The negotiations of teaching and learning that occur during a picturebook read-aloud with teacher candidates

Abstract

Almost all read-aloud research focuses on the experiences of young readers. This article, however, examines the important negotiations that occurred amongst teacher candidates and their instructor during one interactive picturebook read-aloud. Using reflexive thematic analysis (RTA) framed through reader response lenses, researchers found that participants engaged in nuanced negotiations of their relative expertise, their critical readings of the text, and the ways that they imagined how the text could be shared with young audiences in the future. Additionally, findings showed that participants’ discussions fostered opportunities for teacher candidates and their instructor to wrestle with and make sense of the complex interplay of visual and written text presented in a “simple” story for children. By engaging with the picturebook in these ways, this study highlights the possibilities that read-alouds may have for teacher candidates, their instructors, and a wide range of other audiences vastly underrepresented in current read-aloud research.