Preservice Teachers ’ Intentions to Provide Good Examples and Help Children Replicate Them

Commencing and graduating preservice teachers completed written surveys and interviews. Results from an item in the written questionnaire indicated preservice teachers intend to provide children with good examples and help them replicate them in both literacy and numeracy lessons. Follow-up audiotaped interviews with 17 of the 186 graduating preservice teachers surveyed found preservice teachers were as likely to use the strategy at the end of their courses. As prospective generalist teachers, preservice teachers in the primary school context have to juggle pedagogical mindsets in their facilitation of literacy and numeracy lessons. However, in this study, preservice teachers intend to provide good examples and help children replicate them in both literacy and numeracy lessons. The intention is consistent with advice from authors in literacy education (Edwards-Groves, 2003; Luke, 1993). Indeed, during literacy sessions, effective teachers of literacy act as good role models for the use of Standard English; they explicitly articulate and demonstrate practices and processes used by effective readers and writers (Edwards-Groves, 2003). Teachers help children learn the social and cultural practices valued in different situations. One approac