Locating Learning in In-Service Education for Preschool Teachers

Abstract

Discourse analysis of interaction in a course on language and literacy development elucidates and exemplifies how preschool teachers constructed new knowledge that can be assumed to contribute to the improved literacy instruction observed in their classrooms. An analytic framework rooted in socio-cultural theory and interactional sociolinguistic methods foregrounds the issues of whose sentiments and knowledge got taken up on the conversational floor and what specific new knowledge was conversationally constructed. We use this framework to explicate a discussion in which the teachers and the instructor assembled a knowledge structure. The group’s emergent response to a question gained propositional content as participants jointly created and used social and informational resources. This approach allows insight into the sociolinguistic processes that contribute to effective professional development experiences.

Patterns of Teacher–Child Conversations in Head Start Classrooms: Implications for an Empirically Grounded Approach to Professional Development

“…This finding points to the need for profes-420 DICKINSON AND DARROW sional development initiatives that seek to enhance the quality of support teachers give to children's language growth. Prior research on professional development in early childhood settings has identified some features of these efforts that lead to success (Adger, Hoyle, & Dickinson, 2004;Dickinson & Brady, 2005;Dickinson & Caswell, 2007;Pianta, Mashburn, Downer, Hamre, & Justice, in press;Wasik et al, 2006): 1. A conceptual framework for understanding why specific strategies are important; 2.…”

Quality of language and literacy instruction in preschool classrooms serving at-risk pupils

“…Coaches used video submissions of classroom instruction by teachers to analyze the process of instruction and to guide teachers in improved instruction. Empirical investigation of this and other innovative techniques (see Adger, Hoyle, & Dickinson, 2004) for improving instructional quality in preschool classrooms is critical to the successful implementation of the many state and federal efforts that seek to expand children's access to quality preschool programs. Frequency distribution of scores on the quality of language modeling scale Frequency distribution of scores on the quality of literacy focus scale Table 1 Characteristics of Teachers, Classrooms, and Observed Lessons (n = 135) Table notes: Number of workshops = Teacher report of number of language and literacy workshops attended in previous year; Self-Efficacy = teacher scores on the Modernity Scale (Schaefer & Edgerton, 1985); Adult-Centered Ideas = teacher scores on the Teacher Self-Efficacy Scale (Bandura, 1997); LEP = limited English proficiency; IEP = Individualized Education Plan…”

Teddy the T‐Rex, interaction and spontaneous formative second language assessment and treatment

“…The analysis proposed here is fine-grained (Adger, Hoyle, and Dickinson 2004;Johnstone 2002) and represents important spontaneous formative language assessment and treatment of how to introduce Gal's contribution to T-Rex's album to the entire class. The teacher models communicating additional details that contextualise this information and make it potentially meaningful for the rest of the class.…”

“…Short qualitative discourse analyses of interaction were conducted in order to contextualise a discussion of formative assessment and at the same time describe language, including its figurative use (Gibbs 1999) and a fine-grained analysis of discourse (Adger, Hoyle, and Dickinson 2004;Johnstone 2002). In the next sections I will present a brief background of the school, the teacher, and the learner, the task that engaged them in spontaneous communicative interaction, three episodes from that interaction, a discussion of these episodes, and a concluding discussion of possible new directions in teacher education.…”