Book Club Novel Study vs. Conventional Core Novel Study
Book Club Novel Study vs. Conventional Core Novel Study Although the Book Club approach and the conventional novel study approach are group discussion oriented, the Book Club method is a more efficient way of extracting thorough analysis from multiple perspectives. In the Book Club approach, students are forced to read because we are constantly being evaluated. During discussions, the teacher is always walking around evaluating groups.
My group especially was always prepared because of the fear of not getting a good mark due to being unprepared. The fact that we are constantly being evaluated develops pressure on the students, which forces them to prepare for the discussion the night before. Preparing the night before allows for a more in depth analysis. If everyone is prepared with notes and questions the discussion will be much more interesting because everyone brings something to the table.
Which in essence allows a much more effective and efficient discussion. However, with the conventional approach you have majority of the classroom not participating and not being involved in the discussions. In last year’s English class, there were a set number of students who were always participated and then the majority of the class not effectively participating. Because the traditional method is a more broad discussion and there aren’t specific roles for students to carry out students are not pressured to be prepared.
I can use myself as an example, last year there would be times I wouldn’t read the sections assigned and because of this I found myself not participating and engaging in class discussions. The Book Club approach consists of continuous evaluation and a certain set of tasks like discussion leading that force students to consistently engage in discussions. The evaluation creates pressure, causing students to be prepared and contribute during scheduled conferences. On the other hand, the traditional method of novel study is not as effective.
The students are not pressured because they feel as if they are not being evaluated on a regular basis. So students take advantage of this and feel their input is not necessary and rest of the class will carry their weight. To conclude, both approaches involve students participating and engaging in a group discussion but the Book Club approach has a higher efficiency in terms of each students input during discussions in comparison to the conventional core study.
