• Develops self-directed learners who can think critically, communicate clearly and collaboratively construct knowledge
  • Scaffolds students to read a given text critically using critical lenses, a set of perspectives for thinking (e.g. the lens of “audience”)
  • Enables students to use the critical lenses to engage in a collaborative discussion (guided by various comment types)

• Provides a web-based platform to enable students and teachers to view and analyse the level and quality of their participation

Why WiREAD?

As teachers, we want our students to be able to read a given text critically, and be able to articulate their understanding of the text. WiREAD seeks to nurture these abilities through a web-based environment with simple tools for learners to guide their reading and empower discussions.

To scaffold students to read a text critically, WiREAD provides students with a set of critical lenses adapted from Paul’s Wheel of Reasoning. To enable students to use these critical lenses in a discussion of the text, WiREAD provides a set of comment types.

WiREAD was successfully piloted in one mainstream secondary school over two years, involving 1 HOD, 6 teachers and 379 students using 20 multimodal texts. Teacher participants observed an improvement in the quality of students’ critical discussions of the multimodal texts. Students’ performance in post-tests also showed a significant improvement in their critical reading fluency performance.

How Does WiREAD Work?

Using two guiding structures, critical lenses and comment types, WiREAD scaffolds students to first read a given text critically, and then use the critical lenses in an engaging discussion involving various comment types.

Step 1: Critical reading

To read a given text, students apply one or more critical lenses, a set of perspectives for thinking adapted from Paul’s Wheel of Reasoning.
Wearing the critical lens(es), students consider the following in analysing the text:

• message
• purpose
• audience
• assumption
• viewpoint
• inference
• impact

Step 2: Collaborative discussion

Students use the comment types as a guide to discuss the given text. The varied comment types guide students to use the critical lenses in different ways: to ideate, justify, validate, challenge or clarify.

For example, a student may challenge (comment type) a peer’s analysis of the audience (critical lens). A student may also use evidence to justify (comment type) his/her analysis of the author’s viewpoint (critical lens).

Step 3: Formative assessment using the online platform

Students and teachers use “My Learning Dashboard” to analyse the quality of their discussion, enabling them to modify their behaviour to achieve desired outcomes.

How Can Teachers Get Started?

Without the WiREAD Programme

• • One strategy is to assign different groups to wear different lenses, and respond to a given article using sticky notes. Students will read the given text using the selected critical lens. Get the groups to indicate which lens and which comment type they are using. Download sample lesson plan
  • Peers may then respond to the groups’ comments using additional sticky notes.

  • As students become familiar with the critical lenses and comment types, they can simultaneously use multiple lenses and comments types.

With the WiREAD Programme

• Contact Knowledge Mobilisation Unit (KMb@OER) at oerkmob@nie.edu.sg, if you are interested to use the online WiREAD platform with your students.

Related Links

• ReED Vol 17, 2015 “We Read with WiREAD”[PDF]

Further Readings

• Tan, J. P. L., Koh, E., Jonathan, C. R., & Yang, S. (2017). Learner Dashboards a Double-Edged Sword? Students’ Sense-Making of a Collaborative Critical Reading and Learning Analytics Environment for Fostering 21st Century Literacies. Journal of Learning Analytics, 4(1), 117-142.

Research Team

To learn more about WiREAD, please contact Knowledge Mobilisation Unit (KMb@OER) at oerkmob@nie.edu.sg

Co-Principal Investigator (Lead Research Investigator)

• Dr Jennifer TAN (formerly of NIE)

Principal Investigator

• Mr Albert LIM, Principal, Ngee Ann Secondary School (NAS), MOE

Co-Principal Investigator

• Mdm Muneira DAUD, HOD English Language, NAS, MOE

MOE Partners

• Ms TAY Siu Hua, MOE

Research Assistant

• Ms Christin JONATHAN, Office of Educational Research (OER), NIE

Software Engineer

• Mr Simon YANG, NIE