ansonk1
Ability, Readability, Context
BALANCED SCALE:
My image has three essential parts: the reader, the text, and the context. I used a balance scale (drawn in red, and admittedly, not exactly balanced), to show the relationship between these parts. On one end of the scale, there is the reader/student. Prior to any content class, it is EXTREMELY likely that a student has already been assessed (multiple times throughout his/her academic career) to determine his/her mastery of specific reading skills and strategies. Assessments typically include a wide range of 1 on 1 assessments, as well as scores from standardized tests. While the data gathered in assessment is certainly helpful to get a sense of a student’s reading ability, it is NOT the only factor that comes into play. A student’s ability to handle content literacy is greatly affected by the student’s interests, motivations, prior experiences, background knowledge, and self-perception. On the other end of the scale, there is a “content area” book. Note that the scale is balanced, which reflects the importance of the text being at the student’s level. Readability scales and formulas can help to get a general sense of how a student might handle a text, but again, it is only one factor of a much larger picture. The relationship between a student and the text is dependent on the context, which is why CONTEXT appears as the fulcrum (the triangle). The context is typically shaped by the teacher. In my image, I highlight some of the decisions a teacher might make that would affect the scale.
Ability, Readability, Context
BALANCED SCALE:
My image has three essential parts: the reader, the text, and the context. I used a balance scale (drawn in red, and admittedly, not exactly balanced), to show the relationship between these parts. On one end of the scale, there is the reader/student. Prior to any content class, it is EXTREMELY likely that a student has already been assessed (multiple times throughout his/her academic career) to determine his/her mastery of specific reading skills and strategies. Assessments typically include a wide range of 1 on 1 assessments, as well as scores from standardized tests. While the data gathered in assessment is certainly helpful to get a sense of a student’s reading ability, it is NOT the only factor that comes into play. A student’s ability to handle content literacy is greatly affected by the student’s interests, motivations, prior experiences, background knowledge, and self-perception. On the other end of the scale, there is a “content area” book. Note that the scale is balanced, which reflects the importance of the text being at the student’s level. Readability scales and formulas can help to get a general sense of how a student might handle a text, but again, it is only one factor of a much larger picture. The relationship between a student and the text is dependent on the context, which is why CONTEXT appears as the fulcrum (the triangle). The context is typically shaped by the teacher. In my image, I highlight some of the decisions a teacher might make that would affect the scale.