Susan Cydis (Richard Stockton College)
Melissa Scully (Richard Stockton College)
Christine Ross (Richard Stockton College)

Providing effective remediation for at risk students can be a challenge for teachers of adolescents. All too often teachers rely on an approach to instruction that supports the acquisition of skills on a low level of cognitive engagement. Focusing on the application of strategies that promote depth of understanding and the transfer of skills to authentic settings has the potential to optimize the impact of the instruction. Meeting the needs of this population of students requires a teacher to be reflective, resourceful and innovative in their pedagogical practice. Incorporating the use of quality literature, technology tools to support learning and a focus on providing explicit instruction of the cognitive strategies that support comprehension, are methods teachers can include for supporting the progress of at risk readers. This paper describes the experiences of two teachers of adolescent readers while they engaged in reflective practice, acquired new instructional strategies and supported developmental readers with comprehension processes. The results of this qualitative investigation are reported in the form of a case study that describes the project and participants experiences with the workshop model, technology integration and the use of children's literature to support reading comprehension in students.

Readers need explicit instruction in the skills necessary to effectively comprehend text (Calkins and Tolan, 2010). The Readers' Workshop Model includes this important component of instructional practice to support reading development (Calkins and Tolan, 2010). While the Readers' Workshop Model can be daunting to envision at first, it is evident that each part of this model serves a purpose for students. It becomes a workable and flexible approach that can benefit all levels of adolescent, struggling readers, helping to target their specific areas of weakness (Calkins and Tolan, 2010). According to Molly Williams (2001) who has shared her experience about the Reader's Workshop in her article, Making Connections: A Workshop for Readers who struggle with reading, using the workshop model provides a structure that enables teachers to differentiate and effectively remediate struggling readers. Using this model, teachers can tweak and hone instructional practice to support struggling readers. According to Williams (2009), the Reader's Workshop Model increases fluency, helps students become independent readers, increases comprehension, and allows students to create a dialogue about their learning that extends beyond the classroom setting.

The use of the workshop model for reading instruction has been found to increase motivation, comprehension, and authentic learning (Thomas, 2012). In a study of the implementation of the Workshop Model in middle school language arts classrooms, Thomas (2012) found that the change in teaching practice that included the use of the Workshop Model led to improvements in students' comprehension and motivation. The model promotes cognitive engagement that represents advanced knowledge acquisition as opposed to lower levels of understanding. Advanced knowledge acquisition is that which goes beyond the introductory stage of learning and comes with achieving practiced expertise. Through the workshop model approach the teacher serves as a model for advanced application of comprehension processes such as visualization and making predictions or text-based inferences. Within the context of authentic reading experiences (Atwell, 2009) the teacher supports students to a greater level of expertise. It is this level of learning that supports students' ability to understand the reading process with greater depth and understanding. The learner attains a deeper understanding of content material and develops the ability to understand it in a more abstract way and ultimately apply it with flexibility in new more authentic contexts (Spiro, Coulson, Feltovich, Anderson, 2004).

Authentic literature refers to narrative and expository texts that are written in the original, natural language of the authors. These texts are not written with a controlled vocabulary or rewritten to achieve a particular score according to a readability formula (Routman, 1991). Examples of authentic literature include classics such as Charlotte's Web (White, 1952) or Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad (Petry, 1955). The use of authentic literature affords students valuable opportunities to apply cognitive strategies in the setting for which they are intended to be used, during the act of real world reading. The act of reading is known to have the greatest benefit in terms of reading development (National Reading Panel, 2000). The use of quality reading materials that adolescents find relevant and interesting increases the likelihood that students will become engaged readers (Strauss & Irwin, 2000).

Technology serves as a valuable tool in supporting struggling readers. The successful integration of technology has the potential to benefit all students (Martin, 2005). Various web-based applications that engage students in higher levels of thinking and cognitive engagement are used to support student development. Using technology that promotes higher levels of cognitive engagement is particularly important for this population of students and is a necessary focus for teachers at this level of instruction.

Green and Hannon (2007) stated, "Our newest generation currently in K- 12 is demonstrating for us the impact of having developed under the digital wave. These youths have been completely normalized by digital technologies- it is a fully integrated aspect of their lives."

Green and Hannon are absolutely correct. Children today are introduced to many different forms of technology, at a very young age. Because of this, these children become hardwired differently than students in the past- they learn differently. With this in mind, educators today take steps to incorporating technology into instruction to help the students reach their full potential and be successful in the classroom.

Educators can utilize different forms of technology in the classroom to enhance the student centered learning approach. From the use of netbooks and I Pads, to digital games and social networking sites, these forms of technology can help students learn and explore in ways that they would otherwise be derived using a workbook and a pencil and paper. Klopfer, Osterweil, Groff, and Haas (2009) wrote, "Simply put, these technologies afford us the ability to convey concepts in new ways that would otherwise not be possible, efficient, or effective, with other instructional methods."

It seems that today, most educators and researchers agree that technology is an essential tool for every classroom. Technology, when used properly, can enhance cognitive engagement. With the use of technology, students can get an authentic learning experience that challenges them to explore and engage at higher order thinking levels. In an article by Marilyn Lombardi (2007), she quoted Brown (1999) on authentic learning and technology, explaining, "Learning becomes as much social as cognitive, as much concrete as abstract, and becomes intertwined with judgment and exploration."

In this study, two language arts teachers in suburban school districts engaged in reflective practice in an effort to better meet the needs of a struggling reader in their respective classrooms. Teachers used the implementation of the workshop model approach, incorporated the use of children's literature and integrated the use of technology applications to support comprehension in students. Each teacher focused on an adolescent reader reading below level as part of the instruction designed to meet student need and increase achievement in the area of comprehension.

The goal of this study was to investigate the impact of an approach to instruction that targeted the needs and interests of adolescents reading below grade level. The researchers sought to explore the following questions:

(1) How do the teachers use the workshop model to support struggling adolescent readers?

(2) What role does the integration of technology applications have on the learning experience?

(3) What impact does the use of authentic literature have in remediating adolescent readers?

Prior to implementing the Reader's Workshop Model, teachers selected a student in the class to focus on for providing further support in developing comprehension ability. They began by administering the Qualitative Reading Inventory (Leslie and Caldwell, 2011) to determine the instructional reading levels of students and areas of focus for strategy instruction. After identifying the reading levels of the teachers were able to encourage students guide students in selecting an authentic text on the appropriate reading level for use in their lesson. Students were encouraged to identify topic of interest for reading and teachers were able to provide text from the school library to students based on their interest and reading levels. Over a two-month period, teachers implemented daily lessons that focused on comprehension skills using a Reader's Workshop Model. This model consists of mini-lessons targeted for the explicit instruction of cognitive strategies to support comprehension processing of text. The teachers implemented the instruction to the whole class using a "mentor" or "common" text. Reading strategies targeted the students' area of weakness and were taught using mentor texts that were included in the curriculum. As the lessons progressed and teachers observed the students' ability to demonstrate the target strategy, modifications were made to the lessons that included the use of technology applications and literature selections to support student progress. Instructional methods also included the use of technology. For example, teachers integrated the use of an iPad and technology applications that focused on specific areas of comprehension to assist students in areas of need to improve reading comprehension skills. These applications included Educreations and Tools4Students.

Procedures for implementation of the workshop model included a focus on the explicit instruction of cognitive process to support reading comprehension. Teachers used a mentor text for whole class readings and books that targeted students' interests for independent reading. Authentic literature selections were used to give students opportunities to apply the comprehension strategy in natural reading experiences. The goal of each lesson was to explicitly model and engage students in the use of the comprehension strategy while providing the opportunity for students to read authentic books on independent reading levels. Small group instruction and varying the text choices were also included in this instructional plan. Specific procedures for implementing the lesson based on the Readers Workshop Model (Calkins and Talon, 2010) approach included the following:

(1) The Connection: The lesson began with a connection in which students used a strategy that would help them learn why/how this can be useful to them as readers.

(2) Teaching: The teacher explained the strategy to students, demonstrated it while thinking aloud and reading aloud. The goal during this step was to model the thinking process. The teacher explained how the strategy was helpful as it was used.

(3) Active Engagement: Students engaged in practicing the strategy taught. Students talked to a partner about the use of the strategy and reported their experiences back to the whole group.

(4) Linked the Strategy to Reading: The teacher ended the mini-lesson by linking the lesson to how students should practice the strategy during independent reading practice.

(5) Independent Reading: The teacher supported individuals and monitored use of the strategy. Students were encouraged to note their use of the strategy using sticky notes. This helped students keep track of their opportunities that demonstrated the strategy and assisted them when reporting back to the whole group with examples of the use of the strategy.

(6) Target Student: The teacher closely monitored the target student and supported the ability to employ the strategy as needed.

(7) Share: Students reconvened as a group and shared examples of how they used the strategy.

Data was collected via observation of the lessons and methods teachers engaged in while implementing the workshop model approach, technology integration and authentic literature to remediate students. While the teachers were teaching, observations of the procedures were recorded as researcher field notes the data was analyzed to determine which components of the workshop model were executed and whether the components were executed as described in the literature. Additionally, observational data was analyzed using to note teachers use of technology and authentic literature.

Finally, each of the teacher participants kept reflective journals for the purpose of gaining further detail about the instructional methods used in their respective classrooms. Teachers were required to spend time reflecting after lessons and record their recollections of what transpired. The data collected in the reflective journals was then coded and analyzed for emerging themes. The results of the data collected are discussed below.

The teachers in this study utilized the Qualitative Reading Inventory (Leslie & Caldwell, 2011) to determine the needs of the students they chose to target for this investigation. The results of the QRI revealed that both students targeted for this study were reading below grade level and demonstrated deficits in the area of comprehension. Specific results and recommendations based on the QRI results made by the teachers in this study are outlined below:

Student 1:

Student 1 is a 15-year old sophomore currently enrolled in an Inclusion English 2 and US History 2 class. He is classified as Specific Learning Disabled. He is interested in a career in computer science and he enjoys playing in the high school band, fishing and spending time with his family. He is currently struggling to pass both History and English and received a minimum passing grade in English during the previous school year. He reads with speed and accuracy, but struggles to provide specific details and accurately recall the sequence of the information read.

Student 2:

Student 2 is an 11-year old boy in 5th grade who has been diagnosed with ADHD, tic disorder, partial complex epilepsy and communication impaired. He is in an inclusion classroom with a general education teacher and a special education teacher. He is described as soft-spoken and does not exhibit behavior problems. He lives with his parents and is one of four children. He enjoys video and computer games. He completes his schoolwork, but does not usually choose to work beyond the teacher’s minimum expectations. Although he can read fluently and recall main points from the reading, he demonstrates difficulty recalling details and responding accurately to implicit questions.

The narrative data collected was analyzed to determine components of the workshop model executed by the teachers, whether the components were executed as described in the literature, and whether teachers integrated the use of technology and authentic literature. Each of these components was identified as either (1) teacher did not include this component of the lesson, (2) teacher included this component, but it was not executed as defined, or (3) teacher executed this component as described in the literature. The instrument used to conduct this analysis is included as Appendix A. The results of this analysis revealed that each teacher executed each component successfully as described in the literature. The teachers did not omit any components of the workshop model, technology and authentic literature and no notable difficulties were observed on the part of the teachers with the execution of these components as described in the literature.

As part of the process of reflection, each of the teacher participants kept reflective journals for the purpose of gaining further detail about the instructional methods used in their respective classrooms. The journals were collected and analyzed using a system of coding to identify emerging themes relating to the observations they made during the process of remediating students. An excerpt of one of the reflections is included in Appendix B as an example of how the data was analyzed and coded for emerging themes.

Using the results of the QRI's both students demonstrated a weakness in the area of comprehension. For this reason the teachers chose to focus on strategy instruction in the area of comprehension using the workshop model to address this weakness. Additionally, the use of authentic literature and technology integration were utilized to target students' interest and increase motivation.

Observational data revealed that teachers were able to effectively utilize the workshop model when conducting whole group instruction in which the targeted students were a part of the group. Lessons included a focus on the comprehension strategies of visualization while reading, recalling details and understanding vocabulary. Teachers used the "think aloud" procedure to model the thought process during the use of comprehension strategies while reading a mentor text aloud. Students actively participated during the engagement component of the workshop model lesson in which the students were given time to apply and discuss the use of the strategy after the teacher modeled. Finally, the students read a book of their own choice and practiced the use of the strategy while reading. Teachers utilized one-on-one instruction during the independent reading time to ensure student engagement. The use of technology was integrated with the use of the workshop model to increase motivation and enhance comprehension. For example, the teacher of student 1 reported that she integrated the use of the Read-n-Respond application to further support the student with the mechanics and structure of writing. Because the use of sticky notes made the process of writing laborious for student 1, she was able to better motivate him and support his needs through the integration of this technology. In another example, the teacher of student 2 emphasized the importance of visualizing and through the workshop model she modeled the strategy of creating a mind movie when you read using the web-based application, Educreations to support the student. The teacher read aloud, modeling the strategy use by pausing and thinking aloud. Next, the teacher used the application and drew what she saw in her mind. Next, the student read a little bit to the teacher and stopped and discussed what he saw. Then the student used the application to draw. Finally, the student was then allowed to use his independent book, and continue with the visualization lesson. He produced a five-page slideshow and added voice to explain the pictures. Using the technology application the student created a product that enabled him to successfully identify the main ideas of the text.

Teacher reflections over the course of this study revealed three re-occurring themes. The value of the impact of meeting students' needs and interest was one of these themes. Teachers found that the use of authentic literature helped to target student interest. Teachers noted that if students were "interested in what they're reading and they will have a better chance of comprehending." For this reason teachers used web-based programs to help select literature on topics that were of interest to students.

In was also noted that, "Students were eager to use the iPad," and through the use of the iPad students created more comprehensive products. Teacher reflection indicated that as a result of student interest in the use of the iPad applications the student "went from identifying very few story elements with a traditional graphic organizer, to identifying and including all the basics using the iPad." This became a second theme identified from the teacher reflection data collected. It revealed that there was a value for the use technology in supporting student learning.

The value of authentic learning opportunities via the workshop model approach was a third theme that was revealed in the data collected from teacher reflections. Teachers indicated that authentic texts, known as mentor texts appeared to engage readers regardless of whether the text specifically targeted the students' areas of interest. Teacher reflections indicated that providing students with opportunities to engage in authentic learning experiences such as those that were used with technology applications appeared to increase student engagement and learning.

The Reading Workshop Model of instruction proved to be an efficient tool in the classroom. The constant modeling and the actual time to read in class is vital for students like this struggling reader, who does not read at home. The only real way to become a better reader and strengthen your comprehension skills is to read. Struggling readers are already reluctant to read at home, so giving them the time to read in school is very valuable.

Another positive aspect of the reading workshop is the use of "mentor texts." It was noticed that even though the mentor texts used were not of particular interest to the student, the student was able to better understand and comprehend them. The books on this student's level or below, allowed him to really focus on the skill that he was practicing rather than trying to comprehend them. If a student cannot understand a book, it will be much harder to practice any skill.

Finally, student choice of the independent book is also important. This student had a book above his reading level but it was of high interest to him. Using a website such as, Scholastic Book Wizard (Scholastic Inc., n.d.) can help find a book of similar interest on their level. This way they will be interested in what they're reading and they will have a better chance of comprehending it.

The use of authentic literature selections integrates with this approach to maximize engagement and potential for student learning. Reading engagement can be defined as the mutual support of motivations, strategies and conceptual knowledge during reading (Guthrie et al., 1999). This concept of conceptual knowledge during reading is vitally important and a critical piece of authentic instructional methodology. By incorporating authentic instructional methods and focusing on conceptual learning, we have the potential to greatly impact academic achievement.

Effectively remediating struggling readers has a critical role in developing an appreciation for learning and an intrinsic motivation for literacy. These valuable outcomes emerge as a result of the use of the workshop model, technology integration and authentic instruction. Maintaining these educational practices has the potential to increase student achievement and motivational qualities for students.

Realizing what it may take for some adolescent, remedial students to become good readers, the following statement should ring true for teachers and reading specialists who try to meet the challenges of creating good readers: Students need to attempt to see themselves as readers, as well as, change their attitude towards reading (Williams, 2001, p. 590).

The results of this study demonstrate the value of the workshop model, authentic instruction and technology, not only for struggling readers, but also for others in the class. Taking into consideration students in a class can be reading on various levels, those below level may be considered a challenge and could be referred to as "alliterate," students that can read but choose not to. These students need opportunities to connect with text in a personal way and to learn how to connect with others (Williams, 2001, p.588, 589). It is important to realize that planning lessons for this type of student, it may be beneficial to incorporate the use of technology and authentic literature to engage them. Areas of instruction that may benefit students at this level would be to incorporate strategies that integrate the use of a laptop or iPad for note taking, written assignments and using applications that will target specific areas of comprehension. While observing students in this study, it was apparent that they were interested in the reading during the workshop and using the sticky notes to mark information in authentic text as a helpful anchoring technique.

In conclusion, students reading below level benefit from using the Readers' Workshop Model along with anchoring techniques such as those found through the use of iPad applications to assist them while reading authentic texts. Practicing this during class time and helping him to embed these strategies into the daily reading routine enhances the reading experience for students.

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Calkins, L., Tolan, K. (2010). A Guide to the Readers Workshop. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Available: http://www.heinemann.com/shared/onlineresources/e03744/gsp_uosr35_samppage.pdf

Green, H. & Hannon, C. (2007). Their Space: Education for a digital generation. Available: http://www.demos.co.uk/files/Their%20space%20-%20web.pdf

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Lombardi, M. M. (2007). Authentic learning for the 21st Century: An overview. (Educause Learning Initiative Paper 1). Available: https://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/eli3009.pdf

Leslie, L., & Caldwell, J. (2011). Qualitative reading inventory (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon.

Martin, S. (2005). Special education, technology and teacher education. Retrieved August 31, 2013 from, http://site.aace.org/pubs/foresite/SpecialEducation.pdf

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Strauss, S.E., & Irwin, J.L. (2000). Exemplary literacy learning programs: What the research says. Middle School Journal, 32 (1), pp. 56-59.

Thomas, A. F. (2012). The effects of implementing readers workshop in a middle school language arts classroom. Journal of Instructional Pedagogies, 9 (1), pp. 1-16.

Williams, M. (2001). Workshop for Struggling Readers. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 44 (7), pp. 588-602.

Spiro, R. J., Coulson, R. L., Feltovich, P. J., & Anderson, D. (2004). Cognitive Flexibility Theory: Advanced knowledge acquisition in ill-structured domains. In Theoretical Models and Processes of Reading (5th ed., pp. 602-616). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

Attachments:

Appendix A (PDF format), 14 K.

Appendix B (PDF format), 99 K.