UNDERSTANDING THE PRESERVICE TEACHERS' READING PATH THROUGH A LENS OF ONE SELF-REPORT ASSIGNMENT

UNDERSTANDING THE PRESERVICE TEACHERS' READING PATH THROUGH A LENS OF ONE SELF-REPORT ASSIGNMENT
Ying Wang, Mississippi Valley State University, United States of America / Judy Woytowich, Retired Teacher, United States of America

(Presented at the International Conference on Humanities, Social and Education Sciences (IHSES) which took place on April 16-19, 2024, in San Francisco, CA, USA (https://www.2024.ihses.net/) and at the International Conference on Life Sciences, Engineering and Technology (ILSET) (https://www.2024.ilset.net/) (https://www.2024.ictels.net/) organized by the International Society for Technology, Education and Science (ISTES) http://www.istes.org).

This presentation will report the findings of a study that elaborated on the preservice teacher’s path of becoming a reader through a self-report class assignment. The presenters will discuss the implications and the importance of fostering the development of the reading habits of students and schoolteachers. The reading habits of teachers can affect pedagogical practices in the classroom. The teaching of reading requires the application of specialized knowledge in reading as well as a passion for reading. Such knowledge and passion could make a difference in the students’ learning-to-read and reading-to-learn process. To reach a full understanding of the students’ reading habits from a teacher Education Preparation Program (EPP), we examined three class assignments that the preservice teachers were required to complete in the reading/literacy-related courses during the academic year 2023-2024. The assignment asked the preservice teachers to self-report their growth in reading skills. They were asked to include information such as a depiction of the town where they grew up, how they learned to read, how they liked to read in their leisure time, and if they could change one thing in their reading/language arts class when they were in K-12 classroom, what would that be. We collected forty-five student assignments. We used a qualitative grounded theory study design to code and categorize the information (Creswell, 2005). Through the stories they told in their writing, we obtained a picture of our students’ path to becoming a reader. The results imply that the teacher education preparation programs need to address and nurture the personal reading habits of students in their reading/literacy and language arts courses throughout the programs and that schools and school districts need to foster the development of the reading habits of faculty to enhance K-12 students’ reading and learning outcomes.