Action Research: Poor Reading and Writing Among Students
Introduction
An action research is any systematic inquiry conducted by teacher researchers, principals, school counselors, or other stakeholders in the teaching/learning environment, to gather information about the ways that their particular schools operate, how they teacher, and how well their students learn. This information is gathered with the goals of gaining insight, developing reflective practice, effective positive changes in the school environment and other educational practices in general, and improving student outcomes and the lives of those involved. (Mills, 2000, p. 6). This research is about a problem that should be found within a school and how I as a research would go about studying this problem and how it can be solved. This research is about the poor reading and writing skills among a group of students from the Candybrooks High school and how this affects their writing skills and prevent them from becoming a educated member of society.
Background to Problem
Writing well is not just an option for young people it is a necessity along with reading comprehension, writing skill is a predictor of academic success and a basic requirement for participation in civic life and in the global economy. Yet at the end of every academic year a large numbers of students graduate from high school unable to write at the basic levels required by colleges or employers. In addition, students are failing Basic English language reading and spelling and further dropping out of school because they lack the basic literacy skills to meet the growing demands of the high school curriculum (Kamil, 2003; Snow & Biancarosa, 2003). These students are the future of our nation they will become important members of society so it is important for them to be fully educated in order for them to survive in society. Also because the definition of literacy includes both reading and writing skills, poor writing proficiency should be recognized as an essential part of students learning.
An action research is any systematic inquiry conducted by teacher researchers, principals, school counselors, or other stakeholders in the teaching/learning environment, to gather information about the ways that their particular schools operate, how they teacher, and how well their students learn. This information is gathered with the goals of gaining insight, developing reflective practice, effective positive changes in the school environment and other educational practices in general, and improving student outcomes and the lives of those involved. (Mills, 2000, p. 6). This research is about a problem that should be found within a school and how I as a research would go about studying this problem and how it can be solved. This research is about the poor reading and writing skills among a group of students from the Candybrooks High school and how this affects their writing skills and prevent them from becoming a educated member of society.
Background to Problem
Writing well is not just an option for young people it is a necessity along with reading comprehension, writing skill is a predictor of academic success and a basic requirement for participation in civic life and in the global economy. Yet at the end of every academic year a large numbers of students graduate from high school unable to write at the basic levels required by colleges or employers. In addition, students are failing Basic English language reading and spelling and further dropping out of school because they lack the basic literacy skills to meet the growing demands of the high school curriculum (Kamil, 2003; Snow & Biancarosa, 2003). These students are the future of our nation they will become important members of society so it is important for them to be fully educated in order for them to survive in society. Also because the definition of literacy includes both reading and writing skills, poor writing proficiency should be recognized as an essential part of students learning.
References: Ackerman, P.T. & Dykman, R.A. (1996). The speed factor and learning disabilities: The toll of slowness in adolescents Catts, H.W. Fey, M.E., Zhang, X., & Tomblin, J.B. (1999). Language basis of reading and reading disabilities: Evidence from a longitudinal investigation. Scientific Studies of Reading, 3, 331-361. Kamil, M. L. (2003). Adolescents and literacy: Reading for the 21st century. Washington, DC: Alliance for Excellent Education. Levine, Melvin D. (2002). 2nd Ed. Developmental variation and learning disorders. Simon and Schuster Inc Lyon, G. R. (1998). Why reading is not a natural process. Educational Leadership, 55 (6), 14-18. Phillips, Kalmbach Donna and Carr, Kevin. (2010). 2nd Ed. Becoming a teacher through action research: process, context, and self-study