An award-winning student has written about her experiences helping secondary school pupils transform their literacy levels.
Janvi Pala has been doing paired reading with students at New College in Leicester for nearly three years, helping the pupils aged 11-18 to gain confidence and improve their ability at reading.
Adult mentors work with pupils one-to-one, encouraging pupils to read aloud and providing effective learning support.
The project is run by DMU Square Mile which works to share the skills of students and staff to improve the community. The paired reading scheme has seen pupils’ literacy levels rise – in some cases by several years – thanks to the one to one support.
Janvi's dedication to helping pupils led to her winning the Inspirational Student Award for paired reading from DMU Square Mile.
Janvi, who graduated in Education Studies and English Language, is now studying a Master’s in Education Practice using her experience in paired reading for her dissertation project. She has written a blog post about her experiences.
She said: “Every week, I provide students with feedback and over a period of time, I am able to identify the progression they make. It is very rewarding to see the increasing development in those students who initially struggled with their reading. I have developed a good working relationship with my reading mentees and have seen them flourish while working with them.
“Paired reading enables mentors to notice any gaps in students’ reading competence, so teachers can provide effective support for their learning, especially to boost their literacy skills.”
RELATED NEWS:
* Discover volunteering opportunities with DMU Square Mile
* Volunteers help GCSE students beat exam stress
* Campaign to improve school facilities in India
David Hollis, operations manager with DMU Square Mile, said: “Janvi is an amazing volunteer and has been part of the Square Mile family throughout her time at DMU. It is incredible what our volunteers can achieve and what a difference and impact their work can have with pupils.”
Posted on Tuesday 7 April 2015