Allison’s point of inquiry: How can literature circles be used to build positive community both in and outside of the classroom?
The act of talking about a book is probably not the most unique or extraordinary undertaking ever to be taken in an English classroom. Ask any student what they do in their English class, and they will likely mention that they read and talk about books. Yet, in our classrooms, we often take the talking for granted. We assume that – because our students read books, study books, listen to their teachers talk about books, and even at times have the opportunity to talk with (or in front of) each other about books – they know how to have enjoyable, academic discussions about books. This is not always the case.
Literature circles emphasize discussion by using a student-centred framework based on collaborative learning. Harvey Daniels, a pioneer and proponent of the literature circle model, describes literature circles as “small, peer-led discussion groups whose members have chosen to read the same story, poem, article, or book” (Voice and Choice, 2002, p. 2). Literature circles are built on the twin fundamental beliefs that students learn most effectively and successfully: first, when they are given ownership over their own learning, and second, when they learn together.
For the purposes of this project, I chose to inquire into how the literature circle methodology can be used to build positive community through collaborative learning and development of both academic and social skills. Furthermore, my investigation led me to research literature related to taking the discussion out of the classroom and into the digital realm: online literature circle discussions and projects are becoming increasingly popular as the technology and resources become more available in classrooms. While the technology and the medium change, the core values and skills associated with respectful, informed discussion remain – and these skills are becoming ever more important for our students to learn and practice in the digital realm.
Before delving more deeply into the community-building social skills that literature circles effectively foster, it would be useful to first note the academic skills that are also at work when students participate in their group discussions. Clarke and Holwadel state that literature circles can “increase comprehension, improve higher-level thinking, and foster quality responses to text” (2002, p. 21). Students can build these skills through a sort of two-heads-are-better-than-one approach: as Peterson and Belizaire put it, “students’ comprehension of what they read is deepened through talking with peers” (2002, p. 37). Thus, the academic and social skills students use and practice in literature circle discussions work to improve each other.
As they carry equal weight in literature circles, it is important that academic and social skills are both explicitly stated in learning objectives and practiced throughout the lesson. The use of roles in literature circles presents one highly structured method of practicing specific discussion skills. Each student in a group receives a different “role” that gives them the responsibility of one aspect of the discussion: the Discussion Director’s role is to create thought-provoking questions that will guide the group’s dialogue; the Connector makes connections between the text and the outside world, another text, or his or her own personal experiences; the Illustrator creates a visual representation of events or concepts in the text which the others must interpret; the Literary Luminary picks out a few passages from the text and analyzes them based on language, meaning, or any other reaction they might have had; the list goes on – and additional sample role sheets are available for your convenience here, on this blog’s Resources page, in Voice and Choice (2002, p, 107-132), or myriad other websites easily accessible via a Google search.
A word must be said about the possible negative side effects of using the role system. While roles can work well for students who need structured guidance in their discussions, they can also potentially “get in the way of interesting, thoughtful, from-the-heart conversation” (Peterson and Belizaire, 2006, p. 37). If a teacher relies on roles when students have already become more comfortable and confident in their discussions, the roles become a crutch, resulting in formulaic and stunted conversations rather than more open, thought-provoking discussion (Voice and Choice, 2002, p. 14).
Roles are not a necessity for a successful literature circle unit, as shown by Peterson and Belizaire in their action research study in Belizaire’s Grade 8 English class. Rather than using roles, Belizaire required her students to keep reading journals. These journals were then used as starting-off points for discussions, and used again post-discussion as a way of recording “reactions and insights on the discussion” (2006, p. 40). The result of the study was that, while some students had difficulty generating discussion and would have benefited from more structure, many others “spontaneously assumed” the same kinds of roles that the traditional role sheets encompass, such as Questioner and Emotional Responder (2006, p. 40).
Mini-lessons present another opportunity to explicitly teach a specific skill. At the beginning of class, before students break into their discussion groups, teachers can instruct students to focus on a specific goal or skill through a short mini-lecture or teacher-led class activity called a mini-lesson. In their book Mini-Lesson for Literature Circles, Harvey Daniels and Nancy Steineke include an extensive list of activities which target various issues group discussions often encounter. For example, a teacher who notices that some students are doing all the talking in groups while others passively listen can use the “Sharing Airtime” (2004, p. 170) mini-lesson, in which each student is given an equal number of tokens and must “pay up” every time he or she wants to chime in with an idea or opinion. The intended outcome of this mini-lesson is to make students more aware of how much – or how little – each member talks, and also to ensure that students make sure that they use their “airtime” wisely.
An emphasis on student self-assessment is another way of building community by increasing students’ awareness of their contributions to group discussions. After each literature circle meeting, students are usually expected to reflect on their actions and interactions in the group setting by completing a self-assessment. These self-assessments come in many forms and permutations, but the fundamental objective is to guide the student to think about his or her progress: Was I on task? Did I help build the discussion up, or did I tear it down? Was I respectful? Did I speak up? When I disagreed, did I do it respectfully? Furthermore, self-assessment by definition gives the student more authority; the student is operating with the mindset that they are responsible for tracking their own progress. Assessment is not something flung at them by an absolute other; it is something in which the student actively engages. (For a variety of different literature circle self-assessment sheets, you can go here, here, here, or to the Resources page of this blog.)
An increasingly popular trend in literature circles is the shift from traditional classrooms to online applications. This is an interesting development as it gives students the opportunity to practice and apply the social skills they use in their face-to-face literature circles in a new environment. There is often a disconnect between the way we treat one another in person and the way we treat one another online. It sometimes seems as if the anonymity – the faceless interaction – gives us license to cast our sense of community and common decency aside. Clarke and Holwadel write that “nourishing a climate of collaboration and respect is key to the success of” literature circles (2007, p. 21). If we hold this to be true, then online literature circles could be helpful in building more collaborative and respectful digital spaces for our students to interact and share ideas. As a matter of fact, in an action research study done in 2011, Bowers-Campbell found that “threaded discussions fostered energetic interactions between students and their teachers, promoted active learning and collaborative learning, motivated better student engagement, and allowed for easier discussions of controversial topics” (p. 558). Bowers-Campbell found further evidence of the communal qualities of online literature circles when she noticed that students shifted from originally making “I” statements to making “we” statements: “This shift in how responses are composed and the pronouns used reflects a growing sense of membership and belonging. Participants are moving beyond ‘This is my idea’ to a negotiated sense of ‘Here’s what we think, but we’re still working on it’” (2011, p. 561).
A note on FIPPA and Internet privacy issues:
Before considering a unit or lesson involving an online component, it is necessary for teachers in these uncertain modern times of ours to mull over current laws regarding Internet privacy issues. Due to Section 30.1 of British Columbia’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, teachers are responsible for ensuring that students’ personal information is stored on servers in Canada. Failing this, it is somewhat technically (maybe kind of sort of?) okay if teachers just obtain the consent of students and their guardians before undertaking a project involving posting information on an application or website based on a server outside of Canada. Check with your school administration and/or school district for possible guidelines or consent form templates. See my PowerPoint for further clarity (or at least, the closest you’re likely to get to clarity on this issue. See here and here for further instances of uncertainty.)
With all of this uncertainty over internet privacy laws and policies, not to mention the inconsistency in the availability of technology in some schools and districts, it is understandable that many teachers shy away from using online applications in their classrooms. Tim Stahmer, an instructional technology expert based out of Washington, D.C., argues that this sense of anxiety deprives students of some very worthwhile educational opportunities:
We spend way too much time and energy in the futile pursuit of trying to shield students from exposure on the web and miss many great opportunities to help them learn to establish and maintain their online identities… As an alternative to yet another traditional term paper, let’s work on effective ways of crafting media to share ideas with an international audience. Or even start with something as seemingly simple as writing an effective blog comment.
The skills that students explicitly develop, practice and reflect on throughout the course of a literature circle unit are valuable and necessary for their ability to operate as a member of a thoughtful and considerate community. Literature circles give students “not only the discursive strategies that they [need] to discuss books but also the ones that would help them in their interpersonal relations beyond the literature circle discussions” (Clarke and Holwadel, 2007, p. 28). When applied in an online context, these skills remain equally as relevant – and perhaps even more valuable.
——————————————————————————————————————————————–
WORKS CITED (IN PRESENTATION)
You can download a PDF copy of the PowerPoint here: Lit circle presentation – copywrite-proof
“#117 Jackie Chan.” Meme Generator . n.p., n.d. Web. 14 Jan. 2013. http://memegenerator.net/instance/24937495
Banisar, David. “Global Data Protection Map.” Privacy International. n.p., Feb. 2011. Web. 14 Jan. 2013. https://www.privacyinternational.org/global-data-protection-map
Bowers‐Campbell, Joy. “Take it out of class: Exploring virtual literature circles.” Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 54.8 (2011): 557-567.
Clarke, Lane W., and Jennifer Holwadel. “Help! What is wrong with these literature circles and how can we fix them?.” The Reading Teacher 61.1 (2007): 20-29.
“Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.” BC Laws. Queen’s Printer, 2 Jan. 2013. Web. 10 Jan. 2013. http://www.bclaws.ca/EPLibraries/bclaws_new/document/ID/freeside/96165_00\
Peterson, Shelley, and Michelle Belizaire. “Another Look at Roles in Literature Circles.” Middle School Journal 37.4 (2006): 37-43.
“Terror on training wheels.” Flickr. Dawn Endico, 29 Mar. 2009. Web. 14 Jan. 2013. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Helmeted_boy_on_training_wheels.jpg/600px-Helmeted_boy_on_training_wheels.jpg
“Training wheels off!” Flickr. Endosigney, 22 Oct. 2011. Web. 14 Jan. 2013. http://www.flickr.com/photos/33071217@N08/6290890862/
“Why a Conversation?” Crow Hill Conversations. Crow Hill Conversations, 4 Mar. 2011. Web. 14 Jan. 2013. http://crowhillconversations.com/meetings/why-a-conversation
——————————————————————————————————————————————–
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bates, Tony. “Cloud-based educational technology and privacy: a Canadian perspective.” Online Learning and Distance Education Resources. Tony Bates, 25 Mar. 2011. Web. 13 Jan. 2013.
<http://cloudlearning.weebly.com/limitations.html>
Tony Bates is the former Director of Distance Education and Technology at UBC. Now he runs his own e-learning and distance education consultancy company. In this blog posting on his website, he discusses the BCcampus final report (see Klassen entry) and offers some insightful comments on the issue.
Bowers‐Campbell, Joy. “Take it out of class: Exploring virtual literature circles.” Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 54.8 (2011): 557-567.
Bowers-Campbell discusses the advantages and disadvantages of including a digital component of a literature circle unit, based on her findings observing a class of teacher candidates taking a class built on the literature circle model. She focuses on the threaded discussion board format and how “integrating technology with literature circles affect[s] group dynamics and students’ reading responses” (559).
Clarke, Lane W., and Jennifer Holwadel. “Help! What is wrong with these literature circles and how can we fix them?.” The Reading Teacher 61.1 (2007): 20-29.
A teacher conducts an action research study which uses a literature circles program in an inner city classroom to help students “appropriate the basic skills of positive social interaction.” Notable quote: “Through thoughtful mini-lesson, whole-group modeling, and carefully chosen book, we persevered in order to use this space of literature circles as one that could not only improve reading but also foster respect in an environment where respect was not a given.” (22)
Daniels, Harvey. “How Can You Grade Literature Circles?.” Voices from the Middle 11.1 (2003): 52-53.
A short article packed with some very useful and practical tips for tracking and keeping formative assessment through student notes/ annotations/ role sheet/ journal writing. Assessment suggestions include student self assessment, teacher observations, independent work and group work
Daniels, Harvey. Literature Circles: Voice and Choice in Book Clubs and Reading Groups. Portland, ME: Stenhouse, 2002.
Harvey Daniels literally wrote the book on literature circles back in 1994, but 1994 was a long time ago. This is the revised and expanded follow-up, and it’s probably the best place to start when delving into the world of literature circles.
Daniels, Harvey and Nancy Steineke. Mini-Lessons for Literature Circles. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2004.
True to its name, this book is packed with many useful “mini-lessons” for literature circles. Daniels and Steineke define mini-lessons as “short, focused, teacher-directed activities used before and after each meeting of literature circles” (5). These mini-lessons usually run from five to fifteen minutes and can be useful in helping students focus on a specific skill during discussion time. Some examples of mini-lessons include Book Talks, in which the teacher introduces the unit by talking about the books available for students to choose from; Membership Grid, an introductory activity aimed at helping literature groups bond before discussions; and Sharing Airtime, an activity that focuses on helping more dominant students share discussion time with shyer students.
Ekdahl, Moira. “FIPPA and The Cloud: Issues for BC Schools.” The T/L Weekly Special Report. No publisher, 11 December 2012. Web. 10 January 2013. <http://tlspecial.blogspot.ca/2012/12/fippa-and-cloud.html>
This is the professional blog of a teacher-librarian employed in the Vancouver School District. In this blog post, Ekdahl discusses recent articles and blog posts by others that contribute to the ongoing FIPPA-and-education discourse. Ekdahl mentions the Klassen BCcampus article and how it applies to BC public schools, and provides links to other sites, tweets, and blogs on the topic.
Edmondson, Elizabeth. “Wiki Literature Circles: Creating Digital Learning Communities.” English Journal 101.4 (2012): 43-49.
Edmondson analyzes the wiki as a “forum for collaborative authorship,” and explores how wikis can be used as a tool to create online literature circles. Some wiki activities Edmondson suggests include requiring groups to research and create pages for author biographies and setting information. She also includes a handful of helpful tips for effectively managing a class wiki project. Notable quote: “Overall, the elements of community and choice incorporated into the wiki project intrinsically motivated students and generated a sense of responsibility to one another (48)
Freiberg, J.H. “From tourists to citizens in the classroom.” Educational Leadership 54.1 (2001): 32-36.
The article describes a student-centred model of teaching called Consistency Management and Cooperative Discipline being used in Texas school systems which centres on five themes: prevention, caring, cooperation, organization, and community. One of the more interesting aspects of the model is the “one-minute student managers” concept, in which students are each responsible for a different task in order to ensure the smooth and efficient use of classroom time. Another interesting idea is having students establish their own rules by creating a classroom constitution/ Magna Cart. At the end of the article, Frieberg notes that schools in Texas that have implemented Consistency Management and Cooperative Discipline have recorded significantly lower discipline referrals and increases in academic excellence. Notable quotes: “Although we teach about democracy, we rarely practice it in most schools and classrooms” (33); “Students learn to trust through opportunities to take ownership” (33); “Too often, classroom management systems build on trust and support in the early grades are replaced with compliance and obedience systems in the latter grades” (35); “When students become citizens of the school, they take responsibility for their actions and those of others” (34).
Klassen, Victoria. “Privacy and Cloud‐Based Educational Technology in British Columbia.” BCcampus. n.d. Web. 13 January 2013. <http://www.bccampus.ca/assets/Content/Whitepapers/Background-Paper-Privacy-and-Ed-Tech.pdf>
This paper was prepared for BCcampus, an educational technology consultant company based in Vancouver. BCcampus essentially liaises between several post-secondary institutions in BC and the Privacy Commissioner of BC to analyze the current state of technology in education post-FIPPA. The paper provides background on The Patriot Act, FIPPA, and how they relate to the legalities of using cloud-based technology in post-secondary classrooms. Much of this information applies equally to secondary classrooms, as well.
Penn State TLT. “Cloud Computing Security – Simply Speaking.” YouTube. YouTube, 12 Nov 2010. Web. 13 January 2013.
< https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=WiFnz5XdaQM>
An interesting video produced by Penn State University about cloud-based applications (such as Google Docs) and security issues. It is quite straightforward and probably common-sense for more experienced web users, but could be useful for showing students in order to ensure that they are protecting themselves and their personal information online.
Peterson, Shelley, and Michelle Belizaire. “Another Look at Roles in Literature Circles.” Middle School Journal 37.4 (2006): 37-43.
In this very worthwhile article, Peterson and Belizaire discuss the results of an action research study in Belizaire’s Grade 8 English class in Toronto. They ran a literature circle unit with no set roles for students. Instead, students kept reading journals “structured on the 3Rs (retell, relate, reflect), a reading and writing strategy that encourages students to think about their reading by first describing what happened (retell), making personal connections (relating), and then, making inquiries (reflecting) (Peterson and Belizaire 38). These journals were then used as starting-off points for discussions, and used again post-discussion as a way of recording “reactions and insights on the discussion.” The result of the study was that, while some students had difficulty generating discussion and would have benefited from more structure, many others “spontaneously assumed” the same kinds of roles that the role sheets encompass, such as Questioner, Emotional Responder, etc. (40). Belizaire and Peterson successfully demonstrate that roles are not necessary in every literature circle; rather, they can actually have detrimental effects on students’ learning and discussions.
Stahmer, Tim. “We’re All Criminals.” Assorted Stuff, 2 Mar. 2012. Web. 14 Jan. 2013. http://www.assortedstuff.com/?p=5510
A blog posting by an educational technology expert based out of Washington, D.C. In this post, Stahmer discusses internet privacy, copy-write laws, and the idea that educators and their students “are being driven to a life of crime by bad laws.”