Session Information
27 SES 08 B, Visual and ICT Artefacts in Didactical Designs
Paper/Poster Session
Contribution
Purposes
Research has proved that early reading experiences have positive effects on children (Saracho & Spodek, 2010). However, most research focuses on shared reading between mothers and their children aged three and above. This research aimed to investigate caregivers’ reading activities arrangement and reading strategies in nursery centers for infants and toddlers.
Theoretical Framework
Beck and McKeown’s (2001) text talk approach and Chambers’s (1993) framework of the book discussion process were used to understand nursery school reading activities.
Literature Review
Reading in Nursery Centers
However, studies showed that caregivers care more about the details of care than about providing high-quality educational activities. Caregivers seldom read to the children, and the one-on-one reading activity is not a typical routine (Morrow, 2001; Soundy, 1997). Conducting reading activities was challenging for the caregivers (Honig & Shin, 2001).
Reading Strategies for Infants and Toddlers
Research on reading strategies at nursery centers is very limited, and thus the researcher can only build literature reviews from works on parent-child shared reading strategies. Makin (2006) discussed reading interactions between 10 mothers and their eight- to 12-month-old children. In nonverbal interactions, the mothers tried to get attention from the children on books that they pointed to words and pictures and had eye contact with their children. In oral interactions, the mothers used book-related vocabulary.
Bus and van Ijzendoorn (1997) invited 85 pairs of 11- to 14-month-old children and their mothers to demonstrate shared reading at a lab and observed their interactions. The results showed that the mothers often held their children in their arms and held the book properly at a distance, so the children could not touch it. During shared reading, the mothers observed their children’s facial expressions and reactions attentively. When the mothers noticed their children were interested in something in the picture books, they would point to the pictures immediately. The results not only elucidated the mothers’ reading behavior but also emphasized that the mothers’ reading behavior was influenced by their children’s reactions.
Fletcher, Perex, Hooper, and Claussen’s review (2005) on parent-child shared reading indicated the strategies parents used were not rigid and would be changed and adjusted as the years go by. For children under 18 months old, parents tended to attract the children’s attention, such as point to the pictures in the books, name the pictures. For older children, parents were inclined to ask questions and had more conversations about pictures and plots.
Only two studies were conducted in nursery centers. Phillips and Twardosz (2003) chose 15 24- to 35-month-old children and six caregivers as participants. The oral strategies the caregivers utilized in shared reading included: (1) introducing the story, (2) discussing things relevant to the story, (3) inviting the children to ask questions or respond to the stories, (4) scaffolding the children’s learning, (5) responding to the children again when the children had responses to the story. Since the children were above two years old, the caregivers no longer used strategies like identifying the pictures and naming the pictures, but replaced these strategies with more discussion. Honig and Shin (2001) identified more specific strategies caregivers used in shared reading: reading texts, naming and describing, asking questions about who did what, asking questions about the locations, asking yes/no questions, identification, fun tones, eye contact, etc.
The above studies illustrate reading strategies used by parents and caregivers. Yet, most of these studies were conducted in the one-on-one parent-child shared-reading context, which might be different from what is possible in nursery centers. As for those studies conducted in nursery centers, they merely observed group-reading contexts instead of remarking on other reading formats.
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
Bogdan, R. C & Biklen, S. K. (2006). Qualitative research for education: An introduction to theories and methods (4th ed.). New York: Pearson Education Group. Bus, A. G., van Izendoorn, M. H., Pelligrini, A. D. (1995). Joint book reading makes for success in learning to read: A meta-analysis on intergenerational transmission of literacy. Review of Educational Research, 65, 1-21. Bus, A. G., & van Ijzendoorn, M. H. (1997). Affective dimension of mother-infant picturebook reading. Journal of School Psychology, 35(1), 47-60. Fernald, A. (1985). Four-month-old infants prefer to listen to motherese. Infant Behavior and Development, 8 (2), 181-195. Fletcher, K. L., Perez, A., Hooper, C., & Claussen, A. H. (2005). Responsiveness and attention during picture-book reading in 18-month-old to 24-month-old toddlers at risk. Early Child Development and Care, 175(1), 63-83. Honig, A. S., & Shin, M. (2001). Reading aloud with infants and toddlers in child care settings: An observational study. Early Childhood Educational Journal, 28(3), 193-197. Hsieh, M. F., & Liao, W. J. (2014, November). Parents’ selection, satisfaction, and expectation toward nursery centers for infants and toddlers. Paper presented at the meeting of the International conference on Educational Innovation Curriculum, Instruction, and Industry Academy Cooperation, Hsinchu, Taiwan. Karrass, J., Braungart-Rieker, J. M. (2005). Effects of shared parent-infant book reading on early language acquisition. Applied Developmental Psychology, 26, 133-148. Makin, L. (2006). Literacy 8-12 months: What are babies learning? Early Years, 26(3), 267-277. Morrow, L. M. (1988). Young children’s response to one-to-one story reading in school settings. Reading Research Quarterly, 23(1), 89-107. Phillips, L. B., Twardosz, S. (2003). Group size and storybook reading: Two-year-old children’s verbal and nonverbal participation with books. Early Education & Development, 14(4), 453-478. Saracho, O. N., & Spodek, B. (2010). Parents and children engaging in storybook reading. Early Child Development and Care, 180(10), 1379-1389. Scarr, S. (1998). American child care today. American Psychologist, 53, 95-108. Senechal, M., Cornell, E. H., Broda, L. S. (1995). Age-related differences in the organization of parent-infant interactions during picture-book reading. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 10, 317-337. Soundy, C. S. (1997). Nurturing literacy with infants and toddlers in group settings. Childhood Education, 73(3), 149-153. Watson, L., & Swim, T. (2008). Infants & toddlers: Curriculum and teaching. New York: Thomas Delmar Learning.
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