Preface
When
the Reading Miscue Inventory (RMI) was first developed in the 1970s, it gave
teachers and researchers unprecedented views of reading as a process of making
sense of print—what Ken Goodman called ?a window on the reading process.?
Some fifteen years later, when Retrospective Miscue Analysis (RMA) was first being
used, its potential for helping readers was recognized almost immediately. The
initial revelation that learners could actively engage in deep conversations
about the reading process and arrive at the same insights as language
researchers and teachers led to a second revelation—that RMA could change
students? reading in positive ways.
Beginning
as an almost casual observation by a middle-school teacher to Yetta Goodman that seventh graders could indeed do miscue analysis
themselves, Yetta?s skepticism was quickly
transformed into an energetic research agenda in which RMA evolved along two
paths: as a research protocol and as a set of strategy lessons designed to
support the development of readers. Those efforts resulted in the publication
of Retrospective Miscue Analysis: Revaluing Readers and Reading by Yetta
Goodman and Ann Marek (1996), a collection of
articles by teachers and researchers about readers who learned to revalue
themselves through collaborative RMA conversations.
Since
the publication of that work, RMA has continued to be used by teachers,
students, and researchers for a variety of purposes. And we continue to learn
new things about readers and reading as we refine how we conduct RMA strategy
lessons, conversations, and engagements with a wide range of age groups. This
new, slim volume, The Essential RMA: A Window into Readers? Thinking, incorporates those
refinements by focusing on the RMA?s procedures and its role in supporting the
development of proficient reading among children and adults.
Retrospective
Miscue Analysis uses miscue analysis as a starting point. But knowing how to do
miscue isn?t a prerequisite. Although we encourage teachers eventually to learn
miscue analysis, it isn?t necessary to do a complete miscue analysis to get
started. One only needs to record an oral reading, have the desire to hone
one?s kidwatching skills, and share those
observations with a learner.
This
book is for teachers who may have little knowledge about miscue analysis, as well as for those who
are skilled at doing RMA. It will appeal to those with a range of experiences
with RMA, because one of the key strengths of RMA is its flexibility. RMA can be done in a
face-to-face reading conference or tutoring session, in concurrent small group
meetings in a classroom, or with the entire class as part of a language study
curriculum. And RMA can be conducted as a student- or teacher-led collaborative
discussion.
The Essential RMA: A Window into Readers? Thinking is organized into three
parts. Part I introduces the reader to the concepts of miscue analysis and
retrospective miscue. Part II is the heart of the book and is comprised of two
sections. Section One focuses on miscue analysis procedures such as collecting
and analyzing oral reading data, and it provides detailed instructions on how
to prepare an RMA session. Section Two provides specific guidelines on how to
do RMA, from selecting miscues to organizing conversations in a variety of
formats. Part III of The Essential RMA explores the use of RMA
with different age readers and with groups.
We
encourage you to visit The Essential RMA website (www.
retrospectivemiscue.com), a resource that provides more in-depth knowledge
about miscue analysis and RMA, when you are ready to dig deeper. There are
links to forms that make RMA easier, lists of questions and comments that
deepen conversations, and references to books and articles that are addressed
specifically for different age groups and groupings of readers. There are links
to recordings of readers, showing how miscues are marked, the kinds of
materials we suggest for readings, and how to select materials for readings.
Within the pages of this book you
will see an occasional icon that identifies some of the content that is included
at the website
In
a time when the constraints placed on teachers seem unbearable, and the
pressures to implement uniform curricula and reading instruction that quash the
craft and creativity of teaching suffocates teachers and students alike, the
use of RMA is indispensable. The authentic language study of
RMA—exploration that is done with and by learners in collaboration with
their teachers and tutors—has the power to bring back joy in teaching and
engagement in learning. Enough to revive good
teaching; enough to nourish a learner.
Yetta M. Goodman, Prisca
Martens, Alan D. Flurkey