Journal of the Effective Schools Project, Volume 18, 2011 Page: 14

lary instruction. These skills are
all areas recommended by the Na-
tional Reading Panel as elements
of an effective reading program
(National Institute of Child Health
and Human Development, 2000).
Therefore, it is imperative that pre-
service teachers learn and practice
the essential components of an ef-
fective reading program. As one
student stated in her journal, "It
has allowed me an opportunity to
learn and apply first-hand a wide
variety of activities geared toward
early literacy learning. The skills
addressed and used in the class-
room [at Tarleton] have given me
examples of how learning actually
occurs. I have gained not only
from a textbook point of view, but
also in the actual classroom envi-
ronment of participating in Book
Buddies (Kelly, personal commu-
nication, November 14, 2010). "
Learning to teach phonemic aware-
ness, phonics,and fluency to chil-
dren is not an easy task. Individu-
als can read about such tasks, but
without actually applying the strat-
egies with young learners, the pre-
service teachers will not be able to
fully grasp the concepts. Nothing
can create the learning experience
quite like real world applications.
Another Book Buddy participant
reported, "Learning the procedures
it takes to assist children with pho-
nemes, phonics, onset/rimes and so
forth had been a daunting task, but
I found it rewarding at the same
time. I really appreciate being a
part of the Book Buddy program. It
is very rewarding to be able to
work with children one-on-one. I
was able to do a mock TPRI with
my student. I was also able to be
free and creative with my student
in order to make the learning time
more meaningful (Jones, personal
communication, October 15,

2010).

Recent research indicates that
teachers do not feel adequate in
helping students with reading diffi-
culties. Self-efficacy can help a
teacher feel more confident in their
teaching abilities. Self-efficacy is
defined as a person's beliefs about
their abilities to perform at a cer-
tain level and to have an impact on
events that impact another per-
son's life (Bandura, 1994). Field
experiences can have a profound
effect on a teacher intern's feelings
of self-efficacy. Book Buddies was
implemented to help pre-service
teachers gain the confidence need-
ed to be assertive in helping stu-
dents learn to read and deal with
reading difficulties. Pre-service
teachers often start out feeling very
insecure in their abilities and do
not understand how difficult teach-
ing a child to read can actually be.
For example, two young teacher
interns reported the following dur-
ing a personal interview:
"The greatest asset I gained
from the experience was confi-
dence. " (Smith, personal com-
munication, October, 18)
"The best thing that has come
from my book buddy experience
is my dedication to learning.
The first week I was kind of shy
and quiet. But, now Iput on pup-
pet shows and do different voices
while reading for my buddy. It
really takes commitment to help
out your student in any way pos-
sible. I will take this experience
and build on it to be the best
teacher I can be (McDonald,
personal communication, No-
vember 10, 2010).
As students move through their
education program, they should be

Nothing can create
the learning experience
quite like real world
applications.

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