Reader Needs Assessment: Take 10 Minutes to Help Plan Reading Online


From the beginning of our editorial partnership, we have talked about the goals and vision for Reading Online as “emergent,” recognizing that to be truly responsive to the ROL audience, we need to build in opportunities for readers to contribute to the journal planning process. Publishing on the Internet makes this type of ongoing collaboration with readers feasible, since it provides fast, efficient communication. And, most important, this collaboration helps ensure that ROL is achieving its mission, publishing articles that are both timely and reader based, in the sense that they respond to readers' stated interests and needs.

So, in this, our third issue of ROL, we invite you to became part of the journal planning team by completing the brief reader needs assessment below. You may want to complete the form as an individual or on behalf of a group. It would be interesting to hear from teachers at a particular school, as well as from students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs.

We will collect responses from September 1 to 30, 2000, and plan on sharing the results in the November issue. In addition to helping us identify potential topics and authors, you will have the opportunity to compare your interests and needs to those of your colleagues around the world.

We are looking forward to hearing from you and thank you for contributing to ROL.

Bridget Dalton
Dana L. Grisham



Reading Online
Reader Needs Assessment


Part A: Reader Background Information

1. Are you responding to this questionnaire as an individual, or on behalf of a group?

individual      group 

If you are responding for a group, enter the number in the group:  

2. What is the professional setting in which you work?

elementary school      middle school      high school      college/university 

other:  

3. What is your primary role?  

4. What age of learners do you work with?  

5. In what subject do you specialize?  

6. Where are you located (city/town, state/province, country)?  

Part B: Shaping Our Content

1. What are your literacy interests and what do you want to know more about?

2. Who do you want to learn from? Suggest potential authors for ROL.

3. Think about your own literacy teaching and work. What is challenging for you? What is most difficult for your students? (Note: If you do not teach, please respond from your perspective.)

4. What are your strengths as a literacy educator? What instructional practices work best for you and your students? (Note: if you do not teach, please respond from your perspective.)

5. Do you have any comments, questions, or suggestions?


If you would like to send a separate message to the editors, please e-mail Bridget Dalton or Dana Grisham.


Reading Online, www.readingonline.org
Posted September 2000
© 2000 International Reading Association, Inc.   ISSN 1096-1232