| This theoretical study sought to design a literary reading model for individual readers, groups of readers, and educational practitioners based on Louise Rosenblatt's transactional reading theory and Stanley Fish's notion of interpretive communities. The purpose of the research was to design an open-system literary reading model and an assessment instrument to validate the model framework. Historically, secondary literature study has focused on critical analysis of texts, this suggests an over emphasis on the objective nature of learning, neglecting the affective domain. However, a resurgence of interest in cognitive reading strategies is influencing how readers process text and how literature is taught. The following research questions guided the study and assessment design when one reads a text and is moved to tears (compunction) and identifies this as an experience or lived through moment, what is going on and how does this affect meaning? Can an elliptical framework adequately represent the complexity and fluidity of a non-linear reader-text context reading theory? Can a literary RTC reading model serve individual readers, groups of readers, and educational practitioners in praxis and assessment, and to what extend are the terms in the model representative of the RTC model framework? Ten qualified criterion-selected raters completed the questionnaire, instrument, and evaluation survey. Each rater attended a 50-minute training session to review the model and assessment procedure to ensure a state of constancy in the assessment process. Each rater received a copy of the assessment guide containing theoretical and practical information about the RTC reading model. Data was categorization in matrix form that includes transcription, close reading, development of matrices, and descriptive interpretations. The development of the matrices assisted in clarification of the data. The result of the assessment procedure indicated a high positive for inter-rater agreement with a co-efficient of inter-rater agreement of 1.00. The RTC reading model is significant because (1) the model contributes to reading research, (2) the model acknowledges the aesthetic and efferent stances as co-processes, and (3) the model acknowledges individual readers, groups of readers, and educational practitioners in practice and evaluative outcomes. This study does not deprecate the traditional literary approach but brings attention to the often-ignored aesthetic qualities of reading literature. The model provides for the reader the opportunity to encounter a literary text on multiple levels by the adoption of specific orientation toward the text that can be subjective, objective, or a combination of both. |
