Action Research in Classroom Problems examples of Reading problems

Action Research in Classroom Problems examples of Reading problems

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Action Research in Classroom Problems-

Topic -Action Research on Reading Problems

INTRODUCTION-

 Action research is a process in which participants examine their own educational practice systematically and carefully, using the techniques of research. Action research specifically refers to a disciplined inquiry done by a teacher with the intent that the research will inform and change his or her practices in the future.

This research is carried out within the context of the teacher’s environment- that is , the students and at the school in which the teacher works – on questions that deal with educational matters at hand. Action research is a process of changing student behavior in the classroom.

The process helps teachers to understand the classroom dynamics and identity changes that may improve instruction and learning. Teachers learn to observe and reflect and determine a course of action or actions that will resolve the problem.

In schools, action research refers to a wide variety of evaluative, investigative, and analytical research methods designed to diagnose problems or weaknesses—whether organizational, academic, or instructional—and help educators develop practical solutions to address them quickly and efficiently.

Action research may also be applied to programs or educational techniques that are not necessarily experiencing any problems, but that educators simply want to learn more about and improve. The general goal is to create a simple, practical, repeatable process of iterative learning, evaluation, and improvement that leads to increasingly better results for schools, teachers, or programs.

The action research that the researcher conducted is on the issue of reading difficulty for the students of class VIII ABC High School.

Area of the study: The area of this study is ABC High

Need and significance of the study:

This action research will be beneficial first and foremost to the eighty-five pupils of class viii for they will learn how to address their difficulty in reading and will help them develop their reading comprehension. As the pupils improve their reading comprehension they will also easily learn lessons under the curriculum and will definitely improve their academic performance.

The teachers will also be benefited from this action research for they will learn how to address the difficulty of class viii pupils to learn how to read. They will also learn the strategies on how the reading comprehension of pupils will be improved.

The school will also be aided by this action research because the pupils’ performance and teachers’ performance reflects the school performance. Dropout rates will be lessened when pupils’ performance in reading and in all subjects is in average to a proficient level.

Theoretically, the analysis hopefully contributed to the field of development of teaching material. Practically the study will help the students to read with proper use of words and spelling. It will develop their reading skill.

Statement of the problem:

This study aims to make an action plan for the poor reading difficulties of class VII in ABC High School. Specifically it seeks to answer the following questions:

  • What is the level of reading comprehension of class VIII?
  • How pupils in class VIII will be helped by the teacher to address the difficulty in learning to read?
  • How do pupils in class VIII improve their reading comprehension?

Action plan :

  • At first, the pupil-teacher will fixed the objective of the research.
  • Secondly the pupil-teacher will try to find out the reason behind students reading difficulty by conducting a reading test.
  • Thirdly the pupil-teacher will implement the remedial measures to improve their reading skills.
  • After that a post-test will conducted to check how much they improve.

Objective of the study:     

  • The purpose of these follow-up days is to provide students with further skills and knowledge of writing.
  • To allow students the opportunity to communicate their findings and recommended improvements
  • To engage in exercises for planning and negotiating further actions in action research.

                                                                    CHAPTER-II 

Review of literature :

The current explosion of research in reading begun to focus on readers’ strategies. Reading strategies are of interest for what they reveal about the way readers manage their interaction with written text and how these strategies are related to text comprehension.

Research in reading suggest that learners use a variety of strategies to assist them with the acquisition , storage and retrieval of information ( Rigney ,1978) . Strategies are defined as learning techniques, behaviors, problem-solving or study skills which make learning more effective and efficient ( Oxford and Crookall, 1989).

Comprehension or reading strategies indicate how readers conceive of a task , how they make sense of what they read and what they do when they don’t understand. In short , such strategies are processes used by the learner to enable reading comprehension and overcome comprehension failure.

                                                                CHAPTER- III

Methodology:

This action research used the descriptive correlational method of research. Descriptive research involves description, recoding, analysis and interpretation of conditions that currently exist. The main aims are to describe the nature of a condition as it exists at the time of the study and to explore the causes of the particular situation.

Sample of the study:

The small-scale research has been undertaken only on an experimental basis. Hence the population from which the sample are drawn consist-

Sample: The students of class VIII

Population: ABCHigh school

Tools: The tool use for this action research activity is observations.

Procedure :

Initially, the researcher planned to work on the incompetent reading skills of the students. Later, the research outline was shown to the management of the classroom, the research was conducted after their consent. Furthermore, a few strategies were laid down as intervention which consist various reading exercises, providing some paragraphs, sound of pronounciation and recommending students to read books daily.

Then, the material required was listed down. The intervention was being followed during the research and a reading comprehension pre-test was taken too, which included a paragraph reading so that the students could reading better comprehension. The pre-test identified the current level of reading skills of the students.

After a month, a post-test was taken to see what changes had taken place in the reading skills of the students. When the scores of these two tests were compared, the difference was visible. A few students had improved their reading skills; those who did not improve even after interventions were weak and could only work within their capability.

Pre-test :

STEP1:  In the very first day the researcher has observed the students problem and according to that she will establish some objectives for a pretest for the students to check where the students are lacking behind.

STEP2: After the pretest objectives are established, the researcher has selected the pretest method, where she has organized a reading comprehension as pretest for the students to know where they are lacking behind. After knowing that they have less knowledge on reading skill and as most of the student got less marks on the pretest due to lack of knowledge on reading.

STEP3: The researcher has taken some remedies to improve their problem.

STEP4: The researcher has taken 15 days time to improve the student’s problem.

  • From day 1-4 the researcher has taught the students Alphabet and their vocal sound.
  • From day 5-8 the researcher taught them how to pronounce different words and taught them how to read with punctuation.
  • From day 9-12 the researcher taught the students to read paragraphs from their textbooks to improve their reading comprehension.
  • From day 13-15 the researcher taught the students to read the chapters from their textbook to improve their reading skills.
  • On day 16 the researcher has taken a posttest to see how much they have improved.

Remedial measures :

  • A poor reader will be partnered to a good reader who will serve as his/her reading buddy every lunch break after the meal.
  • After class hours, pupils are asked to read any materials/selections before they go home.
  • Before classes start in the afternoon, to enhance the reading and writing skills of the Pupils, Teachers give reading materials for the pupils to read, so as to exercise their skills.
  • Pupils are asked to look for at least five unfamiliar words a week. They will study how to read and pronounce them properly, learn the correct spelling, and know the meaning of these words so that they will be able to use them in their own sentences.
  • Pupils will be asked to read aloud a short paragraph every day before classes start in order to develop their oral reading skills.
  • A list of words will be posted on one side of the wall inside the classroom for the pupils to read and master.
  • Reading well takes lots of practice, so the researcher will make sure that the students don’t get discouraged too easily. She will give them plenty of opportunities to practice so that they get the opportunity to improve.

Post-test:  The researcher has conducted a post-test where she asked the students to read one paragraph from their textbook to see how much the students have improved on their reading skills.

After knowing most of the students had improved now the researcher came to a conclusion that if we take any proper remedy to improve the student’s problem then we will succeed.

                                                                                CHAPTER- IV

Analysis of data: 

After conducting both the test the researcher has analyzed that the student’s result of the pretest was not satisfactory as more than 60% of the students were not able to perform well, they were not able to spell a word but after taking proper remedial measures for their improvement by the researcher more than 78% of the students performed well and were able to read words. And the 22% of students who failed the post-test will again practice the remedial measures.

Action Research in Classroom Problems

60% of students failed and 40% of students passed the pretest.

Action Research in Classroom Problems

78% of students passed the post-test and 22% of students failed.

 Findings of the analysis:            

After analyzing both the test the researcher has found that the main reason behind the student’s problem of reading is they are also lacking behind on the other three skills listening, speaking and writing. Reading skills will develop hand in hand with the other three skills. One main problem is their fear of the second language ‘English’. The other problems are-

Reading Difficulty in Terms of Phonological and Phonemic Awareness as Pupil’s Perspective:

Respondents have difficulty in reading and learning how to read in terms of Phonological and Phonemic Awareness. Their own perspective was supported by the teacher’s perspective. This implies that the respondents have difficulty in rhyming words, recognizing and producing sounds, and syllabication.

Reading Difficulty in Terms of Phonological and Phonemic Awareness as Pupil’s Perspective:

Word decoding and phonics was one of the reasons for reading difficulty experienced by the respondents based on the pupil’s perspective and teacher’s perspective.

This implies that the respondents have difficulty in applying his/her knowledge of letter-sound relationships, including knowledge of letter patterns, to correctly pronounce written words. This also mean that the respondents have difficulty in letter-sound relationships, and how to sound out words.

Reading Difficulty in Terms of Vocabulary :

Reading difficulty in terms of vocabulary is one of the reasons for reading difficulty experience by the students. This result was supported by the teacher’s perspective. This denotes that the students have difficulty in understanding words to communicate effectively.

This implies that the pupils had a hard time to find the words that they need to know to understand what they read. This also implies that a reader cannot understand a text without knowing what most of the words mean.

Reading Difficulty in Terms of Fluency:

Fluency is one of the reading difficulties that students experience in learning how to read. The pupil’s perspective also relates with that of the teacher’s perspective. This implies that pupils have difficulty to read with speed, accuracy, and proper expression. They were not confident in reading aloud or silently do not read smoothly and has no proper expression.

Reading Difficulty in Terms of Comprehension:

Comprehension is one of the major reasons for reading difficulties the students experience in learning how to read. This implies that pupils have difficulty in understanding and interpretation of what is read.

They find it hard to decode what they read, had a hard time to make connections between what they read and what they already know, and have difficulty to think deeply about what they have read. This also mean that they do not have a sufficient vocabulary, or their knowing of the meanings of words is not enough.

                                                                                           CHAPTER – V

SUGGESTIONS: 

For improving the writing skill of the student different measures can be taken they are-

  • Encouraging good reading skills: The teacher needs to stress the fact that good  and fluent reading will be greatly rewarded.
  • Teachers must teach phonics in a systematic and explicit way so that they can learn the right spelling of words.
  • The teacher should help students understand the purpose of phonics by engaging them in reading and writing activities that require them to apply the phonics information teachers have taught them.
  • Teachers should use manipulatives to help teach letter-sound relationships. These can include counters, sound boxes, and magnetic letters.
  • Teachers should help the student to build language skills in a class by playing oral and written word exercises and games.
  • Teachers should teach students about the important, useful, and difficult vocabulary words before students read the text. This will help them remember the words and improve comprehension.
  • Teachers should Offer students many opportunities to encounter target vocabulary words beyond the context in which they are taught.
  • Teachers should help students learn to use context clues to determine the meanings of words. Teach them that some context clues are more helpful than others and provide examples of helpful and less helpful clues.
  • Teachers engage students in conversations every day. If possible, include new and interesting words in their conversation.
  • Teachers should draw students’ attention to common roots in a variety of words (for example, the similar roots and meanings of the words visionvisualvisibleinvisible) and lead a discussion of the meanings of the words and how they tend to be used.
  • The teacher should read a short passage and then have the student immediately read it back to him/her.

Conclusion :

Action research is a very beneficial tool, but it takes lot of time to conduct as well as to be done well. It is an ongoing process of reflection and action to produce the most effective learning environment possible.

It is also to note that not all problems can be solved overnight, so results are not immediate as one might expect.  But the fact remains that action research is an essential process for education to evolve to meet the needs of students today and tomorrow.

Therefore to conclude the whole research on reading it can be said that reading isn’t rocket science. It’s a basic skill that can be practiced over and over again. With the teacher’s help, the student can become better and better as time passes.

The moment the teacher decides that he or she want to take a bigger responsibility concerning the student’s reading comprehension, the teacher will be one step closer to what he or she wants to achieve with them. They must try different types of motivational techniques and instructions, and observe what is working best for the students. It can truly make a difference and one should try.

APPENDIX:

References :

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