
A-Count them by tens. 10-20-30-40-50-60-70-80-90-100-110-120-130-140-150-160-170-180-190-200-210-220-230-240-250-260-270-280-290-300-310-320-320-340-350-351-352-353-354-355. 355!
M-What do you think about that?
A-Real nice! I think we have so much that we could give everyone ten.
M-Give everyone ten what?
A-Everyone in the whole school…our cars
M-That’s an interesting suggestion
A-That’s a lot
M-That is a lot
A-That’s what I think.
M-Can I ask you, when do you read usually?
A-Well I read when at night because even though there’s not much light that’s the only time
M-That’s the only time.
A-Even on school nights my brother reads so I read. I finished the book Freddie Fernortner - Fearless First Grader
M-Oh, I remember that book. You showed it to me. What did you think about that book?
A-There’s kids go on a adventure and this kid named Freddie there’s this cat named Mr. Chewy
M-Mr.Chewy
A-And there’s chipper
M-Chipper. Ok
A-And they found this flying bike and there’s a lot of pictures not like on every page but like when you turn to like a different page there’s like a picture
M-Oh
A-Not like on every page. One they like got chased by a bear but they survived.
M-They did?
A-Yeah, then they found an eagle
M-Oh!
A-A circling eagle
M-A circling eagle. Do you like…do pictures make a book better?
A-Yeah, because they’re more enjoyed
M-They’re more enjoyed?
A-You enjoy them.
M-Can I ask you one more question?
A-MmHuh
M-Why do you think the first grade teachers wanted to give their students a reading challenge?
A-I don’t uh I think to just like get them learning more how to read.
M-Get them learning how to read
A-Well they get one step ahead
M-Do you feel like you are one step ahead
A-Yeah
M-Yeah, is there anything else you wanted to share with me about the reading challenge? Anymore of your ideas?
A-I’m gonna come up with some more. Just give me some time and let some other people so I have some time and I’ll tell you when I have an idea
M-Alright
A-Who do you want next and I’ll go.
M-Ummm, I’m actually gonna take a break now.
A-Ok.

Riding the wave of excitement that swelled from the “March is Reading Month” challenge that has engulfed the class, I conducted interviews in hopes of discovering the thoughts and attitudes of some first graders who participated in the challenge. As described previously (see Course Correction Part 1), this wave obliterated my previous course and sent me whirling on a new path of exploration. I conducted and recorded nine interviews at the behest of curious students. With each interview, I continually refined my course by rephrasing questions, dropping some questions and adding new ones. It seemed, surprisingly, that I didn’t really understand what I wanted to know until the children told me! Much of the research I’ve read has been quantitative in nature where interview or survey questions are static and answers are coded. Whereas I’m engaging in qualitative research, where answers form new questions and drive the research into new directions. Within, at least, my corner of the universe, I find the qualitative research significantly more useful than the quantitative research.

By the time I interviewed “A” (the fifth interview), I had a more refined idea about what I wanted to know. Because the students were so excited and anxious to be part of the interview process, I began the interviews by asking the students why they were so excited to come over to interview with me at the reading table during center time. Many answered by citing their enthusiasm for the challenge like “A” did. Some questions I had planned to ask didn’t offer interesting answers so I stopped asking. One student began to describe the sorts of books he’d been reading. Shocked I hadn’t thought to include that in the interviews, I began asking students what they enjoyed reading. During the interviews I made a list of the books students described so that I might include them in the classroom library. By far the best strategy I used during the interviews was to repeat the last thing students said. I believe this was an effective strategy which encouraged students to continue talking without influencing their ideas by passing judgment. Feeling free to discuss their ideas, students opened up avenues of exploration that hadn’t occurred to me before. Many students discussed and described reading as a social and interactive event. I’d noticed students clustering and chatting around books during reading time at school. It seems that for novice readers, reading is a social activity rather than a solitary activity as it is for adults. I’d like to explore this phenomenon further in this project.

Quantitative research has its place in the classroom. On a weekly basis, I collect data on students’ reading skills using the DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Literacy Skills) assessment system. Data is collected, graphed and used to determine instruction and intervention according to the RTI (Response To Intervention) model. Students are “prescribed” reading programs that address the skill shown to be deficit by the DIBELS assessment. In my eyes, it’s a two-dimensional solution to a three-dimensional problem. This system does not address the whole child as a reader and thus rarely produces a successful reader (in my experience).

This quantitative research coupled with qualitative research, such as I’ve experienced so far in this project, has significant potential in affecting the achievement of growing a successful reader. Experiencing children’s open-ended drawings and listening to their ideas during the interview process, I’ve been able to delve into their minds uncovering their motivations, attitudes and beliefs about reading. Armed with this data, I am able to form an environment tailored to my students’ needs and desires. I truly envision myself engaging in the type qualitative research and the blogging documentation I’ve experienced during my master’s project throughout my teaching career.