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MAKING READING MEANINGFUL 1

Making Reading Meaningful for Eastern Greene High School: Combining Philosophical Shift with Progressive Pedagogy

Amanda Bright

Introduction and Overview

Every school has its challenges. Test scores, attendance rates, student motivation, and

college-readiness are on the minds of administrators and teachers at any educational institution.

However, it is the unique combination of factors at any school building that determines what

philosophies and framework should be employed—particularly in regards to curriculum. For

Kevin Frank (2014) and his colleagues at Eastern Greene High School in Bloomfield, Ind., the

need is clear. “Each student will demonstrate improvement in reading comprehension skills

across the curriculum” (Frank, 2014). The goal is based on collected data that showed a lack of

student readiness regarding both future college and career reading. In fact, the vast majority of

Mr. Frank’s school improvement plan presentation is based on standards and standardized test

data in regards to reading.

Although the world of education is now a place of data—perhaps more than ever before

—the process of education shouldn’t completely revolve around those numbers. The political

dimensions of having a school that meets benchmarks is obvious, but the motivation for students

to engage in better reading practices is usually not tied to how their school scores on statewide

tests. Instead, the students are more encouraged by the utility of their learning and its application

to their lives and the world.

Mr. Frank’s school is a small and rural one, with fewer than 400 students in grades 9-12.

Although they are near Indiana University, Frank mentioned in his full-text school improvement

plan that there is a disconnectedness between the small-town life that EGHS students inhabit and

the world around them (Eastern Greene, 2013). Based on my own concept of curriculum and the


needs of Eastern Greene High School, I have developed a framework that will hopefully increase

reading comprehension and motivate learners to see outside of their current environment.

Curriculum is a living entity that gives boundaries and structure to what students learn, but it also

has the inherent ability to create connections between information, self, and community. I

believe that curriculum should be versatile in a world where delivering information isn’t the goal

any longer. Instead, curriculum has become about providing context and application to that

information, which can be so easily found on the internet. While the current action plan for

EGHS involves professional development for teachers, curriculum expansion, and small changes

in assessment, I believe a curriculum framework that includes social reconstructionist and

humanistic principles, constructivist and cognitive-based pedagogy, and aggressive formative

assessment would create not only a rise in test scores but also a sense that reading is purposeful

outside of the school’s walls. Only then will EGHS be able to fulfill its goal of “provid[ing] an

academic program and educational learning environment which will empower students to

become lifelong learners with the knowledge and skills that will equip them for future academic

and workforce success” (Eastern Greene, 2013).

A Review of Current Curriculum

The administration of Eastern Greene High School has not been idle in pursuing its

purpose. According to the presentation created by Kevin Frank (2014), who is the principal of

Eastern Greene, many steps have been taken to raise reading scores. From literacy trainers to

reading apprenticeships, teachers are clearly being provided with professional development to

help their students read better. Beyond the investment in teachers, the support for students has

been augmented including tutoring, RTI-style interventions, and targeted class time. Those

supports are primarily for struggling students, but EGHS has not forgotten about high-achievers


either. Expanding curriculum options to involve more choice in ELA classes, as well as

Advanced Placement offerings underlines an emphasis on the SIP goal.

In order to gauge the effectiveness of the strategies employed above, EGHS has used

several standardized assessments. The great news is that the scores have improved overall. For

most testing completed, the improvement was slight, although a few indicators were more

dramatic in their results. The high school tests seem to be drawing better numbers than the

standardized, college-level exams. Regardless, reading is still very much on the radar for this

high school, and their desire to see even more growth in students is warranted.

The next steps of this school involve those that have already happened in my district and

many others. Data-driven SMART goals, collaboration and accountability for reaching those

Test Date # of students testing

% Passing Reading Comprehension(% mastery)

Writing Application(% mastery)

May 2010 112 49 56 49

May 2011 96 65 71 63

May 2012 102 66 69 56

May 2013 87 72 71 72

May 2014 95 75 73 80

Graduating Class % of Seniors taking SAT

Critical Reading

EGHS State

2010 51 471 4942011 43 478 4932012 55 470 4932013 61 479 493


goals, and a focus on best practice and student testing ability are on the menu for EGHS. The

question becomes: Will those strategies truly make the difference between meeting—or even

exceeding—the state average for this small, Indiana high school?

Curriculum Framework and Justification

The administration and staff at EGHS has done a textbook job of implementing reforms

from a systemic standpoint. Using standards and standardized test scores as guideposts, they

have improved teacher knowledge and student support. They are obviously cognizant of where

they are in relation to the benchmarks, and I believe the staff has made a concerted effort toward

that end as well. Judging a school from a single improvement plan is challenging, but based on

the extended narrative in Mr. Frank’s full improvement plan, it is clear that more is needed in

order to get at least another 25% of students succeeding in reading (Eastern Greene, 2013).

Although I am far from a reading specialist, one major focus for my high school has been

reading as well. We have been down a similar road as Mr. Frank in the past five years.

Unfortunately, it has led to similarly mediocre results. Based on research, my own teaching

experiences, and analysis of the larger trends in reading education today, I would suggest a three-

pronged approach to making the reading curriculum more than just a lackluster set of numbers

on a page. Although idealistic in philosophy, I have found during my public school teaching

career (with five semesters of college instruction previous) that students do indeed rise to the

challenges before them, particularly when we look at their larger position in its proper

perspective and context.

Framework Component No. 1—Model and Explanation

While 100 years ago information was something to be valued, treasured, and fought for,

today’s student is not in the same context. Gathering information is easy; making sense of it in


light of self and world is much more challenging. So much of the focus of education today is on

test performance, and students tire of data-driven perspectives with their lives set before them on

a series of spreadsheets. Of course, the reality is we still must test, but how we present those

essential learning outcomes and key reading skill sets makes all the difference. Therefore, I

would propose a philosophical alteration to the framework of how reading is taught. Injecting a

humanistic bend would lead reading to be personal in nature and therefore more applicable.

Hiemstra and Brockett (1994) talk about incorporating humanistic beliefs into a standards-based

paradigm with pragmatism. It isn’t that all curriculum should be taught based on the individual

learner’s whims or preferences. “However, it is our contention that even in situations where

prescribed learning is the ultimate goal, the learning process will be enhanced if learners can

perceive corresponding instruction as meeting individual needs, or they can at least take some

responsibility for aspects of the process” (Hiemstra & Brockett, 1994).

To that end, the authors

created a graphic that represents

their concept of a humanist

curriculum that still fits inside

of today’s education. It

highlights the input of the

learner on the direction of the

learning, which particularly in a

time-consuming endeavor like reading can mean much more motivation. More practically

speaking as a curriculum model, I would encourage Frank’s English teachers to use a “mirrors

and windows” philosophy, which asks students to conceptualize and categorize all they read


from either a reflection of their own life experience (mirror) or a chance to see something beyond

their understanding (window). Reading then becomes a process of self as much as it is acquiring

and comprehending information. In fact, one of the original purposes behind reading literature in

education was to involve the self in the process, not just answer the correct multiple-choice

options on an exam. The teaching and questioning of morality, and the introspection that

followed, are the greatest lessons to be learned from the literary canon—as well as nonfiction

texts from current publications. In order to create a curriculum that both engages and moves

reading scores forward, students need to be personally involved in the reading they complete and

see how their interpretation of a text makes a difference.


The second component of changing the reading philosophy at Eastern Greene High

School is just as necessary as the first—particularly to balance the humanistic concept. High

school students are notoriously self-focused to the point of indulgence. Technology has only

enhanced that reality. Yes, students need to read from a place where they are reflecting on

themselves, but they also need to understand reading in the larger societal context. That is where

I would marry humanistic and social reconstructionist philosophies in the reading curriculum.

From the social reconstructionists, I would take the self-focus and place it in the context of the

globe in order to find purpose and application within what is being read—not just as reading

itself. In social reconstructionism, “students are provided with the learning opportunities for

critically analyzing social

problems faced by

humankind. The

curricular emphasis is on

group experiences and the

development of students’

critical consciousness and

sense of social

responsibility” (Cheung,

2000). A model of this

type of learning created

by Matt Lewis shows how multi-faceted this approach can be. Regarding lessons, students would

be reading about contexts outside of their own (windows) but then working to apply them as

mirrors. Learners could engage in the critical thinking necessary to consider various sides of a


real issue (or as it was portrayed in literature), or they could produce their own materials as a

social justice project—reading and writing to politicians and other decision-makers about issues

in today’s world. All of these higher-level skills of course are built upon the foundation of better

reading comprehension, and with the explicit desire to engage in the reading, that factor would

be multiplied.

The Eastern Greene reading curriculum, based on Frank’s presentation (2014), seems

rooted in the systemic curriculum. Of course, some drill and skill is necessary, and direct reading

instruction is needed for today’s testing paradigm. However, just because our data is driven by

statistics, it doesn’t mean our curriculum has to be. Cheung (2000), expanding on John D.

McNeil’s Contemporary Curriculum: In Thought and Action, advocated for meta-curriculum

that combines philosophies into more pragmatic wholes. I would suggest Frank moving his

reading curriculum from Cheung’s No. 1 “Traditionalist/transmission meta-orientation—a

cluster of cultural-transmission, subject, and competency-based orientations” to a No. 3

“Transformation meta-orientation—a cluster of social-change, humanistic, and transpersonal

orientations” (p. 152). As Cheung (2000) notes, it is difficult to empirically prove that one is

better than another. However, if the current curriculum at Eastern Greene is infused with

humanistic and social reconstructionist principles, students will likely engage more meaningfully

and connect information and knowledge to a greater purpose that will give them reason to

achieve on the next standardized test—or at least purposeful practice of the skills needed to do

so.


A philosophical shift would go far in engaging readers, but that alone depends on the

unity of department members who may or may not ascribe to those ideas. Especially in a time of


scrutiny on the test scores of Frank’s district, something more tangible would be welcome as

well. It seems like much of the professional development of Eastern Greene’s SIP centered

around strategies that were teacher-driven. Many times, as educators, we believe that if we

present the right information in the right way, students will learn more, read better, and perform

more effectively on assessments. However, as a teacher for more than a decade, I have learned

that it isn’t about me. The curriculum is driven by the pedagogy, and many times, students learn

when they create meaning for themselves (versus it being delivered to them). My second

recommendation would be to emphasize constructivist and cognitive-based pedagogies for

delivering the reading curriculum in order to awaken students to their own capabilities.

According to Pressley, Harris, and Marks (1992), constructivism is an “extremely student-

sensitive form of teaching designed to stimulate students to construct effective and personalized

ways of tackling academic problems” (p. 4). By using this curriculum framework, students will

be part of raising their reading scores and solving the problems of testing below the state

average. A constructivist set of strategies is also much more responsive to the needs of

differentiated instruction, which is surely needed in a school the size of Eastern Greene’s. For a

practical example, we turn to Pressley, Harris, and Marks (1992):

Students cooperate in groups to read passages using prediction, questions, clarification,

and summarization strategies. Children take turns acting as group leader. The adult

teacher only intervenes when prompting is necessary to move the lesson along. There is

indirect evidence that a month of such instruction produces internalized use of the

strategies taught. For example, reading comprehension as measured by standardized

achievement tests improves as a function of reciprocal teaching. (Lysynchuk, Pressley, &

Vye, 1990; Palincsar and Brown, 1984)


Their research, and collaboration with other educational researchers, shows that constructivist

learning doesn’t only propel student learning forward, but also allows students to integrate

reading strategies into their banks of knowledge through creation. As a writing teacher who has

heavily emphasized writer’s workshop for years and seen its overwhelmingly positive benefits, I

believe this type of constructivist reading strategy as part of a curriculum framework would

complement the earlier philosophy recommendation and provide a deeper learning experience

for the students.


The final piece to the reading comprehension scores puzzle goes back to the research I

recently completed on assessment. All of the good curriculum and pedagogy in the world doesn’t

provide students, teachers, and administrators with the information they need to know: is it

working or not? It was clear from Frank’s (2014) presentation that standardized tests (both state

and national) were used to gauge the ultimate reading comprehension levels of students.

Research done by Akpan, Notar, & Padgett (2012) showed what many educators already know:

an abundance of purposeful, targeted formative assessments will aid students through the

challenges until they reach success. Part of the reason why students struggle on our reading

comprehension assessments is not because of their inherent inability for reading and

comprehending. Often, elements of test anxiety, misunderstanding, and unfamiliarity play a large

role. Formative assessments give students feedback on what they need to improve. Formative

assessments give teachers feedback on what they need to reteach or clarify. Formative

assessments give both parties a sense of stability and comfort—the outcome of the high-stakes

testing will not be a surprise if the formatives are insightful and applicable. My third and final

recommendation to Eastern Greene High School and Principal Kevin Frank would be to augment


the philosophical and

pedagogical changes

in the curriculum

framework with

formative assessments

that are instructive and

meaningful. In the

chart below, the

purpose is clear, but I

would also place a big

emphasis on the second box—timely student achievement information. Well-executed formative

assessments give students relevant and quick feedback, so they can make changes in their

behavior or process in order to procure success. The amount of feedback and implied student

accountability would reflect on the student-driven constructivist strategies and inward/outward

conceptual focus of the curriculum itself. If we want students to take reading seriously, we need

to take our feedback of their performance seriously. There is little risk for either student or

teacher in this paradigm, just a bit more work. However, I am convinced that the outcome will be

better readers, which is not only Eastern Greene’s goal, but a goal for all educators.

Conclusion and Reflection

It would be deceiving to all parties to believe that a simple research paper and set of three

ideas would solve the reading comprehension score problems for an entire student population. I

also don’t want to assert that my personal preferences regarding curriculum should be assumed

by all other educators. However, based on the challenges mentioned by Kevin Frank at Eastern


Greene High School in Bloomfield, Ind., I do think the administration and faculty have done all

they could to raise those scores within the present systemic paradigm. It is likely, as in my

experience, that the teachers are tired and the administration is frustrated by a lack of growth that

has put the small, public high school below the state level in reading comprehension. That is why

my curriculum framework suggestion for Eastern Greene includes a fairly dramatic shift in the

three main areas of education—philosophy, pedagogy, and assessment. The changes in all three

of these areas are meant to dovetail to create an environment where students begin to see reading

as not a task to complete but a window to themselves and the world. At the same time, they will

take ownership by leading the learning and making sense out of a variety of readings through

constructivism. The tell, then, of whether these concepts are working will be clear to both staff

and students through a myriad of formative assessments providing meaningful and targeted

feedback. All of these framework pieces are meant to engage students in their own learning,

while making reading efficacious. With this framework in place, I would hope that Eastern

Greene would indeed be able to make even more progress toward its ultimate curriculum goal

that “every student has the opportunity to be successful at Eastern Greene High School” (Eastern

Greene, 2013).


References

Akpan, J., Notar, C., & Padgett, S. (2012). Formative assessment: A basic foundation for

teaching and learning. National Teacher Education Journal, 5(1), 83-97.

Cheung, D. (2000). Measuring teachers’ meta-orientations to curriculum: Application of

hierarchical confirmatory factor analysis. The Journal of Experimental Education, 68(2),

149-165.

Eastern Greene High School 2012-2013 School Improvement Plan. (2013). Retrieved from

http://egreene.k12.in.us/UserFiles/Servers/Server_550661/File/HighSchool/SIP.pdf

Frank, K. (2014). Eastern Greene High School: Curriculum improvement [PowerPoint slides].

Retrieved on August 3, 2014, from Indiana State University Blackboard website.

Hiemstra, R., & Brockett, R. (1994). From behaviorism to humanism: Incorporating self-

direction in learning concepts into the instructional design process. In H. B. Long &

Associates, New ideas about self-directed learning. Norman, OK: Oklahoma Research

Center for Continuing Professional and Higher Education, University of Oklahoma.

Pressley, M., Harris, K. R., & Marks, M. B. (1992). But good strategy instructors are

constructivists! Educational Psychology Review, 4(1), 3-31.

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