Pairing and Sharing: A Technique to Increase Engagement and Achievement with Struggling Middle School Readers
Year: 2018

The purpose of this research was to determine whether reading with a partner coupled with active reading based communication would increase the engagement and achievement of seventh grade READ 180 students. READ 180 was a reading intervention program which consisted of four main components: whole and small group instruction, software, and independent reading. Many students struggled with the independent reading component of the program, failing to finish books and/or pass comprehension quizzes. During the study, students were assigned a partner. They read together instead of separately during independent reading times. Three primary types of data were collected to monitor engagement and achievement: first, observable student reading behaviors; second, the number of comprehension quizzes passed; third, the number of words read independently. Two secondary forms of data were also examined: the average number of pages read daily and student responses to a post study survey. The researcher used both qualitative and quantitative methods of data analysis to draw conclusions from the study. Findings consistently revealed that while reading with a partner students increased overall engagement and achievement.  General Problem/Issue In the book Out of the Crisis, Dr. W. Edwards Deming described his philosophy of continuous improvement based on the Japanese idea of kaizen, meaning good change. Continuous improvement models generally follow four to eight steps with guiding words such as assess, plan, implement, and evaluate (Rouse, 2009) In the world of literacy education and its application to struggling adolescent readers there is a constant need for teachers to examine what is effective and what is not. They continually work to improve instruction in hopes of helping their students succeed. Dealing with the can'ts students who are unable to do work used to be the primary target of educational remediation. Recently there is an equal and increasing amount of won'ts students who refuse to try. This adds another dimension of difficulty for educators on a quest to continuously improve in their efforts to help students succeed. Teachers frequently address these problems with techniques designed to motivate, consequence, or incentivize readers. Literacy issues with students below proficiency in reading often relate to a lack of engagement. A teacher might be able to get a student motivated to work, or perhaps avoid a consequence, but ensuring that the student sees the work through is another matter. In some cases, students may be unable to complete tasks, but in many other cases, they simply lack the grit necessary to persevere (Donahue, 2015) Sometimes, this lack of stick to it ness results in a refusal to work at all, circumstances which give birth to a won't. In Madeline Hunter's mastery learning lesson design, modeling and guided practice lead to independent practice (1991) This design makes sense. Some can'ts and PAIRING AND SHARING 7 many won'ts, however, throw a curve ball at both well intentioned and well prepared teachers. To use a car analogy, these kids may have a key (tools, expectations) but they are out of gas or have a dead battery (lack on going motivation and engagement) With students who consistently demonstrate this type of low productivity, a teacher seeking continuous improvement needs a gas pump or a set of jumper cables. These teachers must expand the look of Hunter's independent practice to include additional scaffolds for success because sometimes going it alone may be too hard. In her book, When Kids Can't  (2003) author Kylene Beers writes about turning dependent readers into independent readers through the building of three types of confidence: cognitive confidence, text confidence, and social emotional confidence. Cognitive confidence allows readers to read fluently and monitor for understanding. Text confidence allows readers to find books they like and develop stamina to read more challenging books. Social and emotional confidence allows readers to participate actively in a classroom community and maintain a positive attitude toward reading without getting discouraged or overwhelmed. Beers describes how when one of these areas improves, the others do, too. Reading with a partner and gaining social emotional confidence may begin a cycle that leads to the growth of text confidence, cognitive confidence, and eventually to reading independence.  Participants in this study were seventh grade READ 180 students in an upper Midwest middle school. At this school, approximately 15 percent of students are placed in a reading enrichment program called READ 180. This program consists of four PAIRING AND SHARING 8 structured components divided into rotational periods: whole group instruction, small group instruction, instructional software, and independent reading. READ 180 generally services students who have fallen two or more grade levels behind in reading proficiency. This is based on scores from standardized reading assessments used by the school district at the middle school level: the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Reading Inventory (RI) and the NWEA Measures of Academic Progress test in reading.