The data for this study included all of the
literacy related assignments completed
by the students in practicum, video
recordings of the students’ story reading
with children, and an audio-taped interview
with me. During the interview, we
discussed most of the assignments using
an interview guide, with the following
questions:
• What do you think the children understood
about phonological awareness
(how words/sounds work)? Did you
talk about specific words during or
after reading?
• What do you think children understood
about how print works? What did you
do to show this to them?
• What words might have been new to
the children? Did you talk about these
words?
• What questions did you ask or what
things did you explain to help them
understand the story?
• Other questions related to the specific
story/song/poem or questions related to
what was recorded on the student’s
assignment.
When analyzing the data, I used a qualitative
method, describing and interpreting
key points in student understanding
(or gaps in that understanding) using rich
description.
Subsequent pages identify some specific
ways the students in the study illustrated
their understandings and misunderstandings
of key literacy skills in their
practicum assignments, in the videotaped
story reading, and in their interviews
with me. I also examine ways they
engaged the children in discussions
about the stories and attempted to scaffold
children’s literacy understanding.