Research of Teacher-Students Reading Based on Learning Cell Platform
Xu Liu, Wu Juan, Baoping Li
Beijing Normal University, China
Liuxu.bnu@gmail.com, wuj@bnu.edu.cn, libp@bnu.edu.cn

Abstract: Reading plays a core role in Yuwen education in China. In recent years reading whole books(not just pieces) has been given more attention. It even gets written in the new curriculum standard.
However, guidance from teacher on students reading a book is absent. The potential of information
technology in the reading process is also neglected. This paper aims to construct a model for teachers toguide students’ book reading using a ubiquitous learning platform--Learning Cell Platform (LC for short).
It can record students’ reading experience and reflections, promote wide discussion and sharing, help
managing personal and group knowledge, and allow teacher to track students’ reading. Considering this,guided by Aidan Chambers’ ideas about children’s reading, a model for teacher-students reading based on
LC platform is constructed. It contains four stages: 1) Teacher-students read together; 2) Read and think on
one’s own; 3) Discuss online and in class; 4) Reflect on the reading process. In order to test the effects ofthe model and LC Platform, a practical research is conducted. Results show that all students’ reading
abilities improved, especially those who used LC platform. This implies that the model is effective and LC
platform plays a role in improving students’ reading ability.

Keywords: teacher-students reading, Learning Cell platform, book readingINTRODUCTION
Reading plays a core role in Yuwen education in China. Students can not only get information through reading,more importantly, they learn to know the world, gain language skills, develop thinking abilities, and acquire uniqueaesthetic experience(Huaiyuan Li 2013). The new curriculum standard (Ministry of Education in China 2011) forYuwen pointed out “(students) should read more books, read good books, and read whole books (not justchapters/pieces)”. As a matter of fact however, in most schools, teacher’s assistance on students reading whole books
confines to give a recommendatory bibliography each term. More guidance from teachers is needed.
Aidan Chambers once said that “without enabling adults who are thoughtful readers to give you guidance, it isall but impossible to become a thoughtful literary reader yourself” (Chambers 2011a). The enabling adults makechildren willing to become a thoughtful reader by helping them choose classical books, provide them “Uninterrupted,Sustained, Silent Reading” time, read aloud to them, and conduct communication after reading.
In primary schools, students are going through the stage of “learning to read” and “reading to learn” at the sametime. They are badly in need of help in reading. Teachers, “the enabling adults” as Aidan chambers put it, can give
students all the assistance talked above and thus may help students develop better reading skills.
However, only guidance from enabling adults is not enough. Readers still have to undertake the key job,
namely read, think, and discuss, preferably note all this down and make it shareable to all. In this way not only
students can manage their own reading, but also teachers can better help students since they are aware of theirreading progress and reflections. Learning Cell (LC for short below) Platform, developed by group members ofModern Educational Technology Institute in Beijing Normal School, provides a perfect place for this: students canwrite down their reading experience and reflections dynamically (with powerful function of version control andcomparison), manage their whole reading process, and talk about books with classmates beyond school. Teachers
can easily track down students’ reading and give specific assistance on individual students.
This paper focuses on constructing an effective teacher-students reading model and examine the effect of using
LC Platform in the reading process.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1. How to organize the entire process of teacher-students reading a whole book by using LC platform? (The model)
2. Is the model effective in enhancing students’ reading abilities?
3. Does LC platform plays a role in enhancing students’ reading abilities?

RESEARCH METHOD
Teacher-Students Reading Model
Instructed by Aidan Chamber’s ideas about children’s reading, and considering LC platform’s functions, aTeacher-Students Reading Model is constructed as Figure 1 below.

Figure 1 Teacher-Students Reading Model

The model consists of four stages. In stage one, the “read aloud” method is used. Each day either teacher orstudent would read a chapter to the whole class. This makes reading easier, arouses students’ reading interest, andbuilds a good reading atmosphere. In stage two, teacher design different topics for students according to the book.
Students read the book again on their own from certain perspective of the topic they choose and write down theirpersonalized thinking on LC platform. In stage three, students share their reading experience and talk on LC platform.
Some discussion classes are also held. By sharing children soon accumulate a body of understanding that reveals theheart of a text and its meanings, even quite complicated or abstract ideas can be approached this way (Chambers
2011b). In the last stage, students look back on the whole process and summarize their gains.
A Case Study
Two Grade Four classes in a primary school in Heilongjiang Province were enrolled. Class Two (48students),
the experimental class, applies Teacher-Students Reading Model based on LC platform. Class One (43 students), thecontrol class, follow the same processes but doesn’t use LC platform. The whole reading process lasted for a term.
Quizzes were chosen from the book “Reading Abilities Test for Grade Four (including 1st and 2nd term)” (HugChinese 2010) to test reading abilities of students from both classes before and after the experiment. The pre-test
items were chosen from the 1st term and post-test from the 2nd term to exclude natural increase in students’ readingabilities. Reliability analysis of the two quizzes showed a Cronbach’s α 0.808 and 0.628. All test papers wererecovered and validated. T-test result of pre-test in two classes showed no significant difference.

RESULTS
A t-test was conducted to verify if reading abilities of the students from both classes was improved. The results
are presented in <Table 1> below. The average score increased from 40.74 points to 59.76 points in experimental
class and from 41.21 to 54.17 in control class, both showed significant results statistically (p<.01). This can beinterpreted that the Teacher-Students Reading Model is effective in improving students’ reading abilities.
Table 1T-test Results of Reading Abilities Test Score in Each Class
Experimental ClassControl Class

Pre-test（M±SD）40.74±10.21
41.21±9.21

Post-test（M±SD）59.76±3.1754.17±6.16t值
-14.41**-10.33**df48
43

From Table 1 we can see that the average post-test score was 59.76 in Class Two that used LC platform and54.17 in Class One that did not use LC platform. To examine whether there exists a statistically significant difference,
another t-test was conducted (see Table 2). The t-test result proved a significant difference (p<.01). This can beinterpreted that LC platform played a role in improving students’ reading abilities.
Table 2 T-test Results of Reading Abilities Post-test Score in Two Classes
Post-test Scoret-5.41**

Df
63.07

Sig.(2-tailed)
0CONCLUSIONSThis study aims to construct an effective Teacher-student Reading Model based on LC platform. The model ismainly guided by Aidan Chambers’ ideas on children’s reading. In this model, students play the main role andteacher plays the leading role. Design of the process makes reading easier for students who have low interest andabilities in reading, allows students to go deeper in the text from certain perspective, and makes wide and deep
interaction possible between students and teacher, outside and inside school. The case study conducted show that themodel is effective and LC platform plays a role in improving students reading abilities. Yet followed-up studies areneeded in each stage of the model to refine it.

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