As I was reading about Informational Reading Inventories (IRIs), I found a lot of what Gunning was saying to be very interesting. However, I felt like the most important part in all of this was how to interpret the IRI results. It seemed to me that none of the processes and tests included in the IRI would mean anything unless you know what the results mean, how to interpret them, and what steps to take after you have analyzed the results. This portion of the chapter was fairly short in comparison with the rest of the detailed chapter, and I felt like as much, if not more, attention should have been drawn to this.
The information that was in the chapter, though, talked a lot about how to read the results. Basically, the listening capacity level of a child tells you what grade level of knowledge the student has the potential to know at that point. This helps you to know the cognitive ability and language development of the child. If there is a large difference between the instructional level and listening capacity, then the reading problem is most likely more serious. On another hand, if there is a large difference between the instructional level and the frustration level, the student will most likely make a lot of progress very quickly. Looking at these levels is just the first place to start analyzing the results.
One thing that I really like about this IRI way of gathering information is that the teacher’s observations and knowledge of the student really come into play when testing the students. The results are not just based on right and wrong answers, but more on ways that students came to the conclusion that they did. The teacher giving the IRI to the student is watching the student for body language, lip movement, and finger pointing. The teacher is also making note of not only where students make a mistake, but how they made a mistake so that can be tracked later to see if there is anything in common between all the mistakes. The teacher is watching for word recognition, listening to pronunciation, and also testing to see if students understand. All of these factors come into play when analyzing the results. These are the things that will really get you somewhere with the child to help you understand how they think and learn, where common mistakes are, and what in particular the student is struggling with. Taking good notes during the IRI will really help you get insight to the child’s ability and their learning style.
Once you have analyzed all this information, it is important to use it in order to create a learning plan for the student. From the IRIs, know what the child is capable of learning and get them to that point. Know their strengths, and build off of them to help their struggling areas. Use the results of the IRI to know what in particular the child is struggling with. Use your knowledge of the child to incorporate a learning style that works best for them.