A common complaint surrounding the multiple-choice quiz items created by AR is that the questions tend to assess basic knowledge and recall aspects of the texts, and higher order thinking skills are a rarity (Groce & Groce, 2005). Biggers (2001) posits that in relation to assessment and comprehension, students should be provided with multiple opportunities to revisit texts, as well as possibilities for written responses and extension activities related to texts read. Since teachers use performance on the AR quizzes as the primary tool to gauge students’ comprehension abilities, it is possible that critical-thinking and higher-order literacy activities are absent from the overall literacy program (Groce & Groce, 2005). Additionally, Carter (1996),
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Some typical rewards range from pizza and ice-cream parties, field trips, and trinkets to principals dressing up like a hotdogs and allowing students to cover them with condiments such as mustard and ketchup. As adults, we do not reward children for being active on the playground, building with blocks, or sitting on the laps of adults to listen to a great story. There is a simple reason as to why adults to do not have to offer tangible rewards for engagement in such activities- they are in and of themselves- fun. The disadvantage to providing students with external rewards in exchange for points and prizes is that it sends a message to students that reading in and of itself must be an unpleasant or dreadful activity. Some feel that requiring students to take quizzes on every book read is based too much on behavioristic approaches; students in such classrooms learn to read only when rewards are in place (Chenoweth, 2001). Because points are used as a means to meet reading goals that are typically set by teachers each quarterly grading period, some students meet such goals and receive rewards, while others do not. It has been found that in some schools and classrooms, students are punished for not reaching their point goals. Groce and Groce (2005) describe an event where they observed students at the end of the grading period having to set alone in silence at …show more content…
Sometimes schools approach AR in the same way and recognize students who earn the most points. We discourage this practice. When schools focus primarily on points, students tend to choose inappropriate books and less skilled readers are handicapped. To try to earn more points, some students take quizzes without reading books, and they share answers. All students lose sight of the primary goal, which is to read interesting books at the level of difficulty that is right for each of them as individuals” (p. 5).
According to Pavonetti, Brimmer, and Cipelewski (2003), students are not likely to develop a lifelong love of reading from programs that enlist the use of points or incentive programs. Spaulding (1992) purports that students learn more in classrooms that promote intrinsic motivation, because they become deeply engaged in an activity for the purpose of enjoying the activity itself. Additionally, advocates of self-determination theory posit that intrinsic motivation occurs as the result of an individual perspective that one can accomplish a goal. Students and teachers are provided with immediate feedback regarding
Some typical rewards range from pizza and ice-cream parties, field trips, and trinkets to principals dressing up like a hotdogs and allowing students to cover them with condiments such as mustard and ketchup. As adults, we do not reward children for being active on the playground, building with blocks, or sitting on the laps of adults to listen to a great story. There is a simple reason as to why adults to do not have to offer tangible rewards for engagement in such activities- they are in and of themselves- fun. The disadvantage to providing students with external rewards in exchange for points and prizes is that it sends a message to students that reading in and of itself must be an unpleasant or dreadful activity. Some feel that requiring students to take quizzes on every book read is based too much on behavioristic approaches; students in such classrooms learn to read only when rewards are in place (Chenoweth, 2001). Because points are used as a means to meet reading goals that are typically set by teachers each quarterly grading period, some students meet such goals and receive rewards, while others do not. It has been found that in some schools and classrooms, students are punished for not reaching their point goals. Groce and Groce (2005) describe an event where they observed students at the end of the grading period having to set alone in silence at …show more content…
Sometimes schools approach AR in the same way and recognize students who earn the most points. We discourage this practice. When schools focus primarily on points, students tend to choose inappropriate books and less skilled readers are handicapped. To try to earn more points, some students take quizzes without reading books, and they share answers. All students lose sight of the primary goal, which is to read interesting books at the level of difficulty that is right for each of them as individuals” (p. 5).
According to Pavonetti, Brimmer, and Cipelewski (2003), students are not likely to develop a lifelong love of reading from programs that enlist the use of points or incentive programs. Spaulding (1992) purports that students learn more in classrooms that promote intrinsic motivation, because they become deeply engaged in an activity for the purpose of enjoying the activity itself. Additionally, advocates of self-determination theory posit that intrinsic motivation occurs as the result of an individual perspective that one can accomplish a goal. Students and teachers are provided with immediate feedback regarding