Talking in Circles

Tim Beyak, Terry Cook, Cheryl Erlandson, Cathy Klombies, Russ Kushniruk, Gail McKenzie Wilcox and Lori Woelke

This study of literature circles was initiated by the staff of the Radius Community Centre for Education and Employment Training in Saskatoon. The Youth Re-entry Program at Radius offers a therapeutic environment for children aged 9-13 who require more support than is available in a regular classroom setting. Students are referred to the program by school divisions in and around Saskatoon, and during the 8-10 months that students are typically enrolled in the Re-entry Program, they, their families, the Radius staff, community members and representatives from various agencies work together to develop and implement a plan to assist the students to become more successful in school. All classrooms are multi-aged and multi-graded, with students working in "teams" of six to eight members.

The researchers involved in the project included the staff of the Radius Re-entry Program, two regular classroom teachers in the Saskatoon public school system, and a research assistant. The purpose of the research was to examine whether or not participation in literature circles increased student achievement in reading, communications and organizational skills. Radius staff also wanted to contrast and blend their experience with literature circles with that of the teachers in a regular school setting. Constantly searching for new ways to encourage their students to participate positively in classroom learning, they hoped that the study would provide the first step in a process of discussion, evaluation and support that would help students and teachers to use literature circles as an effective instructional strategy.

For the purposes of the study, ten students were tracked in Radius classrooms, while 18 students were tracked in one of the regular classrooms and 24 students in the other. Base line data on the students was gathered routinely at the beginning of the school year through reading assessments, diagnostic tests, and reviews of available report cards and test scores. During the year, progress in reading and organizational skills was assessed through self-evaluations, interviews, teacher observations and teacher evaluations of work related to the curriculum. In addition, students completed a questionnaire before the first literature circle and again after the final literature circle of the year. To assess students' communications, literature circles were videotaped throughout the school year and students' interactions were analyzed. The researchers met regularly to discuss the information gathered.

Although the teachers involved in the project were in agreement philosophically about the teaching of language, they had different teaching styles and methods. The teachers each described their unique perspectives in a summary of their experiences with literature circles, demonstrating the flexibility of this teaching strategy in accommodating varying teaching styles and student needs.

The questionnaires completed by the students showed that 78% would like to do literature circles again. At risk students indicated that their attitudes toward reading had improved and the time they spent reading had increased. Since these improvements occurred within the regular structure of literature circles without further program modifications, the researchers concluded that the improvements in reading could be partially attributed to the use of literature circles within the language arts program.

Similarly, the questionnaires and video data indicated development in the students' social skills. Most students identified sharing ideas with others as a valuable feature of literature circles. Moreover, by speaking in turn, listening to others, sharing personal and cultural values, and cooperating with others to accomplish group and individual goals, students built relationships with each other and developed a sense of teamwork. The researchers noted that these are important life skills that students need to succeed in any setting.

These findings confirmed what the researchers had previously felt intuitively, i.e., the benefit to students of involvement in literature circles. Their commitment to this teaching method was strengthened, as indicated in their concluding comment:

If we analyze literature circles using the criteria of the Common Essential Learnings, their strength as an instructional strategy becomes all the more evident. Literature circles address communication, critical and creative thinking, personal and social values and skills, and independent learning. Literature circles bring a meaningful context to the development of these learnings. It would be difficult to find any other single strategy that would be so all encompassing for both learner and teacher.