I Really Don't Want to Read Unless I Have To

Description of Learner:
Debra is an African American woman in her early forties. Her reading is at the third grade level, and her math is at the fourth grade level as measured by the TABE (Tesst of Adult Basic Education:, CTB/McGraw-Hill). She wants to earn her high school diploma, and came to the learning center regularly, but after taking a job she now attends only infrequently.

Challenge Faced:
Debra has consistently avoided working on anything that involves reading. When she started coming to the learning center, she wanted to work only on math computation problems in workbooks. I talked with her a few times about working on something other than math, and she agreed with me, but then pulled out her math books.

What We Did:
One day Debra pulled a basic reading book from the shelf and asked me to help her work on it. I asked her to read aloud to me, and I noticed that she was saying the beginnings of many words and guessing at the rest. I could not tell if she didn't know how to read the word or was unfamiliar with the meaning. I asked her if she wanted to dictate to me while I wrote her thoughts. I told her it might be a good way to practice some important words while seeing her own words in print. She said she liked the idea, so she dictated a short paragraph about herself, and I printed it as she spoke. She then read it back to me, but not fluently. Even though the words were hers, she still had trouble with them. I asked her to pick out the words she wanted to learn and remember. She picked out about five and copied each on a small card. I suggested she study them by looking at them and saying them to herself, and even writing them to practice seeing all the letters. She seemed enthusiastic about doing this, and she took the cards home with her but never brought them back to class. The next class, she was back in her math books again. Over the next few weeks, I continued to observe her, and asked her about the words she chose and the paragraph we had written. She said she had left them at home, and continued to work in her math books. She did, however, say that she told some people about that activity, and how interesting she thought it was. I did not push the issue with her, as I was afraid she would feel pressured and not return to the learning center. Occasionally, she brings a document to class she needs to understand or a form she needs to fill out for her new job. I help her read it, but there is little time for follow-up with sequential activities, as her attendance is so sporadic.

Analysis:
Debra is a weak reader and seems to be reluctant to try for fear of failure. She is having some success with math computation, and continues to concentrate on that. Though she told me she enjoyed the activity with her dictation and the word cards, she did not pursue it in spite of my encouragement to do so. She may have told me this just to please "the teacher." She seems to be interested in getting some help with her reading, but only if it has to do with the requirements of her job.

What I Learned:
I wish I had been able to encourage Debra to share more information about herself. I feel I should have tried different approaches and found out more about her interests and her reading skills while she was still attending the learning center on a regular basis. Additionally, I now realize my need to develop alternative reading strategies for students who have difficulty remembering letter sequences. I'm especially interested in learning strategies that work in small groups, because it is difficult to give one student the attention when there are other learners who also require individual attention.

Debra, Group Discussion:

What kinds of materials does Debra bring to class with which she needs help?
She recently received a donated computer from a community organization, and she wanted help in setting up an e-mail account for it. She also brought in a job application, and some forms that a caseworker from a government agency asked her to complete. I helped her complete the application and the forms by going through them item by item with her, and explaining what they were about. I did not have much success establishing an e-mail account for her, but I explained what she needed to do, and suggested that she ask for help from the organization that donated the computer to her. The e-mail account is now on the back burner as she is dealing with several other situations that require priority attention.

Do you think she would be better served in a one-on-one tutoring situation?
I really do. She has requested a tutor but there are none available in our area. Her work schedule is also an impediment to any regular tutoring schedule. A tutor could provide a systematic phonics approach with her from which I think she would really benefit. Also, a tutor could focus on work-related materials Debra needs to read and write about. Perhaps these materials could be incorporated with a phonics approach in a methodical way to help her learn to read at a functional level. In that way, she would see immediate application of what she is learning to work, but it is a challenge to provide this type service in a class setting such as ours.

Do you think her reluctance to read might be a fear of success?
I know this occurs, but I don't think this is the case with Debra. She has made some major strides over the two or so years I have known her. She has followed through with several government agencies regarding her status in various programs; she got a job and a promotion, finalized a divorce, changed her name back to her maiden name, and is reading aloud at her church - all significant accomplishments. While I helped her with reading and writing to attain some of these goals, the initiative always came from her. She was the one who followed-up on obtaining, completing, and submitting the forms; she made necessary phone calls, arrived at work on time and demonstrated adequate strengths to earn a promotion. I think she has learned how to get along with limited reading skills, because she has learned how to obtain help when needed to accomplish goals important to her. She has a different view of reading than I do, but she is making major strides in her life. She is a survivor, and her reading is survival reading.

Summary:

Challenges Encountered Irregular class attendance; reluctance to read or to work on reading skills; limited strategies for developing reading skills. Skills Addressed Strategies Used Learning Systems Employed 

Director's Comments:

The repetition of writing words she did not know could have been a disappointment for Debra, since remembering letter sequences seems to be at the root of her difficulties with sight words. That is, your strategy required memorization of symbols (letter sequences that form words) that didn't work when she was in school and it doesn't work for her now. Rather than discuss it with you, she chose to leave the words and the paragraph at home. She may require visual mnemonics to help her remember letter patterns (word families such as ang, ack, ut, etc.) and/or drawings of words.

Miniature drawings of a word's meaning on the back of the word card could be of help; to remember letter sequences, she needs specific work on sound patterns or word families. I'm unclear on how you used "visual mnemonics" or what the mnemonics were you used. Debra is making major strides in her life, and your strategies appear to be helping her more than you assume or more that you give yourself credit for. Nonetheless, as you suggest, she needs specific strategies that match her learning needs, including her learning style, to truly move ahead at a more rapid pace. Perhaps the next thing to do is investigate her learning style. Find out how she likes to learn difficult material and explore various ways of teaching to her comfort levels.