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Who's Reading?: A Webquest for Fourth Year High School (Mathematics &
English)
Authored by P. Arinto with inputs from N. Patlingrao,
Z. Guzman, and D. Seranias
Introduction
Some eminent writers in our country are complaining that we are not a reading
people. They say that the Filipino youth especially are a non-reading
population. Is this true? What do we really know about the reading habits of our
young people today?
Task
In response to the complaints of our eminent writers, the Department of
Education (DepEd) has launched a Reading Campaign in Philippine public high
schools. But DepEd needs our help. Before they can start the campaign, they must
first get data on the actual reading habits of high school students.
DepEd needs you to do a survey of the reading habits of your fellow students at
Bitoon National Vocational School. You will do the survey in groups, with each
group being assigned one to two sections each (we will survey all sections in
all four year levels). You will then submit a report of your survey results. The
report will include such information as:
What percentage of their time do the male and female students spend reading
What types of reading materials the male and female students prefer to read and
what they actually read
What influences the male and female students’ choice of reading materials
What are the attitudes of male and female students to reading
What reading difficulties the male and female students experience
What the male and female students do to solve these reading difficulties
What recommendations the male and female students have to improve the reading
habits of high school students
The report will have six parts as follows:
1. Introduction
2. Description of the survey sample and survey methodology
3. Presentation of survey results (with tables)
4. Statistical analysis (computations of rates of responses and the mean, median
and mode; graphs of the rates of response and comparison of responses of males
and females)
5. Summary, conclusion, and recommendations
6. Questionnaire used
Does this sound like a daunting task? Don’t worry. We will follow a strategy to
make the task manageable. Read on!
Process
Step 1 – Getting Started
You will work on this project in groups of 6 members each. You will form your
groups with the help of your teacher.
Each group will be assigned to conduct the survey on a specific section (or two
sections) in BNVS. For example, Group 1 could be assigned to survey 3rd year
Section 1 while Group 2 could be assigned to survey 1st year Section 4. Your
teacher will assign the year level and section for each group. (Perhaps you will
draw lots for this.)
Each member of your group will have special roles to play. As soon as you know
who your group mates are, get together and discuss among yourselves who will
take on which role (these are listed below). Be sure that each member is
comfortable with the role assigned to him/her.
| Roles |
Responsibilities |
| Statistician (2) |
- Will determine the actual survey sample (that is, who will be asked to
fill in the survey questionnaire) and co-write with the reading
specialists Part 2 of the group report;
- Will do the basic statistical analysis of the results—that is, get the
response rate per item and compute for the mean, median, and mode of the
survey results, and write Part 4 of the group report; and
- Will generate the graphs showing the results of the basic statistical
analysis (for Part 4 of the report).
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Reading
Specialist (2) |
- Will formulate the survey questionnaire; and
- Will write the text of the survey report (after results are collected
and analyzed statistically), specifically Parts 1 and 5.
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| Interviewer (2) |
- Will administer the survey questionnaire to the target respondents,
and collect the accomplished questionnaires, and then co-write Part 2 of
the group report; and
- Will tabulate the responses to the survey questions and write Part 3
of the report.
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Step 2 – Doing the Background Research
Before you can actually do your task, you must learn how to do a survey and how
to do basic statistical analysis. We will learn these skills through an online
treasure hunt that your teacher will do with you in the computer center. In this
online treasure hunt, you will read websites that contain information on how to
conduct a survey and how to do simple statistical analysis. You will also do a
mini-survey to practice your newly learned skills before you do the survey of
reading habits of high school students in our community.
In addition to the resources you will read in the online treasure hunt, you must
also have background knowledge on studies of reading that are similar or related
to the kind of research you are expected to do in this webquest. Here are some
online articles on reading habits and related topics:
Young People’s Reading in South Africa: A Pilot Project
http://www.childlit.org.za/youngpeople.html
A Summary of the Children's Literature Research Centre Survey of Young People's
Reading Habit
http://www.la-hq.org.uk/groups/ylg/archive/ylr22_1.htm
Strategies for encouraging reading among young people
http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/campaign/youth.html
Attitudes Towards Reading—Children and Young People
http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/Database/stats/readchild.html#ireland
Young People Are Reading—Everything but the Newspapers
http://www.cjr.org/archives.asp?url=/02/4/kohutvoice.asp
Young People’s Reading in 2001
http://www.roehampton.ac.uk/childhoodstudies/surveys.asp
National Education Association (NEA) Poll on the Reading Habits of Adolescents
http://library.lhs.usd497.org/AnnualReport2001-2002.html
Teen Read Week Survey
http://www.smartgirl.org/speakout/archives/trw1999/trwsummary.html
(Note: Click on the links at the bottom of the page for more detailed
information on survey results.)
The background research that you will do in this step of the webquest is
essential. You must do this step before you do your survey so you will know what
to look for and how to look for it.
You must complete this step within one week.
Step 3 – Selecting the Survey Sample and Constructing the Questionnaire
At this point, the statisticians should know the total population of the section
assigned to them and on this basis decide how many in that section will
constitute the actual sample for the survey. They will also decide on their
method of sampling (that is, whether random or purposive) and on this basis,
identify from a list of all possible respondents (to be provided by your
teacher) the actual respondents.
Meanwhile, the reading specialists should construct the survey questionnaire,
keeping in mind what information is required in the final survey report to be
submitted by the group. When formulating the questionnaire, aim for clarity of
the questions and plan for how to collate the survey results. Remember that
closed questions make collation of results easier. However, it may be wise to
include an open-ended question or two as well. Also, keep the survey
questionnaire short (can be answered in 15 minutes) so that the respondents will
not find answering it tedious. And do not forget to ask for basic information
about the respondents like age and sex.
This step should be completed in one week. If you need assistance, do not
hesitate to ask your teacher for it.
Step 4 – Conducting the Survey
This is the job of the interviewers in the group. First of all, they should get
the list of actual respondents from the statisticians. They should also get the
final survey questionnaire from the reading specialists.
Make enough copies of the questionnaire and distribute one copy each to the
interviewees. You can do this by giving the list of interviewees to their class
adviser and requesting him/her to distribute the questionnaire for you. Or you
could ask the teacher to give you 5 minutes of his/her class time to call on the
interviewees so you can distribute the questionnaire yourself. You can request
the interviewees to fill up the questionnaire at home or during their free time
in school, and then collect the filled in questionnaire a day later.
Step 5 – Analyzing the Survey Results & Preparing the Report
Once the interviewers have collected the filled in questionnaires, they should
summarize the answers and tabulate those that should be tabulated. Remember that
you need to separate the answers of the male respondents and the female
respondents. And then write Part 3 of the group report, as well as the section
of Part 2 that is your responsibility (description of the survey methodology).
The results, including tables, should be passed on to the statisticians who will
compute for rate of responses per question, and the mean, median, and mode. They
will also generate the graphs of these results and then write Part 4 of the
group report. The statisticians will also write a section of the Part 2 of the
group report (the description of the sampling method used and the reason for
this choice).
The draft of Parts 3 and 4 of the report should be given to the reading
specialists. On the basis of the survey findings, the reading specialists should
write Parts 1 and 6 of the report. They should also organize the graphs and
tables, and provide the necessary explanatory sentences and paragraphs for the
more important results.
This step should be completed in two weeks.
Step 6 – Finalizing the Report
Meet as a group and go over the draft report (complete with tables and graphs).
Make sure everyone in the group reads the report. Discuss points for improvement
and then together make those improvements.
Attach a clean copy of the survey questionnaire to your report (place after the
report), and a list of references used, if any.
Once everyone is satisfied with the report, submit it to your teacher. (The due
date for the survey report will have been announced by your teacher at the start
of this webquest.)
Step 7 – Self-Assessment and Peer Evaluation
Fill in the self-assessment and peer evaluation forms and submit the
accomplished forms on the due date. Each member of the group will do this.
Evaluation
Every part of your group report will be given a score based on the following
rubric:
Part
|
Needs Improvement
(1 point) |
Fair
(3 points) |
Very Good
(5 points) |
1. Introduction
|
Fails to catch the reader’s attention; is not to the point;
is wordy (as opposed to “brief”); and contains many grammatical mistakes
|
Catches the attention of the reader and is relevant to the
topic of the report but not brief enough and contains several mistakes in
grammar
OR
Is brief and relevant to the topic of the report but does not sufficiently
attract or appeal to the reader’s interest; also contains several errors in
grammar |
Catches the attention of the reader; AND
Has direct relevance to the topic of the report; AND
Is brief and to the point; AND
Observes the rules of grammar |
2. Description of the Survey Sample and Survey Methodology
|
Total population size is not indicated and therefore there
is no way of determining if actual sample size is correct; AND
Method used for identifying actual sample size is incorrect; AND
Method used in administering the questionnaire is not clear; AND
There are too many grammatical errors |
Size of total population is indicated and actual sampling
size is adequate but there are errors in the method for choosing respondents
OR the method is correct but the actual sample size is too small or too
large relative to the total population ;
AND
Method of administering the survey is described but not very clearly because
of errors in grammar |
Clearly indicates the size of the total population (the
total number of students in the section assigned to the group); AND
Indicates an adequate number of survey respondents; AND
Indicates the correct method for choosing respondents; AND
Clearly describes method of administering the questionnaire; AND
Observes the rules of grammar |
3. Presentation of Survey Results
|
Organization is haphazard/Data not organized logically; AND
It is not clear which results are important; AND
Tables are incorrect and confusing |
Organization is logical AND tables are correct and easy to
understand BUT not all of the important results are emphasized
OR
Organization is logical AND important results are emphasized BUT the tables
are incomplete or unclear
|
Organization is logical; AND
Important results are given emphasis; AND
Tables are correct and easy to understand |
4. Statistical Analysis
|
Computations are wrong AND graphs are incorrect |
Computations are accurate but the graphs contain some errors
or are not clear/easy to understand |
Computations of rates of response and mean, median, and mode
are accurate; AND
Graphs are used to highlight important survey results; AND
Graphs are correct |
5. Summary, Conclusion, and Recommendations
|
Summary is long; Conclusions are incorrect or not logical;
AND
Recommendations are trivial and/or irrelevant |
Summary is a bit long but highlights all of the major points
AND
conclusions drawn are correct/logical BUT recommendations are not so
relevant |
Summary is brief but includes all important points; AND
Conclusions drawn are correct/logical in view of the survey data; AND
Recommendations are relevant |
6. Questionnaire
|
Questions are difficult to understand and ill-structured;
AND
Questions are not arranged logically; AND
Questionnaire is incomplete
|
Questions are clearly phrased and well-structured BUT the
order of questions can be improved AND the questionnaire is a bit long,
requiring more time of the respondent to answer
OR the questionnaire is short and the questions well arranged BUT some
question are difficult to understand |
Questions are clearly phrased/easy to understand and
well-structured; AND
Questions are arranged logically; AND
Questionnaire is short but comprehensive/includes all important areas |
You should notice from the above rubric that every part of your report
counts. So you must make sure to read your entire report and help each other
improve each part so that your final submission is one that you think meets the
criteria for quality work. Members of a group will of course receive the same
score for the group report.
Each of you will also receive a score for the self-assessment and the peer
evaluation. Each of these shall comprise 10% of your final individual grade for
this webquest project. The bulk of your grade (80%) for this project will come
from the score for the group report.
Conclusion
So are those eminent writers right when they say young people in the Philippines
don’t read? What does your survey result say about this?
Doing a survey of your schoolmates’ reading habits should develop your skills in
conducting survey, analyzing survey results, and writing a report of survey
results. Even if you never do another survey again in your life, now you know
how surveys are done and how they are reported. Equally important, this webquest
project should remind you that reading is important and that you must develop an
interest in reading.
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