Quote: “Teachers frequently ask struggling readers to read aloud and then immediately interrupt them when they misread a word, rather than giving them time to notice and correct their error” (Thompkins, 209).
Comment: I liked that this emphasized the role of a teacher as someone who helps students learn how to get to the right answer themselves, instead of focusing on the right answer as the most important thing. It doesn’t do the student any good to know that x=21 if they have no idea HOW they came to that answer, because x (like the spelling and pronunciation of words) changes depending on context. Students need time to work through a problem and play with it, to figure out how and why it works through trial and error. Denying them that creates a teacher-dependency that hinders independent learning.
Question: Pretend we have a class full of students with high teacher-dependency. What would be a good way to slowly wean them off getting all the answers from the teacher without discouraging them or making them feel stupid?
What I would do is let the child finish the passage of reading that they are on without interrupting them. After they were finish I would go back and review the words which he/she got wrong with the class--not focusing on the student who got it wrong.
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