Developing Preservice Teachers\u27 Perspectives on Reader Response

This study examines preservice teachers\u27 developing conceptions of reader response theory, specifically focusing on the importance of aesthetic response to students\u27 engagement with and motivation for reading. Three intact classes over three semesters (N = 78) participated in an intervention through literature discussion circles after reading award-winning and multicultural children\u27s and adolescent literature. They read a cycle of three novels in each class. Preservice teachers chose the books from multiple copies provided and responded in writing to each selection prior to meeting in small, student-run groups for discussion. Participants wrote dialectical journals for the first book, completed role sheets for the second selection, and for the third novel, provided a written response of their choice