Learning How to Teach Reading: A Tale of Two Beginners and the Factors that Contributed to Their Vastly Different Teaching Perspectives
Abstract
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"This article reports on the vast differences between two begin-ning teachers' perspectives on teaching reading. The study followed preservice teachers during their teacher preparation program's field experiences and into their first year of teaching. Two of the five participants differed widely in both their philosophy of reading and in the way they enacted reading instruction. What caused such differences given that both beginning teachers were enrolled in the same teacher preparation program? Four factors were identified that enabled and constrained their developing perspectives on reading: (a) their knowledge base; (b) opportunities to plan, teach and reflect; (c) models; and (d) feedback."
Reference
Smith, M. (2009). Learning how to teach reading: A tale of two beginners and the factors that contributed to their vastly different teaching perspectives. Reading Improvement , 46 (4), 247-262.
Journal
Reading Improvement
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
- Elementary school
- field placements (not related to methods courses)
- University
Preservice Participants
- Undergraduates (university based program)
Preservice Sample Size
2
Other Participant Data
- Cooperating teachers
- School principals
Duration of Data Collection
Data Sources
- Document Analysis
- fieldnotes
- Interviews
- lesson plans
- Observations
- written feedback sheets
- written reflections/class papers
Data Analysis Tools
- coding (non-specific)
- Thematic analysis
- Triangulation
Researcher Positionality
- inside (staying their own students)
Research Questions
"What are the beliefs preservice teachers hold about the teaching of reading, and how do they enact these beliefs?"
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? Yes
"What key factors in their coursework and field experience enabled or constrained [preservice teachers'] developing belief system about how to teach reading?"
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? Yes