Gaye Özarslan Bilkent University, Ankara Action Research Why don’t they come to class having read the texts and prepared ? Student Perspectives on Pre-reading Task Homework as Class Preparedness Gaye Özarslan  Bilkent University, Ankara

Plan Content- Context Problem Literature Research Question Methodology Results Discussion

Content- Context ENG 101 is a freshman English for Academic Purposes Content –based course The theme of the course is TV and TV Shows Students are required to read academic texts in various genres, in different length and use these sources in their essays. Come to class prepared, having read the assigned texts before class, is essential for students success in this course. Before moving to the next slide, I want to ask teachers how often do they tell their students to read the assigned text for the next week or next lesson? And how do you make sure that students read the text for the next lesson?

Content Pre- reading Tasks 10 tasks in total ( only 1 task was completed after class) 3 Parts Pre- While- Post Reading Questions Vocabulary Discussion Question Submitted to MOODLE on every Sunday before the first class of the week

Problem However, most of the students did not seem to be aware of the importance of having read the texts and come prepared to participate in class. Furthermore, they had problems with completing pre-reading tasks on-time consistently. The problem is that the students come to class not prepared, not having completed pre-reading tasks ; therefore, they are not actively participating in class activities. My motivation was should I quit assigning pre-reading tasks as homwork and instead implement them into in class activities.

Purpose of the Study To Find out the ways to increase the likelihood of students coming to class prepared having read the texts and completed pre-reading tasks To make necessary adaptations in accordance with the study results

What Literature says Pre-reading tasks, Serve as pre-reading instruction, students can access background information that can facilitate subsequent reading, provide specific information needed for successful comprehension stimulate student interest set up student expectations model strategies that students can later use on their own (Grabe and Stoller, 2001)

Pre- reading Tasks as Homework Homework assignments are believed to be helpful for learners’ academic development since activities completed outside of the class give opportunities to students to practice and review course materials which in return positively affect the students’ performance in class (Radhakrishnan, Lam, &Ho, 2009; Epstein & Van Voorhis, 2001; Ericsson, Krampe, & Tesch-Römer, 1993).

Some of the reasons of not students’ completing homework reported are Students do not know how to do the work as in they do not understand the instructions (Darling-Hammond & Olivia, 2006) Students do not feel that assignment is meaningful especially when they do not get immediate feedback (Darling- Hammond &Olivia, 2006) Students do not complete homework when they feel the homework is boring and routine such as , repetitious work sheets and handouts(Pasi, 2006 as cited in Wilson and Rhodes, 2010) Extracurricular activities or family responsibilities affect students’ motivation in completing homework (Pasi, 2006 as cited in Wilson and Rhodes, 2010) Students become overwhelmed by the amount of homework assigned by their other teachers (Lacina-Gifford & Gifford, 2004 as cited in Wilson and Rhodes, 2010).

In other words, students want Clear instructions Meaningful assignments with immediate feedback Not boring, repetitive, routine worksheets and handouts Extracurricular activities, family responsibilities or motivation The amount of homework should not overwhelm

Research Questions 1. How can I increase the likelihood of students coming to class prepared and having completed pre-reading tasks? a. How do students perceive the assigned tasks? b. What are the underlying reasons why students complete, attempt to complete and not complete homework assignments?

Methodology Qualitative Data Collection Tools Subjects Questionnaire (Open- ended questions) Online Interview (semi- structured ) Student Work (On- time submissions of pre-reading tasks) Field Notes (In class Observation) Subjects Students who enrolled in ENG 101, Sections: 18, 34, 60 in 2012-2013 Fall Semester

Methodology Sampling Time Frame Qualitative Data Analysis 41 Students answered the Questionnaire 4 Students were planned to be interviewed (2 students who completed all tasks on time and 2 students who completed 4 or less tasks on time) 45 Students ’on-time pre-reading task submission performance were evaluated 14 students were observed in classroom Time Frame 2012-13 Fall Semester which is15 Weeks Qualitative Data Analysis Content Analysis

Validity and Reliability of Qualitative Data To validate qualitative data “Data and Investigator Triangulation Methods” are employed. Data Triangulation Data is collected from different sources and 2nd investigator's field notes. Questionnaire Online Interview Student Performance

Validity and Reliability of Data Investigator Triangulation 2nd investigators’  findings from in class observation field notes and my notes were compared. We looked at the effects of pre-reading tasks in term of participation of students who complete , partially complete and not complete the pre- reading tasks before coming to class. We had 92 % match in our interpretation of student participation and performance in class activities.

Limitation of the Study As a class instructor, I am the main investigator in this research. Sampling is done with 41 students who are currently enrolled in ENG 101, sections 18,34 and 60. The participants have various backgrounds such as direct entry students, students who completed prep school English Proficiency is diverse Quality of student answers to Pre-reading Task questions is not evaluated in the study since the aim of the study is to increase the likelihood of students’ completion of tasks before coming to class.

Results Questionnaire 41 students filled the questionnaire Questionnaire includes 6 questions Students’ perception of Pre-reading tasks Their own performance What they are feeling when they complete and not complete the tasks Suggestions

Q 1: What do you think about pre-reading tasks in ENG 101 Q 1: What do you think about pre-reading tasks in ENG 101? Please explain by providing reasons.

29 Students think pre-reading tasks are useful in terms of

Q 1 : Sub- Categories Reading Class Preparation Writing Language Comprehension (10) Topic/ Author (7) Main ideas/ details (6) Preparation (3) Topic Familiarity (4) Read text before class(4) Think/ Critically (3) Topic (2) Essay (4) Source/ Sp. Ideas/ Evidence (3) Essay prep (1) Essay Topic Familiarity (1) English (2) Vocabulary (1)

3 Students think pre-reading tasks are not useful because It is more useful to answer the questions in the class rather than doing them as a homework. Pre-reading tasks are not helpful for me because they do not affect my grades or my understanding readings. Tasks should not be graded if someone write an essay, he/she does not have to complete tasks. Note: These two students answered Question 3 as “NO”.

9 Students have Other Comments Tasks Texts So many tasks so they are boring (3) Questions are always the same so it gets boring (1) Long, not related to the topic(1) Exhausting, stressing me out, destroy my reading desire (1) Half of the questions do not require to read the whole text which is good for who don’t find the text interesting (1) Complex, needs background information (1) Long, hard to focus (1) Boring texts (1)

Q 2 : What do you believe the purpose of the pre-reading tasks is?

Q 2 : Sub- Categories Reading Class Preparation Writing Language Comprehension (10) Topic/ Author (7) Main ideas/ details (6) Preparation (3) Familiarity (4) Read text before class(4) Think/ Critically (3) Topic (2) Essay (4) Source/ Sp. Ideas/ Evidence (3) Essay prep (1) Essay Topic Familiarity (1) English (2) Vocabulary (1) The answers to the first question and the 2nd question are mostly overlapping, very similar answers. It can be inferred that students and the instructors purposes are overlapping or the same.

Q 3 : Do you do your pre-reading tasks consistently before coming to class?

Teacher Notes of on time Task Submissions Only 26 of them completed half of the tasks consistantly…

Q 3. a : If yes, please explain the reasons why you do pre-reading tasks consistently.

Q 3. a. Sub-Categories Course requirement Class Prep Comprehension Other Graded (10) HW/ Assign (8) Self-Motivation(3) Responsibility (1) Focus/ Follow Lesson (7) Participation (5) Essay Writing (3) Text (10) Opinion/Ideas/Topic (4) Make sts read (4) Reading Skills(1)

Q 3. b: If no, please explain the reasons why you do not pre-reading tasks constantly Text Time Motivation Boring Too long Not have enough time Tasks take much time Lazy Not a good student

Q 4: How students feel when they complete the tasks Positive Feeling (35) Neutral (2) Negative Feeling Comfortable (10) Relaxed (6) Confident (5) Ready (3) Happy (3) Better (2) Fine (1) Proud (1) Satisfied (1) Peaceful (1) Accomplished (1) No feelings None

Q 5: How students feel when they do not complete the tasks Positive Feelings Neutral Negative Feelings(26) Relaxed(1) No feeling (4) Uncomfortable (4) Not happy(3) Not ready (2) Ashamed Curious Anxious Guilty Bored Terrible Not understand Regretful Not able to follow the lesson Stressed Inadequate Not want to participate Ignorant

Q. 6. What do you think would increase likelihood of your completing the tasks before coming to class? Please give any suggestions by explaining the reasons why you think so. Text Task / Task Content / Design Assessment / Time Enjoyable Linked to tasks Shorter texts topic Less number of questions Interactive questions Question quality Optional grading Class quiz Extended due dates

Interview I conducted an interview with 2 students to further understand the students ‘suggestions 2 students who have completed their all pre-reading tasks on time ( Student A and Student B) 2 students who have completed 4 or less pre-tasks on time

Q 1: How did the reading texts affect your completion of the task? Student A: Hard/ long texts – hard to focus on the task properly Students B: More interesting text- answering questions is enjoyable Student B: Simple texts- detailed questions Student A: “If the reading is interesting, it has a huge effect .For example I hated the first task because the text was boring.”

Q 3: What do you think about number of the questions in the tasks Q 3: What do you think about number of the questions in the tasks? Q 4: What kind of questions would you like to see? Can you give examples? Task / Task Content / Design Student B: Questions were about details that were not relevant to the essays Student B: Some questions seemed like a clear copy paste from the text, and required no analysis by me Student B: “What do you think- do you agree” type of questions that relate to with things from my life Student A: 3-4 questions which require detailed answers were enough

Q 5: What is the ideal submission date for you Q 5: What is the ideal submission date for you? How much time do you need to work on the task? How many days earlier would you like to have the tasks? Task / Task Content / Design Students A: 6-7 days ideal or minimum 3-4 days to work on the tasks Students B: Almost all texts available from the beginning of the semester, their tasks could be available with them, too. Student A: Good idea

Q 7: Do you think you need a pre- reading task for each text Q 7: Do you think you need a pre- reading task for each text? If yes, why? If no, Why? Task / Task Content / Design Student A: I think we do need tasks for each reading but the depth of the questions can change according to the reading. Student A: Tasks are necessary for me Student B: Tasks seemed redundant after a while Student B: If there is task only for each cycle “questions can be a bit more detailed and we can give longer answers. We can use these answers to help with our essays” Student B: Short answers do not help me to understand the texts better.

Q 8: What do you think about grading Q 8: What do you think about grading? Should pre-reading tasks be graded? Or should the students choose which ones to be graded? Or not graded at all? What about class quiz instead of doing pre-reading tasks? Assessment Student B: Students who want to get a good grade will read. If they do not read, You can say you will drop their participation grades Student A: If there is no obligation, most of the students will not read the texts Student B: Class quiz would be more efficient, max 15 min Student A: Class quiz is not a good idea because I get nervous every time and actually it affect my performance. I prefer tasks personally Student B: If it is graded, choosing which ones are graded seems fair Student A: If we put some effort there should be some grading.Choosing the ones may be good.

Discussion and Interpretation of Findings

How do students perceive the pre-reading tasks? Most of the students find pre-reading tasks beneficial, although few students do not find them useful. Some students think tasks are too many, some of them are difficult and boring. Most of the students are well aware of the purpose and benefits of the pre-reading tasks. Completing and not completing the tasks affect their motivation, confidence and participation in class. Most of them assume that their performance is enough but actually reality is different. Awareness is there but there is need to motivate and increase the completion of tasks.

Students see Pre-reading tasks helpful in terms of mainly What are the underlying reasons why students complete, attempt to complete and not complete homework assignments? Students see Pre-reading tasks helpful in terms of mainly Reading (comprehension, main ideas, supporting details etc.) Grades Class preparedness (familiarity with the topic) Writing Essays Feeling confident in class

Why Students do not complete the Pre-reading Task consistently are Text not interesting Boring Long Hard Tasks takes too much time, questions not relevant to students’ real life, not require personalization and critical thinking , many number of questions, redundant questions not relevant to essay Individual issues laziness not being a good student, not motivated

How can I increase the likelihood of students coming to class prepared and having completed pre-reading tasks? Keep the tasks as they are since pre-reading tasks are valuable to both the students and the teacher. Try to include more interesting texts Less number of questions Questions more relevant to their real life experiences More questions about their opinions, fewer comprehension level, copy –paste questions More connection to essay writing process Provide all the tasks at the beginning of the semester Keep as an assessment item in the syllabus Option to submit their best tasks

Further Questions to Investigate How does use of MOODLE affect rate of tasks submitted on-time? To what extent does the quality of answers to pre-reading tasks affect students’ participation in class?

Thank You