Reading Surveys

Motivation for Reading: In one reading survey, as reported by Sharon Pitcher and her associates in the article "Assessing Adolescents' Motivation to Read," the investigators found that children will be more motivated to read if it is material in which they are interested or if the material is introduced to them in a way which makes them feel that they have a stake in it. Students who feel engaged in the material will be more interested in continued reading of the given topic or narrative.

What they provided the students was a series of questions divided into three headings. The survey was labeled the MRP Survey. For the purposes of this investigation, the researchers asked students a series of questions regarding their interests and their technological interactions. They also asked about which subjects in school are of the most interest to the students. The third group of questions on the survey dealt with literary practices in the home and the importance of reading to the people around that student.

Logically enough, the researchers found that students were motivated to read more when the topic of the reading material coalesced with their personal interests. Also, students who came from backgrounds where there was more reading in the home were more likely to engage in reading as a pastime. The more positive experiences that a student had with reading and with works of literature, the more enjoyment that they had in reading and the more motivated that they were to continue doing it.

Similarly, teachers who tried to interest students in works of literature through creative means would be more likely to motivate the student than teachers who just introduced the text without creativity. It is thus clear that it is the responsibility of the adults to both encourage and motivate students to read by making the experience enjoyable to the student. Likes and Dislikes: In the article "Measuring Attitude Toward Reading," researchers Michael McKenna and Dennis J.

Kear found that the materials in which a student is most likely to want to read about have a direct correlation in what they like to read or what they dislike in a subject. The survey that they use, the Elementary Reading Attitude Survey or ERAS, is a very simple design which is used to elicit honest responses from even the earliest of learners. Each student is asked to rate a given topic on a scale from 1 to 4.

Young learners can use icons to illustrate the level of interest or enjoyment that they have with any given topic. After the surveys are collected and the data analyzed, researchers believe that the findings can be used to recommend reading material to children.

By appealing to things that they enjoy, the teacher can utilize the individual interests of the student to encourage them to pursue reading not as just something they are forced to do in school, but as an activity which will be enjoyable the them and either provide them information on a topic in which they are interested.