The Promise of Secondary Content Area Literacy Field Experiences

Abstract

Secondary preservice teachers (N = 67) in a required content area literacy course and 30-hour field experience presented tradebooks, biographies, as well as pre, during, and after reading lessons based on topics in their content area to middle and high school students. At the end of the semester, they were asked to complete an anonymous survey. Results revealed that before the semester, preservice teachers were unlikely to make these presentations in their future instruction. Preservice teachers underestimated the enthusiasm of the students and their cooperating teachers for all three of these presentations. There were positive correlations between preservice teachers' rating of the students' and cooperating teachers' enthusiasm and the likelihood that they would repeat these presentations in their future instruction.

Keywords:

• teacher education
• motivation
• content area reading
• adolescent literacy