Self-Pacing in Reading and Writing Programs: What Does the Future Hold?

In this individualized reading program, informal diagnosis through instructor-student conferences leads to an individual prescription, which is based on standardized test scores. Additional program components include an informal reading inventory, student's statements of goals, student's interests, student's other courses, amount of time available considering work and family demands, and visual screening. A prescription sheet is filed for each student. A student selects reading materials and/or reading machines and vocabulary words and then works through the individual prescription at his or her own pace. Class sessions for group interaction are conducted. In combining self-pacing with other approaches in a writing program, it is important to use the student's own writing as the basis of the learning module, the module being designed to help the student revise his or her own papers, line by line, and process by process. A student continues on through the pattern of writing, conferring, and revising via the learning packets until the desired grade level has been achieved on the required number of performance sheets. (LL)