Changing Participation in Guided Interactive Shared Reading: A Study of Early Childhood Teachers' Implementation and Children's Engagement

Changing Participation in Guided Interactive Shared Reading: A Study of Early Childhood Teachers’ Implementation and Children’s Engagement Nanci L. Waterhouse Co-Chairs of the Committee: Dr. Kate Brayko and Dr. Morgen Allwell The Phyllis J. Washington College of Education and Human Sciences University of Montana In the context of a pilot project to implement program-wide change by integrating academic and behavioral supports through an early childhood multi-tiered system of support, one program was challenged to strengthen two process components of its model: 1) the implementation of an evidence-informed approach to shared reading as recommended in their newly adopted curriculum and 2) the provision of effective professional development (PD) in support of practice implementation. The embedded case study describes the impact of a PD model on two teachers’ attempts to integrate dialogic reading (Lonigan & Whitehurst, 1998) and related strategies in a whole class setting through a guided interactive shared reading (GISR) routine in each of their classrooms. The PD components included a combination of training, video observation, self-reflection and distance coaching. These components align with recommendations in the literature to: avoid a training only model; maintain a balance between knowledge and practice (Zaslow, Tout, Halle & Starr (2011); and use a relationship based approach to early childhood professional development (Howes, Hamre & Pianta, 2012). The question investigated in this study was: How did the PD effort shape teachers’ participation in GISR; and subsequently, how did the effort shape children’s participation? I utilize Rogoff’s (2003) transformation of participation CHANGING PARTICIPATION IN GUIDED INTERACTIVE SHARED READING iii perspective grounded in sociocultural theory to analyze the changing participation of teachers and children in the GISR sessions, and the changing dynamic of their interactions across the intervention period. Findings suggest the PD model influenced teacher’s implementation of GISR with regard to their prompt use and group engagement strategies. Subsequently, the amount and sophistication of children’s story related talk changed and they demonstrated higher levels of engagement. CHANGING PARTICIPATION IN GUIDED INTERACTIVE SHARED READING iv Dedication To my beloved children: Walker, Rhiannon and Tristan. Thank you for understanding, cheering me on, reluctantly following a chore chart, and being resilient. You are my heart, my joy, and passion. May you always reach for your dreams. May you find love, joy and happiness in all that you choose. I dedicate this labor of love to you. Hokšiye na c’unkši čhaŋt kiyapi, pila’maye. CHANGING PARTICIPATION IN GUIDED INTERACTIVE SHARED READING v Acknowledgements There are so many in this every expanding community who have been instrumental in helping me grow into these shoes over the last four years, making it a challenge to be inclusive. Though many of you are not named, I am grateful to you all for helping me grow, and making this milestone a reality. I would like to acknowledge my family, blood and ‘hunka’ for all that you are and all that you do. First to my parents, thank you for encouraging me to keep going, being interested, and supporting in so many ways (including occasionally cleaning my house), I thank you. I am blessed to have two sets of you! And, to my siblings (Michael, Lori, Angela and Melanie), thank you for staying in touch when I did not. I love you all immensely. To my family up the Blackfoot: you constantly remind me to keep growing personally as well as professionally. Pilamaye. In this group are also my cheerleaders, friends (and sometimes editors): Dawn, Laura, Karen, Amy, Andrea and more. Thank you isn’t quite enough but will have to do for now. To Marcia Hansen, my first pre-school director, thank you for teaching me how to talk to kids so long ago. To those involved in the EC MTSS project and to the individuals in the program who took a chance on participating in this project, I am forever grateful and hopeful that our work added to your lives and the lives of the children in the program. And to all of the families and children I have had the opportunity to work with over the years, it has been an honor to be a part of your lives. Every child and every class has greatly influenced my life trajectory to this point and will continue to do so. I would like to express special thanks to the AAUW and the Carol Williams Foundation for the leadership award and scholarship that helped me through this final year. Thank you for believing in me, and in the work we do in the field. CHANGING PARTICIPATION IN GUIDED INTERACTIVE SHARED READING vi Next, I would like to acknowledge the faculty in the Phyllis J. Washington College of Education and Human Sciences. I have been lucky to learn from many of you, across departments (and over the years). I am grateful for your insights and support, which included two years as a graduate teaching assistant. The financial support made school a possibility, and the opportunities were invaluable. I specifically wish to thank Dr. McKenna, Dr. Ashmore, Dr. LaBonty and others in the literacy department who all helped shape my thinking in the early stages of my program--for this I am forever grateful. To my committee: you have all provided support in such unique ways. Thank you specifically to Dr. Van den Pol for helping me think about how to organize such amazing thinkers and support; Dr. Morgen Alwell for advising me on the logistics of completing a dissertation; Dr. Caringi for thinking outside the box and helping me achieve my vision of working across disciplines and embracing qualitative inquiry; and to Dr. Julie Bullard, for representing the early childhood voice. Finally, to Dr. Kate Brayko, words cannot express my gratitude for the countless hours of inspiration, conversation, edits and revisions. You are reflective and caring, while challenging—consistently holding me to a higher standard than I ever believe I can achieve. Thank you for helping me unlock my potential. I look forward to future talks about kids’ talk. CHANGING PARTICIPATION IN GUIDED INTERACTIVE SHARED READING vii Table of