Response-based Instruction at the Middle Level: When Student Engagement is the Goal

Abstract

Traditional middle school reading practices often look something like this: Students read to acquire infor mation (generally factual) and then write the information on worksheets. Often, assign ments include locating information in spe cific sentences, discussing material in large-group settings, and listening to the teacher explain selected points and relate his or her own knowledge of the world and experience to the topic (Irwin, 1990). Often ignored in reading at the middle level are the important elements of interac tion, exploration, and socialization. Stevenson (1991) comments on the problems associated with such traditional practices: Having spent most of my adult life work ing with young adolescents and their teach ers, I have seen that our preoccupation with 'what' typically diverts us from the essence of authentic learning: engagement. By en gagement I refer to a personal intellectual investment in learning that enhances a youngster's scholarly competence and con fidence (p. 14). TheengagementwhichStevenson(1991) describes is important for all students, but particularly for those at the middle school level, where students often feel disconnected from both curriculum and instructional pro cesses. Arnold (1991) makes the point well: Too often young adolescents perceive that curriculum has nothing to do with them; there is nothing that excites their passions. It is viewed as something done to them, a series of hoops to jump through for extrinsic rewards. We need a vision of curriculum that enables them to see that the world is full