Experts and Novices: A Study of Reading in the High School Classroom

IN THIS STUDY, two classes ofjunior high school pupils were observed for two school terms as they coped with the reading demands of the four main content areas Math, English, Science and Social Studies. The pupils were interviewed in the classroom while they were working at their desks. In all, observations covered some 18,000 minutes of classroom time, and more than 3,600 minutes of interviews were recorded. The interview data revealed that there is often a mismatch between pupils' everyday knowledge and the expert knowledge of their teachers. The surface structure of the classroom may suggest that content is being learned, while in the minds of pupils there is a maze of confusion. It is recommended that teachers use concurrent interviewing techniques in their own classrooms, as an insightful way of studying the coping strategies of their pupils, and monitoring their progress.