Effects of intervention on undergraduate pre-service teachers in literacy education

Abstract

This study tracked the effects of guided questioning on the epistemological and pedagogical content knowledge over six weeks of six undergraduate pre-service teachers in literacy education in a university-based reading tutorial. This study was guided by three research questions: (a) how do undergraduate pre-service teachers' initial ideas about literary instruction change from the beginning to the end of their tutoring experience, (b) what patterns can be seen in undergraduate pre-service teachers' epistemological and pedagogical development while tutoring in a university-based reading setting, and (c) how does intervention affect the instructional literacy practices of undergraduate pre-service teachers as they experience epistemological growth? The primary data collection tools used to collect data were interviews, observations, and collected artifacts. Shulman's (1987) model of Pedagogical Reasoning and Action was used by the researcher as a coding system to analyze the collected data. In addition to this study's findings, there were changes in the undergraduate pre-service teachers' initial ideas about literacy instruction. Pattern changes of the undergraduate pre-service teachers' epistemological and pedagogical development and the effects guided questioning had on the undergraduate pre-service teachers' literacy instructional practices were also revealed. The findings in this study suggest the need for teacher preparation programs to provide training for undergraduate pre-service teachers. As a result, novice teachers may enter the classrooms better prepared to teach reading. Recommendations to further the understanding of the development of prospective teachers' epistemology and pedagogy for teaching reading may increase student success in learning to read.