Reading aloud. A phenomenographic study of educators' work with and perceptions of reading aloud in preschools. The purpose of this phenomenographic study is to investigate how preschools teachers work with reading aloud in preschools, as well as to identify educators' different perceptions of this subject. Our intent is also to get an expanded picture of how reading aloud in preschools can contribute to children's language development. The theoretical point of view of this study is based on sociocultural theory. To gather our empirical data, we have conducted qualitative interviews with ten preschool teachers in four different preschools in Sweden. From our study it has become apparent to us that there is variation in the educators'perceptions of reading aloud. Based on the result of this study the approaches and perceptions differ depending on the educators' knowledge and purpose. Although there is a similarity when it comes to their awareness of the importance of reading aloud to children, they all express that reading aloud at early age contributes positively to children's language skills. The result of this study brings attention to the responsibility that every preschool teacher needs to take in order to create an inspiring and effective reading activity. In one of the examined schools, not all of the teachers are allowed to read to the children, due to problems with pronunciation of the Swedish language; the reading time is only done by the teachers who have Swedish as a mother tongue. In addition, the results show a lack of good collaboration between home and the preschools.There are many children who do not show interest in books, and this may be because they have never had reading experiences at home. Thus, according to the respondents, the environment at home affects the childrens’ ability to learn from reading aloud in preschool.

Abstract Title: “Reading aloud fiction gives students a rich vocabulary”Author: Dilara AkcaySupervisor: Jenny MagnussonThe purpose of this study is to find out how teachers work with students' vocabulary development in reading aloud activities in fiction within the subject of Swedish.Furthermore, the purpose is to find out how teachers’ reason about their work to develop students' vocabulary in fiction reading aloud. The study’s questions are the following: What strategies do teachers use when reading fiction aloud in the Swedish subject to develop the students' vocabulary? How do the teachers reason about their work of developing students' vocabulary in fiction reading aloud?The material was analyzed based on Beck et al.'s (2013) teaching model on strategies for vocabulary development. This study is based on a qualitative method for answering the questions. A qualitative method is relevant to the study because the study examines what strategies teachers use to develop students' vocabulary in fiction reading aloud. To find out this, it is essential to observe and interview teachers. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with three teachers from three different schools.The results of the observations showed that the two teachers, Jessica and Tina used the strategy of asking questions to the students and explaining words using everyday language. Jessica also worked with the strategy that the students are allowed to use the word themselves. In addition, Tina uses visual aids to deepen students' understanding of words and she uses body language and exemplifies the word by changing her voice, so the pupils get a better understanding of the words. Jessica uses visual aids to help students gain a deeper understanding of the word.The third teacher, Katarina, does not explain any words to the students, despite the fact that there were some difficult words in the book that could have been explained. Strategies such as pronouncing words and presenting words in new contexts did not appear in the observations. The teachers say in the interviews that they work on vocabulary development in fiction reading aloud. The strategies teachers use in reading aloud are to ask students questions about the meaning of the word and define the word in everyday language. Tina uses visual support to give students a deeper understanding of the word. Jessica uses a lot of body language to shape some difficult words, and Katarina says that she works with the three-cup method, where students find synonyms for the word. Tina and Jessica talk about how important reading aloud is for students' vocabulary development, and they read aloud for students to learn new words. Katarina believes that reading aloud is more for them to be a cozy moment for the students. Keywords: Vocabulary development, middle school, Swedish teaching, reading aloud. Nyckelord: Ordförrådsutveckling, mellanstadiet, svenskundervisning, högläsning.

Many United States secondary students perform poorly on standardized summative science assessments. Situated Assessments using Virtual Environments (SAVE) Science is an innovative assessment project that seeks to capture students' science knowledge and understanding by contextualizing problems in a game-based virtual environment called Scientopolis. Within Scientopolis, students use an "avatar" to interact with non-player characters (NPCs), artifacts, embedded clues and "sci-tools" in order to help solve the problems of the townspeople. In an attempt to increase students' success on assessments, SAVE science places students in an environment where they can use their inquiry skills to solve problems instead of reading long passages which attempt to contextualize questions but ultimately cause construct-irrelevant variance. However, within these assessments reading is still required to access the test questions and character interactions. This dissertation explores how students' in-world performances differ when exposed to a Reading Aloud Accommodation (RAA) treatment in comparison to a control group. Student perceptions of the treatment are also evaluated. While a RAA is typically available for students with learning disabilities or English language learners, within this study, all students were randomly assigned to either the treatment or control, regardless of any demographic factors or learning barriers. The theories of Universal design for learning and brain-based learning advocate for multiple ways for students to engage, comprehend, and illustrate their content knowledge. Further, through providing more ways for students to interact with content, all students should benefit, not just those with learning disabilities. Students in the experimental group listened to the NPCs speak the dialogue that provides them with the problem, clues, and assessment questions, instead of relying on reading skills to gather the information. Overall, students in the treatment group statistically outperformed those in the control. Student perceptions of using the reading aloud accommodation were generally positive. Ideas for future research are presented to investigate the accommodation further. / CITE/Mathematics and Science Education

Syftet med studien är att bidra med kunskaper om hur analog och digital högläsning används i förskolans verksamhet.. Den teoretiska utgångspunkten i examensarbetet är sociokulturellt perspektiv. För att genomföra studien valdes semistrukturerade intervjuer som metod där åtta pedagoger från en kommun i Mellansverige deltog. Studiens resultat visar att högläsning är en vanligt förekommande aktivitet och pedagogerna använder sig av både analog och digital högläsning i förskolans verksamhet. De båda metoderna kan inte likställas utan fyller olika syften och användningsområden i förskolans verksamhet. Pedagogerna anser att den analoga högläsningen bidrar till en mer följsam och inlevelserik högläsning som inkluderar fler stimulerande boksamtal och bidrar till en större delaktighet i barngruppen. Pedagogerna anser att den digitala högläsningen erbjuder ett stort utbud av inlästa, bläddringsbara e-böcker som är en tillgång i förskolan vid tillfällen då personalen själva inte har möjlighet att genomföra högläsningen eller vid tillfällen av stora barngrupper. Den digitala högläsningen används även för modersmålsutveckling hos flerspråkiga barn, då bilderboksapplikationerna erbjuder många böcker inlästa på olika språk. Det högläsningsmetoderna har gemensamt är att de skapar mångsidiga förutsättningar som syftar till att stimulera barnens språkliga utveckling samt väcka deras egna läsintresse genom att de bidrar till en stimulerande och språkrik miljö på förskolorna. / The purpose of the study is to contribute with knowledge about how analogueand digital reading aloud is used in the preschool ́s operations. The theoreticalstarting point in the degree project in a socio-cultural perspective. To carry outthe study, semi-structured interviews were chosen as the method in which eighteducators from a municipality in Central Sweden participated. The results ofthe study show that read aloud is a common activity and the pedagogues useboth analogue and digital read aloud in the activities of the preschool. The twomethods cannot be equated but serve different purposes and areas of use in thepreschool ́s operations. The educators believe that the analogue read aloudcontributes to a more compliant and empathetic read aloud that includes morestimulating book conversations and contributes to greater participations in thechildren ́s group. The pedagogues believe that the digital read aloud offers alarge selection of loaded, browsable e-books which are an asset in thepreschool on occasions when staff themselves do not have the opportunity tocarry out the reading aloud or on occasions of large groups of children. Thedigital read aloud is also used for mother tongue development in multilingualchildren, as the picture book applications offer many books read in differentlanguages. What the read aloud methods have in common is that they createversatile conditions that aim to stimulate the children linguistic developmentand awaken their own interest in reading by the fact that they contributes to astimulating and language-rich environment at the preschools.

Syftet med denna studie har varit att undersöka hur verksamma lärare i årskurs F-3 beskriver att de använder sig av högläsning av skönlitteratur och om den används för att främja elevers utveckling av läsförståelse. Materialet har samlats in genom kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer och det har varit fyra verksamma lärare som jobbar i årskurs F-3 som deltagit i undersökningen. Studien har varit inspirerad av fenomenografisk ansats, då undersökningen vill försöka återge hur dessa lärare upplever fenomenet högläsning av skönlitteratur. Studiens resultat indikerar att verksamma lärare planerar och genomför högläsning där elever ges möjlighet till att utveckla läsförståelse men också många fler förmågor. Genom resultatet dras slutsatsen att verksamma lärare använder högläsning av skönlitteratur för många olika syften och lärarna är väl medvetna om högläsningens möjligheter. / The purpose of this study was to investigate whether reading fiction aloud will promote students' development of reading comprehension. The material was collected through qualitative semi-structured interviews with four teachers who work in grade F-3. The study was inspired by phenomenographic approach, as the study attempted to reproduce how these teachers experience the phenomenon of reading of fiction aloud. The study's results indicate that when teachers have a plan and execute reading fiction aloud, students can develop reading comprehension as well as many more abilities. These results conclude that teachers use reading fiction aloud for many different purposes and the teachers are well aware of the benefits of reading aloud.

Högläsning är ett pedagogiskt verktyg med fördelar gällande såväl möten med olika texter som utvecklande av språkförståelsen. Traditionellt sker högläsning genom att någon läser högt för en grupp eller individ. Ljudböcker anses ha liknande fördelar som traditionell högläsning men det saknas forskning med elevresultat som stödjer antagandet. Avsaknaden av jämförelser mellan olika högläsningsmetoder blev grunden till studiens problemformulering.  Syftet med den här studien är av den anledningen att bidra med kunskap om hur olika fall av högläsning kan påverka elevers hörförståelse. Studien har genomförts med kombination av både kvantitativ och kvalitativ metod genom en undersökning som beskrivs som en interventionsstudie. Studien utgår från framtagna hypoteser och fokuserar på den individuella uppfattningen, därför har den kognitiva teorin använts i analyserna. Materialet har samlats in genom enkäter som elever i åldrarna 8–10 har fått svara på efter att de lyssnat på en berättelse.  I resultatöversikten framgår att de elever som lyssnat på digital högläsning med inlevelse har svarat bättre än de andra grupperna. I de enskilda frågorna är resultaten varierande och bidrar inte med någon definitiv slutsats. Studien bidrar dock med indikationer som både styrker den tidigare forskningen och ger bidrag till professionen genom att öppna upp för diskussioner om högläsningsmetoder och vilka fördelar som finns med de olika metoderna. / Reading aloud is a pedagogical tool with advantages regarding interaction with different text types as well as language development. Traditionally, reading aloud refers to someone reading aloud to a group or individual. Audiobooks are considered to have similar benefits as traditional reading aloud, but there is a lack of research on student results to support that assumption. The lack of comparisons between different reading aloud methods became the basis for this study’s focus.  Therefore, this study aims to contribute with knowledge about how different reading aloud methods can affect students listening comprehension. The study is a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods and is described as an intervention study. The study is based on hypotheses and its focus rests on the individual perception, therefore, the cognitive theory is used in the analysis. The material has been collected through surveys that students aged 8-10 answered after listening to a story.  The overall results indicate that audiobooks have the most positive impact on student’s comprehension. The results do not contribute to a definitive conclusion but it contributes with implications that both strengthen previous research and provide a contribution to the profession by opening up for discussions about reading aloud methods and their benefits.

The purpose of the survey is to increase through interviews the knowledge of how active teachers value reading aloud and how this is reflected in their teaching. The focus is then to find out how they plan the reading aloud and in what perspective they focus on it and in what way teachers believe that students benefit from reading aloud as a form of teaching.   The theoretical approach this study is based on is the sociocultural perspective on learning, which means that the most important thing/tool in learning is the interaction between people. The method chosen for this study is semi-structured qualitative interviews and the empirical material has been collected with help from eight active teachers working in years 1-3.   This study shows what research says about the importance of reading aloud for student’s vocabulary and reading comprehension, how reading aloud can get the class a better connection among/between students, also time and planning around reading aloud.   The results show that all teachers use reading aloud as a form of teaching continuously, the purpose and working method around reading aloud varies. However, all teachers agree that the purpose of reading aloud is primarily to develop student’s vocabulary and reading comprehension. The majority of teachers believe that reading aloud also is a relaxing moment for the students, which contradicts what previous research. / Syftet med undersökningen är att genom intervjuer utöka kunskapen om hur verksamma lärare värderar högläsning och hur detta återspeglas i deras undervisning. Fokus är då att ta reda på hur väl de planerar högläsningen och vilken plats den får i undervisningen samt på vilket sätt lärare anser att elever gynnas av högläsning som undervisningsform.      Den teoretiska ansats som denna undersökning bygger på är det sociokulturella perspektivet på lärande, vilket innebär att det viktigaste redskapet för att lärande ska kunna ske är genom interaktionen mellan människor. Metoden som valts till denna undersökning är semistrukturerade kvalitativa intervjuer och det empiriska materialet har samlats in med hjälp av åtta verksamma lärare som arbetar i åk 1-3.    Studien tar upp vad forskning säger om högläsningens betydelse för elevers ordförråd och läsförståelse, hur högläsning kan främja gemenskapen bland elever samt lärarens tid och planering kring högläsning.    Resultatet visar bland annat, att samtliga lärare använder sig av högläsning som undervisningsform kontinuerligt varje vecka men att syftet och arbetssättet kring högläsningstillfället varierar. Alla lärare är dock eniga om att syftet med högläsning är främst att utveckla elevernas ordförråd och läsförståelse. Däremot anser merparten av lärarna att högläsning även fungerar som en lugnande stund för eleverna, vilket motsätter tidigare forskning.

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This study measured the effects of reading aloud informational books to fourth and sixth grade students in the inner city.

The aim of this study is to shed light on the educators´ insight and knowledge about the effects on children`s language development in a selection of Swedish preschools. The reason is that reading is done in different ways depending on what kind of preschool you visit. In this sense the study seeks to give an overview on differences and similarities among the selected Swedish preschools. The method that has been used in this study is a survey which has been sent out to the preschools in the chosen region. The theoretical starting point is the socio-cultural perspective and, in this sense, Vygotskijs thoughts about mind and language is highlighted. The results show that preschool teachers have insight and knowledge about the effects on children´s language development and that the environment is an important part of the reading procedure. All the preschool teachers pointed out the need of more pedagogical resources to make the reading as adapted to learning as possible based on the individual needs and conditions of all children.