Podcasting for the Promotion of Critical Literacies in a Kindergarten Classroom

• In Event: Teacher Research Group: A Third Space for Constructing a Counternarrative and Encouraging Teacher Action

Abstract

Critical literacy takes the approach that no text, whether it is a novel or a children’s picture book, is neutral. As a kindergarten teacher in a low-income, urban school, I take it upon myself to not ignore the fact that many of my students face institutional injustices, both directly and indirectly. One way in which to push back against these issues is to ensure that early on in their education my students are gaining critical awareness of the world around them and are able to critically engage with any text. This research project attempts to answer the question: How can the use of podcasting in a kindergarten classroom help students critically analyze and understand texts and broader issues of societal inequalities? My study took place over a 3-month period during which students were given the chance to listen to the same multicultural text as a part of their literacy center throughout one week. Then students were asked to write or draw responses to different questions each day that would promote critical engagement with the text. On the final day of the week students used their own personal script to record responses about the book onto computer software. After all student responses had been recorded, I compiled them into a classroom podcast to be listened to by parents, community members, and fellow teachers. The results of this quantitative research project reveal that when students in kindergarten are given the opportunity to think about a book in broader, analytical terms they are capable of drawing connections between themselves and the characters and, at times, understand the relevance of the theme to present day issues dealing with race, class, and gender. Thus, educators in all elementary grades should consider approaching literacy instruction from a critical lens in order to improve comprehension skills of their students and promote analytical thinking at an early age.

Miranda Schaeffer is currently in her second-year of Master’s coursework at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education. As a 2012 Teach For America corps member in Philadelphia, she is responsible for guided reading instruction across two kindergarten classrooms.

Author

• Miranda Schaeffer, University of Pennsylvania