Adult Supports for Preschool Writers During Learning Centers.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: Adult Supports for Preschool Writers During Learning Centers.
Authors: Rowe, Deborah Wells1 deborah.rowe@vanderbilt.edu, Davis, Zarabeth G.1 zarabeth.davis@vanderbilt.edu, Piestrzynski, Laura2 piestrzynski@lsu.edu
Source: Reading Research Quarterly (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.). Oct2023, Vol. 58 Issue 4, p539-560. 22p. 2 Illustrations, 8 Charts.
Subject Terms: *Preschool children, *Community centers, *Preschool education, *Preschool teachers, *Qualitative research
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to describe how experienced emergent writing teachers supported 4‐year‐olds in writing their own messages during the learning centers period of the preschool day. Data were drawn from two, year‐long qualitative studies of early writing instruction. Adult participants were three researcher‐teachers who worked in publicly funded prekindergarten classrooms 1 or 2 days per week across a school year. A sample of six open‐ended, researcher‐child writing events were selected and microanalyzed using the constant/comparative method and multimodal interaction analysis. Results showed that more than a fourth of adult message units were produced in conversations occurring "off the page" aimed at developing a shared, meaningful topic for writing. Drawing was used as a platform for developing ideas and as a launch for page‐based composing. Adults wrote their own texts alongside children as a means of engaging children as co‐authors and providing demonstrations of adult writing. Adults frequently invited children to write messages related to their play and activity, and then asked them to read their writing. They provided direct support for writing processes. Support for children's phonetic spelling was most frequent, followed by support for writing concepts. Handwriting support was provided infrequently. Adults praised all attempts at writing, regardless of the conventionality of the product. Findings provide an empirical description of how adults can support early writing in the context of informal learning center events. The purpose of this study was to describe how experienced emergent writing teachers supported 4‐year‐olds in writing their own messages during the learning centers period of the preschool day. Data were drawn from two, year‐long qualitative studies of early writing instruction. Adult participants were three researcher‐teachers who worked in publicly funded prekindergarten classrooms 1 or 2 days per week across a school year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Reading Research Quarterly (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.) is the property of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Education Research Complete
Full text is not displayed to guests.
Description
Abstract:The purpose of this study was to describe how experienced emergent writing teachers supported 4‐year‐olds in writing their own messages during the learning centers period of the preschool day. Data were drawn from two, year‐long qualitative studies of early writing instruction. Adult participants were three researcher‐teachers who worked in publicly funded prekindergarten classrooms 1 or 2 days per week across a school year. A sample of six open‐ended, researcher‐child writing events were selected and microanalyzed using the constant/comparative method and multimodal interaction analysis. Results showed that more than a fourth of adult message units were produced in conversations occurring "off the page" aimed at developing a shared, meaningful topic for writing. Drawing was used as a platform for developing ideas and as a launch for page‐based composing. Adults wrote their own texts alongside children as a means of engaging children as co‐authors and providing demonstrations of adult writing. Adults frequently invited children to write messages related to their play and activity, and then asked them to read their writing. They provided direct support for writing processes. Support for children's phonetic spelling was most frequent, followed by support for writing concepts. Handwriting support was provided infrequently. Adults praised all attempts at writing, regardless of the conventionality of the product. Findings provide an empirical description of how adults can support early writing in the context of informal learning center events. The purpose of this study was to describe how experienced emergent writing teachers supported 4‐year‐olds in writing their own messages during the learning centers period of the preschool day. Data were drawn from two, year‐long qualitative studies of early writing instruction. Adult participants were three researcher‐teachers who worked in publicly funded prekindergarten classrooms 1 or 2 days per week across a school year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:19362722
DOI:10.1002/rrq.506