Over the past several years, the Upper School English Department has deliberately explored how students most effectively study and create literature in its printed and electronic forms. From traditional texts, to TED Talks, to online notebooks, teachers use varied delivery methods to engage students’ different learning styles, deepen connections, and develop critical-thinking skills. Three teachers reflect on this ever-evolving journey to innovate.
Mike Roark, English Department chair, English 9
In today’s highly connected world, you might wonder “why bother using paper texts in our classrooms? Why carry a book around when we can carry an entire library in our phone?” That seems like the way to go.
However, it may not be so simple. A study by Lauren Singer and Patricia Alexander of the University of Maryland found that while students generally prefer reading on screens, their comprehension suffered. Students showed less success answering specific questions about a text they read digitally. When reading printed texts, the reading time was slower but ability to answer specific questions improved.
These findings lead us to focus on the PURPOSE behind our reading. For our work in English classrooms at Country Day, we know it is important to use both digital and printed texts. Students need to experience multiple modes of text delivery to determine what works best for them AND to understand the challenges and advantages of different text modes.
Casey Livingston, English 11, English 11 AP, English 12: 21st Century Literature
An ironic outcome of the digitized world is that one’s command of language has arguably become more vital than ever. For today’s students, the concept of “text” encompasses far more than the written word. Preparing students to thoughtfully consume and create text—to communicate—requires us to constantly evolve. As twenty first century English educators, how can we not explore innovative ways to experience, manipulate, and analyze language?
In Upper School English courses, students regularly experiment with new mediums of expression to deepen understanding. Literature projects are nothing like the poster boards or report covers of yore. I can’t physically touch most projects because they are Spotify playlists, Instagram pages, Snapchat stories, and podcasts. Some are familiar, such as oil paintings, poetry collections, live music, and board games. Ultimately, the way our students study and create “words” doesn’t seem to be changing—just expanding.
Ellen Peery, English 10, English 12: Hamilton’s America: New and Re-envisioned Stories in American Literature
As an English teacher, I appreciate that technology allows us to read, write, present, organize, give and receive feedback, and share information in so many personalized ways that allow us to choose what works best for us.
In everyday practice I can get bogged down in the minutiae of “clicking:” clicking e-mails, clicking to grade online notebook sections, clicking to enter an assignment in a calendar. Students might be called “digital natives,” but they’re learning it all, too. When they have five options for turning in an assignment, how do they remember which to choose in English class? As adults, we must be as patient with them as we ask them to be of us.
Technology reminds me that we need to slow down and take time to experience the journeys present in great literature. We need literature and the humanities to remind us to question the stories around us, to imagine the world as we want it to be, and what it will take to get there, before we get lost in a world clicking and scrolling behind a screen.