Abstract #2964

Abstract: This paper reflects on methodological considerations for a study of Primary School classroom practices to be carried out during autumn 2023. The study is one of three empirical sub-studies in my ongoing thesis project about activities drawing on children’s literature, such as reading, listening, and dialogue. These activities can be supported by various resources such as printed and digital resources.

The study which this paper draws on focuses on teachers’ dialogic read-aloud of children’s literature to develop students’ comprehension and reading engagement. It is essential that children are involved in activities in school where they interact with others about the content of texts to get motivated to read and to reach an understanding (Lennox, 2013, Gambrell, 2011; Schmidt, 2020).

Research in reading instruction and digital resources in Primary Schools is limited (Hermansson & Olin-Scheller, 2022; Kucirkova, 2013). This points to the need to investigate how teachers orchestrate teaching where students, in dialogue with others, talk about the content of children’s literature and how printed and digital resources can support this for further reading development in a digitalized world. The study, therefore, aims to investigate Primary School teachers’ dialogic read-aloud of children’s literature, with the goal of reading comprehension and reading engagement, and how printed and digital resources support these activities.

To observe how teachers work with dialogic read-aloud with printed and digital resources in the classroom focused observations will be carried out (Fusch et al., 2017). The observations will be documented using an observation template and through video recording. The activities will be documented through note-taking.

Four teachers will participate in the study and three observations per teacher will be conducted, in total, twelve focused observations. Contact will be made with schools and teachers, i.e., Primary School teachers in grades K-3 teaching reading children’s literature, to select two schools and two teachers at each school. This is based on a purposive and convenience sample (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). As the study will highlight how digital technology becomes integrated into teaching, the chosen schools should be equipped with a good offer of digital resources that allows for carrying out activities in and through technological tools. I will use my professional network to contact schools, including the schools for internships and other connections with schools in the county, based on my teaching background. The education administration of the municipalities will also be helpful.

I hypothesize that the results will involve teaching reading comprehension strategies through e-books and printed books with document cameras and highlight the importance of teachers’ well-founded pedagogical choices when teaching dialogic read-aloud of children’s literature in Primary School classrooms. I would like to discuss this with the audience.

Keywords: dialogic read-aloud, children’s literature, digital resources, focused observations

References
Creswell, J. W. & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. (Fifth edition.). SAGE.
Fusch, P., Fusch, G., & Ness, L. (2017). How to Conduct a Mini-Ethnographic Case Study: A Guide for Novice Researchers. Qualitative Report, 22(3), 923–. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2017.2580
Gambrell, L. (2011). Seven Rules Of Engagement: What’s Most Important to Know About Motivation to Read. The Reading Teacher, 65(3), 172–178. https://doi.org/10.1002/TRTR.01024
Hermansson, C. & Olin-Scheller, C. (2022). Across Textual Landscapes: The Role of Affect During Digital Reading Encounters. Children’s Literature in Education, 53(3), 327–342. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10583-022-09502-y
Kucirkova, N. (2013). Children’s interactions with iPad books: research chapters still to be written. Frontiers in Psychology, 4, 995–995. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00995
Lennox, S. (2013). Interactive Read-Alouds: An Avenue for Enhancing Children’s Language for Thinking and Understanding: A Review of Recent Research. Early Childhood Education Journal, 41(5), 381–389. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-013-0578-5
Schmidt, C. (2020). Librarians’ book talks for children: An opportunity for widening reading practices? Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 146879842096494–. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468798420964941

Contact information
Jennie Berg, PhD-student
Jönköping university
jennie.berg@ju.se

Dialogic read-aloud in a digital era. A methodological reflection paper.