Constructing Meaning

The extent to which students make sense of what they are learning in open literacy tasks and activities.

• “Constructing meaning promotes motivation by assisting children in making sense of their learning- the tasks in which they engage and the strategies they employ.” (Paris & Byrnes, 1989, as cited by Turner & Paris, 1995, p. 669)

• “They use information gleaned from their daily tasks in literacy to construct purposes for reading and writing and how they may be entertaining, informational, and useful.” (Turner & Paris, 1995, p. 669)

• “If children find that literacy allows them to solve interesting problems, they will associate reading and writing with thinking, challenge, and personal growth. If, however, they associate literacy with completing exercises, they may interpret it simply as manipulating symbols or solving abstract problems.” (Resnick, 1987, as cited by Turner & Paris, 1995, p.669)

• “…tasks alone cannot facilitate meaning making. Students must have an understanding of how to approach literacy tasks if they are to solve them meaningfully. Therefore, instruction is an important factor in providing students tools to use in constructing meaning.” (ibid.)

• “Teacher who are must successful in motivating their students introduce, model, and provide opportunities for students to use many reading strategies.” (ibid.)

• “In addition to teaching a variety of reading/thinking strategies, successful teachers foster metacognition about learning and reading. Reflectiveness can be encouraged by inviting students to plan and evaluate their learning.” (ibid.)

Reference:

Turner, J., & Paris, S. (1995). How literacy tasks influence children's motivation for literacy.The Reading Teacher,48(8), 662-673.

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