Building Preservice Teachers’ Ability to Think Aloud in Literacy Methods Courses
Abstract
An essential element in teaching children to effectively comprehend text is the use of teacher-led think alouds. The overarching objective of this study was to explore how to better prepare preservice teachers to conduct think alouds in their future classrooms. Data from 97 preservice teachers consisted of several sources: (a) questionnaires, (b) lesson plans, (c) lesson transcripts, and (d) written reflections. Preservice teachers made significant growth in the quantity and quality of reading comprehension strategies they incorporated. Discussion focuses on the challenges that participants encountered when thinking aloud. Finally, suggestions for supporting preservice teachers in effectively thinking aloud are provided.
Reference
Ness, M. K. (2015) Building Preservice Teachers' Ability to
Think Aloud in Literacy Methods Courses, The Teacher Educator, 50:4, 257-271, DOI:10.1080/08878730.2015.1072260.
Journal
The Teacher Educator
Analysis
Is this article part of a larger project or series of studies?
no
Does this study draw on a large, preexisting data set?
no
Research Approach
Geographic Setting
Institutional Context
Certification Level
Programatic Focus
Research Location Context
Preservice Participants
Preservice Sample Size
97
Other Participant Data
Duration of Data Collection
Data Sources
- lesson plans
- Questionnaires
- Transcriptions
- written reflections/class papers
Data Analysis Tools
- Analytic memos
- coding (emergent categories)
- Constant comparative analysis
- Triangulation
Researcher Positionality
- inside (staying their own students)
Research Questions
"How do the reading strategies incorporated in preservice teachers’ think alouds change over a semester of instruction in a literacy methods course?" (p. 259)
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? Yes
"What successes and challenges do preservice teachers encounter in thinking aloud?" (p. 259)
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? Yes