Developing Social Skills Training and Literacy Instruction Pedagogy Through Service Learning: An Integrated Model of Teacher Preparation

Abstract

This exploratory study examined the impact of tutoring programs on preservice teachers (PSTs) and tutees. The PSTs are assigned to either the Tutor-Assisted Intensive Learning Strategies (TAILS) or Book Partners (BP) service-learning tutoring program and work with identified kindergarten or first-grade struggling readers. Three questions are addressed: 1) what impact does the social skills training have on the PSTs' ability to understand the connection between social skills and literacy development; 2) what social skills do PSTs model, label, or scaffold in their classrooms; and 3) what effect does service-learning tutoring have on tutees? Participants include 27 PSTs and 27 children. Findings reveal that the TAILS PSTs are more informative in their biweekly reflections, provide specific social skills details, and report twice as many classroom social behaviors as the BP PSTs. The tutees demonstrated progress in both social and literacy skills, or they continued to struggle socially and not improve in the area of literacy. These findings suggest that most PSTs' knowledge of the connection between social skills and literacy development increased due to their participation in the service-learning tutoring programs and highlight the need to include this connection in teacher education programs and P–12 classrooms.