Student Literacy Survey Reflection

The process of modifying the student literacy survey prompted me to reflect on issues surrounding teaching high school English. I chose to eliminate questions on student learning style and multiple intelligences. While attaining this information is valuable, high school students may not be aware of some of these categories. I might have students complete a separate quiz to determine their learning style or area of strength in the multiple intelligences framework. I instead included a question asking students to reflect on learning strategies they found helpful when studying English in the past, and asking what I can do to help them succeed and feel confident when studying English. I also altered the question asking students to list the last novel they read for fun. I instead asked students to list the last “thing” they read for fun, whether it be a novel, comic book or blog. I felt that changing the wording of this question would be less isolating to students who struggle with reading and have never completed a novel. I made sure to define certain terms with which students may not be completely familiar (non-fiction). My aim for this assignment was to reflect on the variety of literacy skills found in a high school English course, and to make the survey as accessible and non-threatening as possible. From my perspective, having students complete this survey is a great way to get to know them as learners and perhaps make adjustments to some lesson plans and teaching strategies to suit the unique needs of the students in your class.