A Reflection Over the Shoulder

The formal miscue analysis takes a lot of time and training to be able to catch every miscue and code each in a specific way as to remember exactly what the reader did or said.  I have found this process time consuming and, at times, frustrating, anxiety ridden, and in the end the data sometimes overwhelmed me about a single student.  Until now, I had never heard of the Over the Shoulder Miscue Analysis format.  I much prefer this format to the formal miscue format!

Reflecting back on the process, I felt more relaxed and I think this transferred to my student reader, as well.  She had moments of nerves but for the most part she seemed open and accepting of the process.   Since my previous miscues were done with primary grade students, I didn't know what to expect from a more advanced reader.    I have to admit I was a bit skeptical that I would gain much data from a 6th grade, proficient reader.  I knew she would have very different miscues than a primary grade student but I wasn't quite sure what kind.  At first, this made me nervous that I would have trouble designing a next-step strategy for a mini-lesson.  Wow, was I wrong! Performing the OTSMA instead of a formal miscue gave me focused, narrow data which helped me decided easily what should come next in the reader's instruction.  Since I didn't have every single miscue recorded and coded and hadn't spent my time worrying about getting everything down exactly right, I was able to focus on the reader and what I knew about her.  I was also able to listen and communicate in a way that helped me gain great insight into her strategy use and confidence.  Instead of worry about filling out the recording template, I was zoned in on the reading and retelling for the substance rather than the data facts.  


The conversation following the miscue is where I think I had the most success. Since my reader had very few miscues and none that went uncorrected, I decided to spend most of our time talking about the retelling and the kinds of strategies she uses to comprehend what she reads.  This is where most of my teaching came in.  We talked about rereading, visualizing, and making meaning as ways to better ourselves as readers.  This part, the conversation, is what attracts me the most to the OTSMA.  Since I believe students learn best when they have positive, trusting relationships with their teachers, this is one of the first steps to that kind of relationship.  This conversation, centered around the students strengths and strategies as a reader, leads to rapport with the student.  In order for students to feel comfortable taking academic risks and making academic choices, they need to feel comfortable discussing their strengths and miscues. This kind of talk encourages students to take responsibility for their education and begin thinking about themselves as readers and thinkers- the kinds of strategies they use, what is important to them, their strengths and areas to work on improving, etc. To me, this is an important skill for students to carry with them throughout their educational careers and ultimately their lives.  In the future, I can see myself using this tool as a way to find out valuable information about my students but also introduce authentic conversation into the classroom. 

Thinking back about the miscue analysis session as a whole, the scenario was completely different from my first time.  I allowed my reader to bring her independent reading book (Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins) instead of choosing the text for her.  I'm wondering if this played a role in our miscue analysis and later in our conversation?  Does it make a difference that she was near the end of the book rather than at a different place in the text?  I also have been reflecting on the fact that I had previously read the book myself.  Would I have gathered the same data about the retelling had I not read and comprehended the book myself? This could affect whether or not I allow students to use their independent reading books for miscue analysis in the future.  Also, what affect does the fact that she read the other books in the series have on the data collected about her retelling?  Would she have had more miscues if she weren’t as familiar with the tone, style, and vocabulary used in the previous two books? Finally, does any of this really matter?  Should I be focusing instead on what happened during the ten-minute session?  How much do these outside circumstances affect the data collected during the session?