ABOUT THE INTERVENTION
A focus group was recently held (Spring 2008) at the Henry J. Robinson Middle School in Lowell, Massachusetts. The school has been using the Thinking Reader program for several years though individual teachers’ experience with the program ranged from < 1 month to 3 years. Robinson is a 5-8 grade middle school that enrolls 538 students, with the population being composed of approximately 80% low-income, 60% minority, 49% English as their second language, and 19% special education students.
The Thinking Reader program is woven into their regular language arts curriculum. Classrooms are scheduled to use the program on laptop computers that rotate through the school on a mobile computer lab. While working through a particular novel, some teachers/student have access to the program every day, whereas others use it every other day. Depending on the exact length of use each week, teachers estimated it took 4-6 weeks to complete one novel.
The following clips give insight into:
- What teachers like about program
- How Thinking Reader compare to other reading instruction
- How teachers monitor progress with the program and keep track of learning of reading strategies
- What effect the program has on students
Hover the mouse cursor over each segment for more information. You have the option of selecting individual segments to play back. Or you may viewing all six segments one after the other by simply allowing the player to play.