RM Winter 2017 FINAL

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Reading Matters
Research Matters
| 36| Reading Matters | Volume 16 • Winter 2016 |
• Ensure student interest. Student interest is critical in authentic
literacy experiences. When students are corresponding with
pen pals, there is more situational interest in reading, writing,
and discussing literature (Gambrell et al., 2011; Nolen, 2007).
This situational interest can deepen into general interest in
reading and writing. Wollak and Koppenhaver (2011) found
that students reported they enjoy writing when writing
to an audience, expressing situational interest in their pen
pals. A few of those students claimed to love writing after
communicating with pen pals, when they hated it before
the project. They developed a greater general interest in
writing due to their participation in a pen pal project.
• Throughout this project, both sets of students were interested in
corresponding with each other. They enjoyed reading the novel,
writing their responses, and reading notes from pen pals. This
interest and enjoyment was often a strong motivator for third
graders and for preservice teachers. Therefore, it is critical that
you design projects that will spark and keep students’ interest.
• Use technology as a tool . Technology can be an important
component of authentic literacy correspondence. Research
indicates technology can facilitate communication and improve
student learning outcomes (Andes & Claffett, 2011; Boling, Castek,
Zawlinski, Barton & Nierlich, 2008; Larson, 2009; Mills & Levido,
2011; Yearta, Stover & Sease, 2015), increase student motivation
and enthusiasm towards writing (Couse & Chen, 2010; Mills &
Levido, 2011), and increase student attention towards the task
(Hitchcock & Noonan, 2000; Mechling, Gast, & Thompson, 2008).
• While this project was feasible without it, the addition of the
technology accelerated communication delivery, increased
access to student work as it was all in one location, and interested
third graders. It makes the project smoother. One potential risk
of using technology is that it can impede learning by being
distracting or too complicated. Therefore, we encourage you to
thoughtfully make decisions about how technology will enhance
your learning experience in ways that are appropriate for the task.
• Provide opportunities for students to generalize learning. Pen pal
are beneficial to student literacy development because they can
lead to increases in the quality of students’ writing, conceptual
understanding of the writing process, and overall self-efficacy
and motivation (Parsons &Ward, 2011; Tompkins et al., 2014;
Yearta et al., 2015). Pen pals positively influence the learning
of preservice teachers as these experiences can bridge their
learning about literacy in methods courses to actual experiences
with children (Austin, 2000; Draper, Barksdale-Ladd, & Radencich
2000; Moore & Seeger, 2009; Stover, Yearta & Sease, 2014; Yearta
et al., 2015). It provides them the opportunity to learn the
essential reading and writing skills of elementary students.
• In this project, the classroom teacher started with friendly
letter format and how to respond to texts. She then gave
students the opportunity to apply these skills on their own,
and learn more about how to correspond with their pen pals.
They were able to take specific strategies for the classroom
and apply it to real-life. Likewise, the preservice teachers
also had the opportunity to generalize their learning across
contexts. Content they learned in their course-work at Winthrop
became real and they were able to apply what they had
learned to authentic work and conversations with elementary
school students. Experiences like these are invaluable.
Conclusion
Throughout the book study project, students at both the
elementary and undergraduate levels learned from each
other. Both groups participated in authentic experiences that
allowed them to communicate with a very real, and motivated,
audience. Preservice teachers read writing samples from third
grade students, analyzed students’ connections to text and
their writing, and made thoughtful decisions about how to best
help their pen pals. This was a unique opportunity for them to
apply what they have learned in their coursework. Third grade
students learned how to make strong connections to texts, read
for meaning, and communicate their opinions through writing.
And we (university professors) remain committed to providing
these experiences in our teacher preparation program.
References
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connections across communities.The Reading Teacher, 64(5), 345-350.
Austin, P. (2000). Literary pen pals: Correspondence between university students
and elementary students. Reading Horizons, 40(4), 273-294.
Boling, E., Castek, J., Zawilinski, L., Barton, K., & Nierlich, T. (2008). Collaborative
literacy: Blogs and Internet projects.The Reading Teacher, 61, 504-506.
Couse, L. J., & Chen, D. W. (2010). A tablet computer for young children? Exploring
its viability for early childhood education.Journal of Research on Technology in
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Draper, M. C., Barksdale-Ladd, M. A., & Radencich, M. C. (2000). Reading and
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