Investigating the Unit of Study Approach as a Way to Teach Writing to Early Childhood Education Preservice Teachers

Source: Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, Volume 35, Issue 3, 2014, pages 276-289

This study aimed to better understand the learning opportunities within a university writing methods course centering on a unit of study experience.
Specifically, the authors wanted to investigate what early childhood education preservice teachers (PSTs) learn about poetry and the writing process when engaged in a poetry unit of study.

The findings revealed that a unit of study format:
(a) served as a vehicle to deconstruct and develop new genre awareness;
(b) helped PSTs live process aspects of writing instruction; and
(c) supported PSTs in developing genre-specific knowledge through the use of mentor texts.