Case Study: Struggling Reader

¶ … Working with the individual child in my case study was definitely enlightening in terms of understanding the struggling reader more generally. I think probably the most salient fact I learned about Jake -- the one which really occasioned the most generalized breakthrough in terms of my own understanding about this sort of educational difficulty -- was to observe specifically and intimately the differences in Jake's experience.

Vlach and Bursie (2010) emphasize the importance of "narrative" in for students in Jake's position -- my close observation really brought their conclusions home to me in an unexpected way, as it revealed the importance of narrative for educators as well. To clarify, "narrative" in this sense refers to the individual student's narrative, the way in which the story of the student's own process of learning to overcome reading difficulty is described and indeed internalized by the student himself or herself. The importance of narrative in this sense is that very often frustration and failure in this process can come from the student's internalization of the wrong or discouraging narrative. This is, quite obviously, a large factor that can make or break a student's motivation and can have lifelong effects on self-esteem as well. What Vlach and Bursie's article does not emphasize, but that was probably the chief lesson learned by me in studying an individual child, is how these narratives can affect and be internalized by an educator as well. When educators have not studied a child in depth but rely instead upon learned disquisitions rife with statistics and brimming with methodology, it is all too easy to let the shorthand of our classification systems replace our real-world sense of what the actual struggling reader (in my case a likeable and enthusiastic twelve-year-old boy) is like. What do I mean by this? I mean that, in this specific instance, Jake's Critical Reading Inventory registers his level of comprehension and fluency as being at a "second grade level," although Jake is in the seventh grade. Studying Jake in depth, and getting to observe him as a student and as a reader and (perhaps most crucially) as a human being also led me to observe an easy trap into which educators can fall: confusing the human being with the numbers and statistics. The simple fact is that the ultimate statistical gradation that is applied to Jake's Critical Reading Inventory is extraordinarily different, and vastly less complex, than the reality of observing Jake in the act of reading. On the most basic level, I got to see that Jake is actually a very good student -- he's the kind of student most classroom teachers would be thrilled to have. He is not distractible or a behavioral problem: in point of fact he is extremely well-behaved and respectful. To read the statistical designation of "second grade level" on a pre-printed form is very different from observing the real person, who tries with genuine effort and focus, and who is actually able to achieve adequate comprehension given enough time and effort.

In some sense, the close observation of Jake is something that I can extrapolate from and apply more generally in my future practices as a teacher. It is unwise to let convenient shorthand designations ("second grade level") substitute for actual close observation, and sensitivity to human realities, when dealing with a struggling reader. On the most basic level, before this experience I might have looked at a Critical Reading Inventory result, saw that a seventh grader had been registered at reading on a second grade level, and I would have assumed that (in some level) this was a bad student, and that the low performance reflected the student's own behavior, motivation, or "agency," to use the term favored by Vlach and Bursie (2010, 522). Now that I have completed this sort of close observation, I understand that the real issues are vastly more complex, and that it would actually do Jake a serious disservice to reduce him to his test results. The best way to teach Jake how to read better involves an increased sensitivity to Jake's own narrative, and less reliance on the tools of the trade (like the Critical Reading Inventory) that can all too quickly degenerate into a sort of pigeonhole in which the student can be placed.

2. The individual case study project definitely helped me as an educator to explore new strategies and resources that would be tailored to this particular student. As noted above, part of what made this seem necessary to me was the realization that this particular student is motivated and a hard worker: he wants to improve his reading skills. So the question becomes whether his reading skills have been impeded because of the methodology of instruction. Of course within Jake's own lifetime there has been a technological revolution, and it would be foolish not to take advantage of this technology for his betterment -- his age makes him a "digital native," as the current buzzword defines it, and the simple fact is that his hard work and determination, his acknowledged desire to be a better reader, makes it seem more likely that the various forms of technological assistance that can be brought to teaching him to read might actually have a positive impact. There are so many more resources available now than there even were in the year that Jake was born -- it would be unwise not to enlist any and all of these resources in the attempt to find a workable program for Jake.

3. In terms of how the individual case study was able to better enhance my own teaching, I think it was largely a matter of learning what to look for more generally by studying one particular student in detail. The most interesting facts about Jake were not available on his list of Critical Reading Inventory results -- instead they were gained by observation and practice. Noting that Jake declined every offered opportunity to take a break, for example, made me realize that in some profound sense he was trying to demonstrate his own commitment to becoming a better reader, to demonstrate it to himself if not to me.

Knowing the genuine value of what I learned from observing this particular student at close quarters begs for a way in which such practice can be integrated into actual daily teaching life. This is where the situation becomes more complicated, however, because it is not always possible to get this amount of one-on-one close observational time with a student when there is a classmate full of students vying for the instructor's attention. This led me to wonder how the basic skills I learned from this exercise could best be integrated into teaching life, and I recognize that to a certain degree the answer entails building up a substantial career-long experience. This is the first chance I have had to study a specific child's learning strategies up close. My hope is that in future, greater additional experience will permit me to recognize and know the relation between specific prescriptions and their execution. But for students specifically with reading problems, the close examination allowed me to realize how dedicated and hard-working some students can be: for today's digital natives, not being able to read is tantamount to not being able to socialize. The motives for attaining competency and fluency are stronger for a student today than they ever have been.

4. I do think that the case study brought home to me the need for differentiated instruction, for reasons I touched upon earlier: it became very obvious very quickly that reducing this student to the bare facts of his Inventory and the statistical summations gave a poor picture of what he actually looked like when in the room with me. He was actually a very hard worker and applied himself intensively to the tasks at hand. But obviously in a large class full of students, these issues become even more important -- although it is astounding how resistant many educators are to the notion of a differentiated curriculum, especially considering how respectful of, and attentive to, diversity those same educators can be under other circumstances. In some sense, a differentiated curriculum should simply be considered as a basic issue of diversity and handled accordingly: it allows different students with different methods of learning an equal access to the curriculum, and the capability of approaching the work in their own way with equivalent means of attaining and measuring success.

In terms of what I learned specifically from my study of Jake and his reading level, I think the gulf between his low performance and high levels of motivation and effort under observation demonstrates something additionally important: educators can be so focused on teaching "to the test" that they may sometimes neglect the actual learning process. The Critical Reading Inventory is obviously quite different from the state-instituted standards which have affected the educational process nationwide, but it is nonetheless a measurable standard by which Jake is underperforming. But the correct way of getting Jake to be a better reader is not to obsess over how he could improve specifically his approach to this artificial standard -- the way of getting Jake to be a better reader is close observation of Jake's own needs and abilities.

5. My course work at this college has indeed prepared me to conduct this case study in an objective and informed manner. I have deliberately chosen to emphasize Jake's personal qualities and the admirable things about his scholarship that do not necessarily appear on a test, but I am not doing this out of some sense of bias -- instead I want to make it clear that the learning process necessarily includes a human element, and sensitivity to the specific personal nature of the struggle that every struggling reader undergoes. The story is not the same for every student like Jake, and I wanted to validate the specifics of this story as a way of asserting the fact that specifics are important. But at the same time, I am fully capable of generalizing in a scientific fashion about what I have learned doing this case study. It is a generalization to say that diversified and differentiated instruction produces better results than a one-size-fits-all approach -- however this is a generalization that ultimately warns us about the limited utility of generalization itself as a pedagogical tool.

6. Fulfilling this case study assignment is ultimately a useful way of improving my own performance as an educator. It certainly gives an awareness of the human costs and human drama of the struggle to learn to read, a sort of awareness that can only help me be more flexible and sensitive in the classroom after. This kind of intimate observation is simply not possible (or responsible) when a teacher has a classroom of thirty students to shepherd through this process. But knowing what the actual facts of a struggling reader can be like, through close observation and analysis, are an excellent way of preparing to approach the problem through a panoply of different resources. If, in the actual classroom, personal time and connection with a student like Jake become more difficult to achieve, at the same time knowing what kinds of technological resources can be allocated to a student like him becomes vital. Moreover, the basic lesson here is one in which indeed no child will be left behind, because the educator becomes sensitized to the different types of struggles that readers can undergo. Not all struggling readers will be as well-behaved or strongly motivated as Jake was: I understand that as well.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Berkeley, S. & Lindstrom, J.H. (2011). Technology for the Struggling Reader: Free and Easily Accessible Resources. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 43(4), 48-55. Retrieved from http://www.editlib.org/p/52968

Berkeley and Lindstrom approach the problem of the struggling reader in terms of the larger community surrounding the student -- including parents and educators, assuming these are all on board with the process of helping the struggling reader attain greater proficiency. Berkeley and Lindstrom assert that there are far too few professional guidelines or indicators that can assist the educational community in assessing what sort of technological solutions are available to provide assistance and support to a student, particularly when the struggling reader may be undergoing a problem which is not physical in nature, but rather cognitive (i.e., something like "specific learning disability," to use their terminology).

Berkeley and Lindstrom assess the utility of the resources offered by the National Center on Accessible Instructional Materials (AIM). This site offers an analysis of what they describe as "AT" or "Assistive Technology" of the sort that can be provided to a struggling reader via online means or outside of the basic (and often intimidating) format of books and printed matter. They emphasize that reading and comprehension can be greatly improved by the use of technology, but the educational establishment often has little awareness of where to find such assistance, or of what sort of technology is appropriate for what sort of reading disability. As the technological tools surveyed by Berkeley and Lindstrom in the article are all available free of charge, this is a particularly useful article for any educator who is in need of additional resources.

Dalton, B. And Jocius, R. (2013), From Struggling Reader to Digital Reader and Multimodal Composer, in Evan Ortlieb, Earl H. Cheek (ed.) School-Based Interventions for Struggling Readers, K-8 (Literacy Research, Practice and Evaluation, Volume 3), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, pp.79-97

Dalton and Jocius are approaching the question of the struggling reader in terms of the vast technological shift that is occurring at this very moment: they wish to expand the notion of literacy to a larger idea of digital literacy, in order to enable education professionals to help their struggling readers attain competency in the new forms of reading which are (arguably) most crucial to the generational and cultural environment of these students. Dalton and Jocius begin by arguing for the necessity of making technology and digital literacy part of what the struggling reader should be encouraged and educated to approach, although they do not ultimately address all ways in which the integration of this into existing curricula can or should be accomplished. Instead, they emphasize priorities where the struggling reader may be most positively impacted by the integration of technology into the educational process.

Dalton and Jocius additionally provide the results of specific research conducted into how technological assistance and support can be used to bring struggling readers up to grade-level literacy, while improving skills in written composition and in reading comprehension, and incorporating multi-media strategies to assist the struggling student in the process. They emphasize that educational professionals need to better understand the importance of bringing technology to bear on the problem of the struggling reader, because it will help not only in terms of student achievement but also in terms of student engagement and interest.

Le Cordeur, M. (2011). The struggling reader: Identifying and addressing reading problems successfully at an early stage. Per Linguam, 26(2). doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.5785/26-2-23

Le Cordeur's study focuses on English-language instruction for struggling readers in a country that is not America. This is vital for anyone who is concerned that standardized testing and curricular reforms in America may be skewing the process of how students and more specifically struggling readers are being educated. Le Cordeur focuses on struggling readers in South Africa, and focuses on a student population that is roughly the same age (a year younger) than the student observed in the case study.

Le Cordeur offers an extremely broad overview of reasons why intermediate readers may be struggling: these start with the most obvious which are special learning needs (i.e. problems of a neurological nature) and diverse cultural backgrounds (i.e., the multilingual struggling reader), but then offers a highly useful catalogue or checklist of other reasons, including previous instruction that does not adequately emphasize reading strategy, the student's own internal sense of motivation, issues of socioeconomic status, and an overall culture of neglect. Le Cordeur's ultimate findings are fairly sensible and straightforward. He emphasizes that struggling intermediate readers need to have the focus placed on school instruction, because they do not include reading as an extracurricular activity and thus do not improve through activity outside school. He notes that struggling readers need specific instruction in the use of comprehension strategies, and that teachers can do a lot to help in this regard. He also crucially notes that the best predictor of reading achievement is vocabulary, even though vocabulary has traditionally been regarded as difficult to teach: thus it should be emphasized more saliently.