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Communities of Practice as a means for the adoption and sustained implementation of digital reading apps in the classroom to support struggling readers

Pol Ghesquière, KU Leuven - pol.ghesquiere@kuleuven.be

Eamonn McCauley, Dublin City University - eamonn.mccauley@dcu.ie

Lenka Krejčová, DYS-centrum Praha – lenka.krejcova@dyscentrum.org

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CoPs: groups of people who share a common interest, concern or passion and interact regularly to learn how to do it better.

About Communities of Practice – Pierce College Learning and Development

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3 key elements that enable CoPs to function

Domain: common interests/passion, concern, problem or goal that brings them together. 

Community: commitment to interact together regularly 🡺 actions they take to share and support each other to develop interests, address issues and achieve goals.

Practice: focus on the real world in relation to a repertoire of resources, stories, and tools developed.

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Activities of AdAPPtive CoPs

Regular meetings

On-going activities at schools

Regular interactions to share knowledge, insights and experiences within the groups.

Data Gathering

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Focus groups carried out after two years of the project

Objectives

    • To gather in-depth insights on the effectiveness, challenges, and improvements during the reading app implementation.
    • To gain practical information which can be shared with other users of the reading apps, for their further training and support.

Participants

    • CoPs from all partner countries – the focus groups were held with the school representative by each project partner
    • 4 focus groups per the project, approx. 8 participants in each group

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Procedure

Pre-session preparation

    • I. explained the goal of the discussion and ensured open and friendly atmosphere
    • II. kept the conversation flowing and balanced
    • III. ensured everyone had a chance to speak
    • IV. periodically recapped discussion highlights to ensure understanding;
    • V. used prompts that encouraged thoughtful responses rather than "yes" or "no" answers and/or too vague/irrelevant answers.

1-2 facilitators of the discussion who

1 observer who took notes.

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How to get ready to use a reading support app

Get to know the app beforehand. But trust the pupils too.

Consider the technical equipment at school and its compatibility with pupils (e.g., the use of a mouse instead of a touchpad).

The involvement of a multidisciplinary team (i.e., language teachers, ICT coordinators, assistants) was appreciated.

A certain level of teachers‘ ICT proficiency was required.

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How to use a reading support app within the educational process

Various forms of implementing the app appeared acceptable

Rotating system

„Corner“ activities

Whole class activity

Individual sessions within regular lessons / after lessons (extra counselling sessions)

Usually, two sessions per week were planned.

Motivational system of children also seemed crucial.

Not only let them play but follow and evaluate their progress

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Challenges

Time requirements

Unstable internet connection

Lessons organized in a different manner than before – more group work / learning stands within lessons

Communication with colleagues

Less motivation and concentration in extra lessons – more intense and motivated work within lessons

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How to make your school involved

Teacher meeting

Sharing the joy and motivation of pupils

Share the experience from one‘s own work (e.g., time requirements, plans of lessons, rules for the class work)

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Overall conclusions

  • The principles of gamification work in classes.
  • It requires more responsibility and planning from teachers.
  • However, it makes children engaged and motivates the struggling readers.

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References

  • Denzin, N. K., & Ryan, K. E. (2007). Qualitative methodology (including focus groups). The SAGE handbook of social science methodology, 3, 578-594.
  • Hughes, J., Jewson, N., & Unwin, L. (Eds.). (2006). Communities of practice. Routledge.
  • Koops, M.C. (2017). Game Didactiek, het hoe en waarom van spellen in de les. Peru: Uitgeverij Dida-ctica.
  • Meyerhoff, M., & Strycharz, A. (2013). Communities of practice. The handbook of language variation and change, 428-447.
  • Plummer-D'Amato, P. (2008). Focus group methodology Part 1: Considerations for design. International Journal of Therapy and Rehabilitation, 15(2), 69-73.
  • Wenger, E. (1999). Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity. Cambridge University Press.