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Netlibris -
Pedagogy
Enriched
Literature Program
Reading
is a social event
Connecting
enthusiastic readers
Teachers
become tutors; tutors become
mentors
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Enriched
Literature Program
Studying literature in
virtual groups has become very popular in Finland.
Netlibris is becoming a "brand name" for pedagigic
method of teaching literature. Netlibris schools
collaborate in offering an enriched literature program
to selected groups of students. Netlibris web site
contains information about the reading program and a
collaboratively published on-line magazine.
The
core of the Netlibris method is the literature
discussion which is a asynhronous threaded discussion
among the members of the group. Each group has a tutor
and 10 - 15 students from 3-4 different schools. The
students keep journals while reading the books. The idea
is to reflect one´s ideas and feelings in the journal
and then share the impressions in a discussion with the
group in the Netlibris discussion forum.
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Reading is a social
event
At school the Netlibris group
usually meets once a week. They are responsible for
promoting reading quality literature among their peers.
The book discussion in the net is going on daily -
usually students participate two - three times a week.
It
is essential that the virtual groups meet also
face-to-face. Most circles meet 4 - 8 times a year to
discuss goals and book selections or to evaluate the
work. They can also meet writers, learn more about
literature, reading and the use of ICT. It is important
also to enhance togetherness and to celebrate!
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Netlibris
connects enthusiastic readers
Netlibris attracts students from across
Finland, and although most are located in the south,
there are participating schools from areas as far as 170
kilometers (appx. 100 miles) north of the Arctic Circle.
Literacy growth and appreciation is at the heart
of Netlibris, but information and communication
technology (ICT) skills also are developed through
participation in the project. Some literature circles
connect schools across Finland - they use video
conferencing for face-to-face contacts.
In seven
years the concept has spread not only geographically but
also from the primary school level to the secondary and
upper secondary schools and from the gifted students to
all levels of readers. Now there are more than a hundred
teachers and over 2000 students, including also groups
for struggling readers. In 2002 - 2003 more than 70.000
messages were posted at Netlibris-discussion forums.
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Teachers become
tutors, tutors become mentors
Netlibris is
also a vivid network of teachers, librarians and teacher
educatiors. The pedagogic discussion forum is very
active in developing the method. The professionalization
of teachers is carried out through meetings, seminars,
and special courses with the support of the
participating municipalities and the National Board of
Education.
The teacher works as a tutor:
participates in the discussion as another reader
modelling the different ways of responding to the text.
Tutors work in collegueal teams sharing the
responsibilities of planning, tutoring and evaluating.
Each team has one mentor who has more experience or
training for the work.
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Read
more: Larry Miller's article, published in
Reading
online, November 2000
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