Curriculum vitae
INFORMAZIONI PERSONALI
Del Carlo Susanna
Parma (Italia)
Sesso Femminile | Nazionalità Italiana
OCCUPAZIONE PER LA QUALE
SI CONCORRE
ESPERIENZA
PROFESSIONALE
1/3/1991–9/3/1995
Funzionario di Biblioteca presso Servizio Organizzazione Biblioteche
Università degli Studi di Parma, Parma (Italia)
10/3/1995–30/4/1998
Capo Servizio Organizzazione Biblioteche
Università degli Studi di Parma
1/5/1998–alla data attuale
Capo Servizio Biblioteca Dipartimento Biologia evolutiva e funzionale
Università degli Studi di Parma, Parma (Italia)
31/12/2000–alla data attuale
Inquadramento giuridico e economico in Cat. EP
16/5/2005–alla data attuale
Sovraintendenza e Organizzazione delle Biblioteche Area Scientifica
27/7/2009–alla data attuale
Capo Servizio Biblioteca Interdipartimentale di Biochimica e Biologia
molecolare/Genetica, Antropologia, Scienze Ambientali
3/4/2014–alla data attuale
3/12/2014–alla data attuale
Membro del comitato di progetto Condivisione servizi UNIPR-UNIMORE- UNIFE
subprogetto N.1 Programmazione triennale 2013-2015 (DR LII N. 158)
Conferimento di incarico di cui al D.D. n.139/2014 di Responsabile dell'Unità
Organizzativa Specialistica (U.O.S.) "Medicine e Scienze"
ISTRUZIONE E FORMAZIONE
8/4/2009
Dottorato di ricerca in Scienze Umane XXI ciclo. Giudizio : Ottimo
Livello 8 QEQ
Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia (Italia)
6/1988
Laurea in Lingue e Letterature Straniere Moderne. Voto di laurea:
110/110 e lode
Livello 7 QEQ
Università degli Studi di Parma, Parma (Italia)
16/3/15
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Curriculum vitae
2/2002
Del Carlo Susanna
Corso di perfezionamento per la formazione del docente
documentalista scolastico
Livello 7 QEQ
Università degli Studi di Padova, Padova (Italia)
1991–1992
Attestato frequenza primo anno di corso della scuola di paleografia
archivista e diplomatica
Livello 4 QEQ
Archivio di Stato di Parma, Parma (Italia)
7/1983
Diploma di maturità linguistica. Voto: 58/60
Livello 4 QEQ
Liceo Scientifico G. Marconi, Parma (Italia)
6/2012
Cambridge ESOL Level B2
COMPETENZE PERSONALI
Lingua madre
italiano
Altre lingue
inglese
COMPRENSIONE
PARLATO
PRODUZIONE SCRITTA
Ascolto
Lettura
Interazione
Produzione orale
B2
C1
B2
B2
B2
Cambridge ESOL Level B2 - University of Cambridge
tedesco
A2
A2
A2
A2
A1
francese
A2
B1
A1
A1
A1
spagnolo
A1
A2
A1
A1
A1
Livelli: A1 e A2: Utente base - B1 e B2: Utente autonomo - C1 e C2: Utente avanzato
Quadro Comune Europeo di Riferimento delle Lingue
Competenze comunicative
Competenze organizzative e
gestionali
Ottime competenze relazionali e comunicative sviluppate nei diversi ambienti di lavoro, in numerose
esperienze di formazione (seminari e corsi) rivolte a gruppi eterogenei e soggetti di diverse età in sedi
sia nazionali che internazionali, nella conduzione di campi estivi per bambini e nei gruppi di
volontariato frequentati (ONG e Servizio Civile Internazionale),
- Buone competenze di team-leading acquisite in campo lavorativo ed extra-lavorativo
- Capacità e attitudine al lavoro di gruppo.
- Ottime competenze di gestione, coordinamento e sviluppo dei collaboratori
- Ottime competenze organizzative, gestionali e di coordinamento acquisite durante l'esperienza
lavorativa ed extra-lavorativa
Competenze professionali
Padronanza di tutti i processi e programmi di gestione interna di una biblioteca, dei servizi rivolti al
pubblico e ampia competenza nella formazione dell'utenza (studenti, docenti, ricercatori)
documentata da numerosi corsi e seminari svolti nel corso del tempo e in corso di attuazione in diversi
ambiti disciplinari.
Capacità progettuale documentata dai numerosi progetti migliorativi e innovativi realizzati con
successo nel corso del tempo nelle strutture di cui ho assunto la responsabilità e dagli obiettivi
raggiunti.
Competenza in ambito didattico documentata dai numerosi laboratori e attività di docenza condotti
Competenze informatiche
16/3/15
Buona padronanza dei sistemi informatici ad uso della ricerca e della didattica, competenza
nell'utilizzo dei programmi in ambiente Windows e Mac. Utilizzo professionale del pacchetto Office,
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Curriculum vitae
Del Carlo Susanna
Sebina (programma gestione dati bibliografici e acquisizioni), DSpace (Inserimento, gestione e
controllo metadati nel workflow delle tesi di dottorato di ambito biologico), Simonlib (programma di
misurazione e valutazione dei sistemi bibliotecari) , programmi per la gestione dei dati bibliografici
( EndNote, Mendeley) Nilde (fornitura documenti) Banche dati bibliografiche, OPAC, uso avanzato dei
motori di ricerca per la ricerca e documentazione bibliografica e scientifica in rete, programmi di posta
elettronica, Acrobat professional, Adobe connect, Publisher, social networks (skype, facebook),
Dropbox. Competenze base di SPSS, Linux, Microsoft Access.
Altre competenze
Patente di guida
4-12- 2007 nominata cultrice della materia nel settore M-PED 03 Pedagogia speciale e didattica
generale presso il Dipartimento di Educazione e Scienze Umane dell'Università Studi di
Modena e Reggio Emilia per l'anno accademico 2007-2008
B
ULTERIORI INFORMAZIONI
Pubblicazioni
DEL CARLO S. (2014).“Bella becca”. Libri per l’infanzia e modi di leggere degli adulti. Proposte
di lettura. BAMBINI. vol. 30, n. 6, p.79, ISSN: 0393-4209. (Articolo su rivista)
DEL CARLO (2012). “Bella becca”. Libri per l’infanzia e modi di leggere degli adulti. PARMA:
Edizioni junior-Spaggiari, 2012 (Volume monografico sull’Influenza delle diverse tipologie di testi
appartenenti alla letteratura per l’infanzia sugli stili di lettura dell’adulto/educatore)
DEL CARLO S; BERTOLINI C. (2008). Raccontare le favole.In: A. CONTINI; N. BARBIERI A CURA
DI. La fantasia del reale. Sguardi su Esopo e la favola. REGGIO EMILIA: Diabasis. ISBN: .(Articolo su
libro)
DEL CARLO S; CARDARELLO R. (2008). Punti di vista pedagogici sulla favola. In: A. CONTINI;
N. BARBIERI A CURA DI. La fantasia del reale. Sguardi su Esopo e la favola. REGGIO EMILIA:
Diabasis. ISBN: . (Articolo su libro)
DEL CARLO S. (2006). La scoperta della parola attraverso forme della narrazione popolare.
SCUOLA MATERNA. vol. 93; pp. III-X , ISSN: 0392-2820. (Articolo su rivista)
DEL CARLO (2010). Un’ indagine esplorativa presso l’utenza della biblioteca universitaria
interdipartimentale del Plesso Biologico
http://hdl.handle.net/1889/1490
DEL CARLO (2010). Le piazze del futuro: biblioteche in progress
http://hdl.handle.net/1889/1495
DEL CARLO S. (1994). OPAC (Online Public Access Catalog): guida operativa alla ricerca
bibliografica online con il sistema Dobis/Libis. Quaderni di informatica applicata, 16 Parma, Centro
Grafico.
Seminari
▪ Corsi e seminari di aggiornamento più recenti cui ho partecipato :
Horizon 2020 c/o Università degli Studi di Parma 26 gennaio 2015
A tutta natura. Esperienze educative sperimentali all'aria aperta per l'infanzia. Seminario di studio in
occasione settimana Unesco di Educazione allo Sviluppo Sostenibile. 29 novembre 2014 Tecnopolo
Reggio Emilia
Creativamente. Sentieri della creatività a scuola. Seminario di studio in occasione del decennale del
Dipartimento di Educazione e Scienze Umane. C/o Università degli Studi di Modena Reggio Emilia 25
novebre 2014.
Giornata di studio Nati per Leggere. Cosa dobbiamo ancora sapere di NpL? Dagli studi alle buone
pratiche: La lettura dialogica. Conoscere e riconoscere buoni libri per promuovere NpL. Reggio Emilia,
25 ottobre 2014:
Open Access come e perchè. Università degli Studi di Udine, 29 gennaio 2014
WOS enhanced (banca dati citazionale multidisciplinare) 5 marzo 2014 Settore Biblioteche Università
Studi di Parma
Corso di introduzione all'analisi bibliometrica. Università degli studi di Modena, 17 luglio 2014.
16/3/15
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Curriculum vitae
Del Carlo Susanna
Docente: Dott. Nicola De Bellis
Mendeley Institutional edition. Settore biblioteche Università Studi di Parma, 22 luglio 2014.
Utilizzo di Incites per la bibliometria. Settore Biblioteche Università Studi di Parma 3 agosto 2014
Biblioteche in cerca di alleati. Oltre la cooperazione verso nuove strategie di cooperazione. Palazzo
Stelline Milano 14 marzo 2013.
http://lea.unipr.it/course/view.php?id=341 (Sezione contributi)
Altre attività di aggiornamento:
London School of Economics, London. 7-8 dicembre 2009. Visita e incontro di aggiornamento e
confronto con lo staff della LSE Academic Library. Relazione: http://hdl.handle.net/1889/1490
Progetti
Ultimi progetti realizzati e in corso nell'anno 2014:
Marzo-agosto 2014. Progetto di riorganizzazione e razionalizzazione dei servizi biblioteche del
Dipartimento di Bioscienze.
Progetto Ufficio bibliometrico (Incarico conferito il 3 aprile 2014 con DR LII N.158)
Progetto in collaborazione con il CCL: Information literacy formazione di 25 ore rivolta agli studenti
della laurea magistrale in Biologia e applicazioni biomediche con assegnazione di 1 CFU nell'ambito
del tirocinio formativo. Svolgimento Aprile -Maggio 2015.
Progetto in collaborazione con i CCL: formazione studenti terzo anno sulla ricerca bibliografica online.
Workshops settimanali di 3 ore ciascuno per gli studenti dei corsi di laurea in Biologia, Biotecnologie e
Scienze della natura e dell’ambiente. Periodo di svolgimento : ottobre 2014 - gennaio 2015.
Progetti precedenti:
2000-2004 Università degli Studi di Parma. Partecipazione al progetto di formazione rivolta agli
studenti universitari dal titolo "Utente indipendente" e successivamente “ Dalla biblioteca alla rete:
scegliere ed utilizzare al meglio gli strumenti per la ricerca bibliografica”.
2001-2004: Membro del Progetto Poliennale "CampusOne" per i Servizi di Information & Technology
Communication (ICT) di Ateneo. Università Studi di Parma.
Conduzione dei seguenti seminari
e corsi tenuti in ambito lavorativo:
Seminari, laboratori e corsi condotti presso l'Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia,
Facoltà di Scienze della Formazione:
2015 gennaio: incarico di docenza per il laboratorio di didattica della lettura e della comprensione
presso Corso di Laurea Scienze della formazione M-PED 03. 12 ore
2007: Stili di lettura durante la lettura congiunta ad alta voce: linterazione verbale tra adulto e
bambino. Laboratorio rivolto agli studenti della Facoltà di Scienze della Formazione di complessive
ore 12 integrato nel corso di Pedagogia Speciale 12 ore (Università Modena Reggio Emilia).
2006: Letture e colori dei mondi di Esopo: la favola tra narrazione e pittura. Laboratorio di
approfondimento pedagogico sul tema della narrazione della favola e lettura del testo iconico svolto in
occasione della mostra I mondi di Esopo e rivolto agli studenti della Facoltà di Scienze della
Formazione. Ore complessive 16, 2 CFU.
2006: Organizzazione del convegno "La fantasia del reale. I mondi di Esopo". Facoltà di Scienze della
Formazione Università degli Studi di Reggio Emilia. Organizzazione della visite delle scuole materne
ed elementari alla mostra I mondi di Esopo tenutasi in occasione del convegno e relative attività
didattiche rivolte ai bambini e agli studenti universitari (didattica dellarte).
2003-2004: incarico di docenza per il laboratorio di Informatica rivolto agli studenti del Corso di Laurea
in Scienze della Formazione Primaria. 16 ore.
2003-2004: La ricerca bibliografica in rete: risorse informative in ambito pedagogico. Laboratorio
rivolto agli studenti del IV anno della Facoltà di Scienze della Formazione di complessive ore 12.
2005: docenza corso di formazione rivolto a docenti, ricercatori e supervisori della Facoltà di Scienze
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Del Carlo Susanna
della Formazione sulla ricerca bibliografica in rete: risorse informative in ambito pedagogico. 6,5 ore.
2007: La ricerca bibliografica in rete: risorse informative in ambito pedagogico. N. 2 Laboratori rivolti
agli studenti e dottorandi della Facoltà di Scienze della Formazione Università Modena e Reggio
Emilia di ore 16 ciascuno.
Attività didattica svolta in altre sedi in ambito extra lavorativo:
2003-2004: Comune di Rubiera (Modena) . Action research . Docenza corso di formazione e
ricerca/azione rivolto agli insegnanti scuola materna ed elementare sulla didattica, promozione della
lettura e processi di alfabetizzazione (percorso della durata di 1 anno scolastico, 26 giornate).
2005: Comune di Castellarano (Reggio Emilia). Docenza corso "Lettura e interpratazione dei testi".
rivolto a insegnanti di scuola materna e elementare. 10 ore.
2005-2006: Comune di Castellarano (Reggio Emilia). Docenza corso di formazione insegnanti scuola
materna ed elementare di Castellarano (Reggio Emilia) della durata di 10 ore. Titolo del corso: "Oralità
e scrittura nell'ambito della continuità tra scuola materna ed elementare: un percorso tra fiaba e
narrazione popolare"
Seminari e corsi condotti presso Università Studi di Parma:
2001-2002: Università Studi di Parma. Incarico di professore a contratto per il corso di attività didattica
integrativa di "Risorse online per la ricerca bibliografica" presso il corso di Laurea in Scienze Naturali
della Facoltà di Scienze per l'AA2001/2002.
2002: Università studi di Parma. Incarico di docenza nell’ambito del Master I livello in Comunicazione
naturalistica Facoltà di Scienze sull'argomento " Strumenti e metodi per la ricerca in rete". Corso di
laurea in Scienze Naturali. 10 ore. Ref. Prof. Parisi.
2001: Università studi di Parma. Docenza nell'ambito del corso "Abilità informatiche" . Ref. Prof.
Sergio De Iasio. 8 ore.
2002: Università studi di Parma. Docenza nell'ambito del corso "Abilità informatiche" Prof. Sergio De
Iasio. 8 ore.
2002-2003: Università studi di Parma. Docenza 1° Modulo corso Applicazioni informatiche
sull'argomento "Risorse online per la ricerca bibliografica" , 12 ore + 4 esercitazione e prova finale.
Ref. Prof. Massimo Manghi
25 gennaio 2002:Università Studi di Parma.Presentazione del paper "I periodici elettronici online".
Centro S. Elisabetta. Convegno promosso dal Settore Biblioteche.
2003: Università Studi di Parma. Docenza e Coordinamento Seminario rivolto agli studenti della
Facoltà di Scienze corso di Laurea per la Conservazione e il Restauro dei Beni Culturali 5-27 maggio.
15 ore, 2 CFU.
2005:Università Studi di Parma. Incarico di docenza per Corso di formazione educatori nido d'infanzia
sulla lettura ad alta voce. 8 ore.
2006: Università Studi di Parma. Incarico di docenza per seminario sulla ricerca bibliografica in rete
per Coordinatori Scolastici FISM. 4 ore.
2005: Università studi di Parma. Docenza nell’ambito del Master in Scienza e tecnologia per lo
sviluppo sostenibile in siti contaminati, Dip. Scienze Ambientali, sull'argomento " Banche dati
specialistiche e strumenti per il recupero dell’informazione". 7 ore, CFU 1. Ref. Prof. Marmiroli.
Conferimento di incarico di Professore a contratto.
2010-2012: Università degli Studi di Parma. Attività didattica integrativa sulla ricerca bibliografica in
rete: 5 ore frontali + esercitazioni individuali e verifica finale - integrato nel corso di biotecnologie e
rivolto agli studenti del secondo/terzo anno. Progetto in collaborazione con Prof.ssa Elena Maestri.
2013-2014: Università degli Studi di Parma. Docenza seminari di 3 ore ciascuno sulla ricerca
bibliografica in rete e risorse informative in ambito scientifico rivolti agli studenti della laurea triennale e
specialistica frequentanti i corsi di Biologia, Biotecnologie, Scienze della natura e dell’ambiente,
Università Studi di Parma. Progetto in collaborazione con la Prof.ssa Annamaria Sanangelantoni
(partecipazione di circa 200 studenti – attività facoltativa extra curriculum).
2013-2014: Università degli Studi di Parma.Formazione di 3 ore rivolta ai Ph.D visiting students
(Russia, Ucraina, Serbia) sull' uso degli strumenti online per la ricerca scientifica. Ref.Dott. Aliosha
Malcevschi, Prof. ssa Elena Maestri
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Seminari condotti presso altre istituzioni:
18 aprile 2009 Adulti, libri e bambini nei luoghi della lettura. Fondazione Biblioteca Astense, Asti.
8 novembre 2013 Seminario formativo promosso dai Servizi Educativi Comune di Parma rivolto a tutti
gli insegnanti dei nidi e scuole dell’infanzia del Comune di Parma, 3 ore.
15 novembre 2013 Seminario formativo Nati per Leggere: “Comunicare Nati per Leggere e l’offerta
delle biblioteche ai bambini e alle loro famiglie” rivolto a bibliotecari, pediatri, operatori sociosanitari,
educatori di nido e scuola dell'infanzia, Pavia, 3 ore.
13 aprile 2013 Seminario formativo/laboratorio promosso dalla Fondazione Biblioteca Astense rivolto
a tutti gli insegnanti scuola dell’infanziae elementare del Comune di Asti, 3 ore.
28 ottobre 2013 Coordinamento provinciale Nati per Leggere Seriate (BG): seminario formativo rivolto
a educatori, bibliotecari e insegnanti della provincia di Bergamo, 3 ore.
1 marzo 2013 Biblioteca Nonantola – incontro formativo per educatori, genitori e insegnanti, 3 ore.
21 ottobre 2014: Seminario formativo “Leggere ai bambini:cosa, come e perché” rivolto a educatori,
operatori asili nido, cooperative, associazioni gioco-bambini, genitori e insegnanti primo ciclo.
Promosso da Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano Assessorato alla Cultura italiana in occasione di
Spaziolib(e)ro incontri con autori, letteratura, territorio, 3 ore.
Appartenenza a
gruppi/associazioni
Associazione Italiana Scuole Waldorf (Rudolf Steiner Società antroposofica)
A.I.B. Associazione Italiana Biblioteche
Mag6 associazione per la finanza etica
C.A.I. Club Alpino Italiano
Servizio Civile Internazionale
Presentazioni
DEL CARLO (2009). Presentazione del Paper "Reading to preschool children: influence of text
type on patterns of interaction between teachers and children", JURE 13th international
conference (Junior Researchers of EARLI), Amsterdam 25-29 agosto 2009 (si veda documento
allegato)
DEL CARLO (2012). The Interdepartmental Biology Library services and ideas for
improvement: a library users survey. Presentazione della biblioteca e servizi bibliotecari rivolta ai
Visiting Professors (Russia) del Dip.di Bioscienze presso Centro S. Elisabetta. Università Studi di
Parma, giugno 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/1889/1845
Presentazioni della monografia “Bella becca” nel corso dell’anno 2013 presso:
Fiera del libro per ragazzi Bologna -Stand A.I.B Emilia Romagna (26 marzo)
Libreria Feltrinelli Parma (27 settembre)
Festival Lettura Minimondi Parma (24 marzo)
Festival “Leggere è (da) grande!” presso Biblioteca Astense ( Asti) (13 aprile)
Langhirano Legge 2° Festa del libro per ragazzi , genitori insegnanti e curiosi di ogni età, Comune di
Langhirano (Parma) (6 dicembre)
Referenze
Prof.ssa Roberta Cardarello, Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia
Prof. Enver Bardulla Dipartimento A.L.E.F, Università degli Studi di Parma
Prof. Nelson Marmiroli Dipartimento di Bioscienze, Università degli Studi di Parma
Prof. Elena Maestri Dipartimento di Bioscienze, Università degli Studi di Parma
Prof.ssa Donatella Stilli Dipartimento di Bioscienze, Università degli Studi di Parma
Ing. Barbara Panciroli Dirigente 6^ Area Dirigenziale - Ricerca e Sistema Bibliotecario Università Studi
di Parma,
ALLEGATI
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▪ paper-agosto-2009- Amsterdam.pdf
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Del Carlo Susanna
paper-agosto-2009- Amsterdam.pdf
Susanna Del Carlo
University of Modena and Reggio Emilia – Italy
PhD Tutor: Prof. Roberta Cardarello
[email protected]
Presentation PhD Dissertation
Amsterdam August 2009
EARLI Jure Conference
Reading to preschool children: influence of text features on teachers' interactional
reading patterns
Abstract
Shared book reading with young children by adults is an experience central to emergent literacy.
Research on the processes involved in shared reading has shown that adults and children set up
interactive routines for accomplishing story reading together at home and at school. There is
evidence of significant differences in the way teachers read books to the whole class. Variation in
teachers' reading styles has prompted researchers to investigate the role of the text as a critical
variable in the interaction. The objectives of this research were to describe book reading events in
Italian preschool settings with an ethnographic approach and to investigate textual features of
children's books as variation factors in the practice of shared reading in classrooms. Six teachers
and five classes in two kindergarten school settings were involved in a twelve-week observation
programme. The first phase consisted of qualitative data collection through observations with handwritten notes, audio tape recordings of naturally occurring book reading events and conversations
with teachers. Transcriptions of the book reading events were analyzed with reference to
international literature on reading styles. The results indicated that, rather than specific reading
styles, teachers show different «reading formats» (verbal and text-related behaviors occurring
before, during and after text reading). In the second phase, a considerable quantity of preschool
children's books were analyzed to identify recurrent language and structure characteristics which
could lead to a specific genre definition. The teachers were later asked to read four different book
genres (3 narratives and 1 information book) chosen by research staff, transcripts of which were
compared to previous findings. The results indicated that teachers' reading formats and interactions
vary as an effect of different book genres. Information book showed the most reading format
variations, increased amount of verbal interaction and child participation. Quantitative data analysis
is still in progress.
Keywords
Reading aloud, preschool children, reading styles, reading formats, children's book genres
Research problem
In the last few decades a large number of studies on book reading have been centered on the quality
and quantity of mother-child interaction patterns from the perspective of children's emergent
literacy development; this has led to a definition of different mothers' reading styles. With the same
perspective, more recent research has focused on classroom storybook reading during preschool
years as a crucial activity for literacy growth, especially for low-SES children, and has shown
relevant context differences compared to home reading. Depending on context variables, teachers
show different reading styles which have been defined mostly from a quantitative approach.
1
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Different reading styles have been described as a result of cluster analysis of verbal categories
(discourse single units or utterances1) of adult talk.
The present need is for studies that are naturalistic and systematic in terms of observation and
context analysis in Italian school settings and for describing book reading events in Italian
kindergarten with reference to international studies. Rather than on different reading styles based on
a combination of single units or coded categories of verbal interaction, research could focus on
reading events as reading formats that reflect the most salient features of the interactional patterns
based on what happens before, during and after text reading in terms of both verbal and text-related
adult behaviors. Kindergarten teachers demonstrate their book reading styles as they read different
types of texts to whole classrooms. Text genre is a critical context variable of book reading event
management. Research studies have demonstrated that text characteristics could have effects on
teachers' book reading styles and on adult/child interaction. Genre characteristics and text features
have been analyzed mostly for their effects on emergent literacy skills. This study focused to text
features analysis of Italian children's literature and their effects on kindergarten teachers' reading
formats with a naturalistic approach.
Introduction/Theoretical background
Shared book reading with young children by adults has been studied in the past few decades starting
from analysis of home literacy events. Literacy is a process by which children develop basic skills
for later success at school and in life. Literacy skills include decontextualized language knowledge,
text comprehension, print convention knowledge, word and letter recognition, phonological
awareness, emergent reading or environmental print knowledge, and emergent writing (Whitehurst
& Lonigan, 1998). The cognitive level of adult demands prompts children to display different
responses and literacy skills. For this reason, several past studies have attempted to define and
categorize adult verbal strategies during book reading according to cognitively challenging levels:
lower demand strategies (e.g. labeling), intermediate demand strategies (e.g. describing or inferring
similarities/differences) and higher demand strategies (e.g. evaluating, inferring cause-effect)
(Pellegrini, Brody, & Sigel, 1985a, 1985b). The identification of maternal interactive reading
approaches as the result of verbal category clusters has led to the definition of different reading
styles. Basically, the interactive style has been defined as immediate if characterized by bookfocused utterances (labeling, filling-in and pointing), and as non-immediate if characterized by
high-demand strategies like bridging, inferences, predictions, evaluative comments or discussions
on vocabulary (DeTemple, 2001). Interactive non-immediate talk has shown particularly positive
effects on children's emergent literacy skills.
Reading aloud in preschool settings has shown different characteristics depending on context
variables: whole class setting, group size, mixed ages of children, different socio-cultural levels,
and teachers’ different beliefs and goals (Morrow & Smith, 1990; Smith, 2001; Zevenbergen &
Whitehurst, 2003). Nevertheless, thoughtful analytical conversations during book reading can play
a crucial role in supporting children’s literacy development (Tabors, Snow, & Dickinson, 2001).
Teachers show different reading styles according to different aims and approaches to literary events
(Martinez & Teale, 1993). Dickinson & Smith (1994) described the overall nature of teacher-child
interactions. Teachers’ talk coding was conducted at three levels: first, they distinguished between
utterances made before, during and after reading; next, they distinguished between request for
information, responses to requests, and spontaneous offers of information; finally, each utterance
was coded for its specific content in a sociocognitive conceptual framework and divided into three
1
«sequence separated from other speech by a pause or as a grammatically complete string of words» (Sénéchal,
Cornell, & Broda, 1995, p. 323).
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categories corresponding to cognitively challenging demand levels (high or analytic, lower and
management interaction).
On the basis of the results of a multistep analytic procedure, they isolated three distinct holistic
approaches to book reading which usually occurred within preschool classrooms and which reflect
the most salient features of interactional patterns:
- co-constructive approach: interactive style characterized by considerably high cognitively
challenging talk as books are read, and limited talk before and after reading. It reflects
teachers aims to find productive ways to discuss books
- didactic-interactional approach: characterized by limited talk, recalls of recently read text
and a high proportion of talk dealing with organizational matters. It reflects teachers' efforts
to keep children involved and the desire to encourage children to engage with texts by
recalling information of a clearly specified type.
- performance-oriented approach: includes little talk during the book reading, most talk taking
place before and after reading. Talk tends to be analytic in nature and task organization talk
during reading is rare. Follow-up discussions are conducted in two distinct ways:
reconstructing the story or linking the book to children’s life experiences. This approach
treats the reading of books as a performance that is to be enjoyed.
Other researchers have investigated teachers' reading styles, coming up with comparable results.
Reese et al. (2003) defined a describer style corresponding to low demand strategies, a
comprehender style characterized by higher demand strategies and a performance-oriented style. A
performance-oriented approach could offer an attractive alternative to interactive non-immediate
talk in large group school settings.
Several studies have demonstrated that text genres and linguistic features could have effects on
quality and quantity of adult verbal strategies as well as on children's participation in book events,
literacy skills and knowledge of different textual features. Children’s books can essentially be
divided into two main genres: expository and narrative. Potter (2000) describes expository texts as
different kinds of books which include descriptions, enumerations, sequences, procedures,
comparisons/contrasts, persuasion and cause/effect. Expository or information books are
distinguished from narrative ones in that they expose knowledge and information. Narrative is
based on action and events in a chronological and sequential order. The structural characteristics of
narrative text has led to the definition of two different types: narrative (strong) based on a story
grammar2 (Stein & Glenn, 1979) and narrative (weak) with little or no story grammar (Shapiro &
Hudson, 1991). These structural differences could have effects on story comprehension, memory
recall skills and children's participation. Reading weak narratives (stories are picture-dependent)
can be an occasion for talk about the pictures to explain the story but relatively little participation
by children (Elster, 1998). Strong narrative texts stimulate adult utterances like bridging and
recalling, that is, interaction around the meaning of the story and connections beyond text (Neuman,
1996) or life-to-text interactions (Cochran-Smith, 1984). There are also linguistic features which
could distinguish narrative texts. Predictability levels of text language (repetitive structure such as
refrains, sentence/words pattern repetition) can generate expectations of what the text is going to
say. Episodic predictable (e.g. The little red hen by Galdone) and highly predictable texts (e.g.
Henny Penny by Zimmermann) involve a collaborative form of reading together with parents and
children interactively responding to rhyme and rhythms of text. Chiming and repeating generated
by predictable and highly predictable text have been defined as low cognitive demand talk but could
help low proficient readers and encourage children to talk and engage more in stories (Neuman,
1996).
Other studies have shown that with familiar expository texts mothers use more high demand
strategies and metalinguistic verbs than with narrative ones, and that children have more initiations
(Pellegrini, Jane, Perlmutter, & Brody, 1990). Narrative as a primary assumption could be re2
Based on the sequence: initial event, character reaction, plan, attempts, and problem solution
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examined and discussed. Pappas (1993) argued that at an early age children acquire a rudimentary
awareness that writing is used for different purposes and are also able to re-enact information
books. Children exposed to information texts do not search for narrative elements, and use more
connections to their personal knowledge and experience so they can develop vocabulary, widen
general knowledge, improve the quality and range of demands, and develop critical thinking and
problem solving (Reese & Harris, 1997). Reading expository alphabet books can enhance word and
letter recognition and phonological awareness (Smolkin, Yaden, Brown, & Hofius, 1992).
Nevertheless, teachers and parents usually read few expository/information books to preschool
children (Yopp & Yopp, 2006).
Text genres and book reading in school settings have been investigated according to different
reading approaches. Teachers devise a number of effective techniques to introduce each book, to
help children comprehend during book reading and to discuss the book afterwards. Mason,
Peterman, & Kerr (1989) looked at how kindergarten teachers shared different genres with their
children. For example, when reading information books, before reading teachers prepared children
through demonstrations; during reading they emphasized vocabulary and concept building and
based discussions on questions posed in the texts themselves; after reading they made suggestions
as to possible follow up activities. With narrative books, before reading teachers introduced
information about authors, and emphasized prediction and interpretation of story actions and
characters’ motivations; after reading, they reviewed the story with the children.
Research questions
The study addresses the following questions:
1) Do teachers’ reading styles, as defined according to international literature, find
correspondence in Italian preschool teachers?
2) Is text genre a critical variable on book reading events?
Objectives
The first objective of this research study was to describe shared book reading in an Italian preschool
setting and to recognize different teachers' reading styles and behaviors according to international
literature. As reading style definition is the result not only of the analysis and categorization of
adult-child verbal interaction, this research study was aimed at describing book reading events in
school settings through the identification and definition of more synthetic reading styles according
to a holistic perspective (Mason et al. 1989, Dickinson & Smith, 1994) (formats or book reading
event managements).
The second objective of the study was to explore the hypothesis that book genres could influence
book reading event management. First, we explored the structural and linguistic features of
children's book genres and we selected books for the quasi-experiment phase; secondly, we
investigated the effects of the features of different books on teachers' book reading event
management in terms of variations on previously defined formats.
Hypotheses
Teachers' book reading event management may show considerable variations depending on book
types. In accordance with theoretical and empirical findings of the literature, we hypothesized that:
- teachers adopt individual reading formats
- Text features affect teachers' book reading behaviors (formats) and interaction with children
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As regard to text features we specifically hypothesized:
- with expository or information books, teachers will enhance interaction and children’s
participation. Discussions will be concentrated before and during reading, focusing on
illustrations, with no text recall after reading. Information books will show greater book
reading format variations.
- with strong narrative texts they will show no variations on book reading format. Teachers
will adopt final recalling of the story.
- with weak narrative texts they will emphasize on story telling through illustrations
description, with less child participation.
- with predictable texts they will enhance interaction based on predictions, chiming,
sentence/word filling-in, with active child participation.
Method
The first and second objectives were investigated with an ethnographic approach. For a threemonth period the researcher conducted non-participant observations in two Italian kindergartens
(five classes with 27 children each). The first phase consisted of daily visits during the children's
school time within school settings. Hand-written notes of naturally occurring reading events and
informal interviews with teachers on their book reading beliefs were the basis for setting up the first
qualitative data base. Subsequently six volunteer teachers (in-service teachers with long school
experience) were recruited and individually audio recorded during 3 naturally occurring book
reading sessions each. Teachers freely chose books from school libraries. Transcripts and
qualitative analysis of these events constitute our first data base. Each reading session was
transcribed verbatim and analyzed in order to define individual teachers' book reading event
management (formats) (see Results section: Table 2). A verbal and book-related behavior
descriptive model was constructed according to international literature on book reading styles
examined and according to outstanding behaviors emerging from observation and qualitative data .
This model included the following indexes:
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The second phase consisted of a quasi-experiment with experimental book selection. A certain
number of Italian children’s books were analyzed following international literature classification of
book genres and linguistic features, and four different books were selected according to the
following criteria:
- texts should be representative examples of some clearly defined genres of early children’s
literature
- texts should be published in Italian language
- texts should be picture books suitable for whole class reading (clear illustrations, medium
size and length )3.
- texts should be new to children of both school settings4
- texts should be suitable for mixed age groups (3- to 6-year-old children)
- text genres ordinarily read in kindergarten settings (we excluded, for example, alphabet
books as this kind of book is not usually read in preschool settings as they reveal specific
didactic purposes which were not pursued by the teachers observed ).
The six volunteer teachers were audio recorded during 4 reading sessions each. They were asked to
read, in their naturally occurring way, four books each. Hand notes of observed reading sessions,
informal interviews with teachers after book readings and final focus group were the basis for the
setting up of the second qualitative data base. Transcripts were analyzed following the previous
descriptive model.
Teachers' individual reading formats resulting from the previous analysis were compared with
experimental book reading analysis. Variations are reported in the results section (see Table 3-4).
3
Books without pictures are not normally read to preschool children in whole class settings
Previous studies have demonstrated that repeated read-aloud could modify interaction (Elster & Walker, 1992; McGee
& Schickedanz, 2007)
4
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Materials
Four books selected5 by researcher for the quasi-experiment are the following:
1. What’s up? by M. Manning, B. Granström, Editoriale Scienza, 2002 (information book),
p. 31. This book describes the journey of two children from their playground to the world
of the stars. Appealing illustrations are matched with captions which provide scientific
information in a simple and rich language.
2. A ce soir (See you tonight) by J. Ashbé, Babalibri, 2007, p. 24. Weak narrative based on a
chronological sequence of activities (play time, lunch and sleep time, going home time)
which describes a typical nursery school day. Rhyme is the linguistic feature of this book.
3. Pedra, pau e palla (Stones, wood and straw) by A. Presunto, J. Rodés, Logos, 2007 p. 40:
traditional strong narrative following the story grammar pattern. It tells how three little
girls left alone by their wood man father manage to escape to a big bear in the forest who
wants to eat them. We can recognize in the story all the grammar elements and canonical
triplication of events.
4. The little red hen, by B. Barton, Babalibri, 2003, p. 30: narrative text based on a episodic
predictable linguistic structure. The predictable structure is iterated 6 times. The little red
hen asks for help (“who will plant this wheat?”), which is constantly refused by her friends
(“Not I” said the cat, “Not I” said the mouse, “Not I” said the dog).
We were not able to find any highly predictable text (e.g. Henny Penny) as mentioned by literature.
Such linguistic structures find no correspondence in Italian children’s books publishing.
Results
Visits and observations carried out in the first phase led to the following general results:
- book reading events in Italian school settings are addressed to whole class and mixed aged
groups (3 to 6 years old)
- sessions always take place in a designated reading area where children and teacher can
interact
- books chosen by teachers are mainly narratives and picturebooks
- only a few children interact with teachers during book reading, usually the older ones.
Analysis of reading session transcripts and qualitative data collected allowed for the recognition and
description of teachers' different reading styles and behaviors.
Teachers' individual book reading behaviors were analyzed in terms of :
- Verbal and book-related behaviors before, during and after reading.
- Characteristics and amount of verbal interactions
- Comparison to reading style models as identified by international literature
- Teachers' beliefs and goals with regard to book reading (informal interviews and final focus
group)
As hypothesized, we could not find an exact correspondence of reading styles defined by fixed
literature models. Teachers showed different individual reading formats, as summarized in the
following table:
5
These books are published in Italian language. I give here their original titles and English translation
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Table 2
Although some of them showed styles partially referable to literature models (teacher no. 2 showed
performance-oriented style, teacher no. 4 didactic–interactional style and teacher no. 5 coconstructive style) there are substantial differences which do not allow for the identification of
teachers' styles with defined literature models (Dickinson & Smith, 1994, Reese et al., 2003).
Besides, teachers 1 and 3 showed interactive styles but we could not recognize any proximity to
specific literature models. Teacher no. 6 showed similarities with the describer style concerning
demand level (low demand strategies) but not concerning interaction initiative.
Teacher 2 showed a performance-oriented style in terms of use of voice tone to play characters'
roles and final recall of story events, and connections to children’s life experiences; however, she
did not introduce the characters by soliciting predictions prior to reading, she never interrupted
during the actual reading (performance-oriented style prefigures a little talk during reading, at least
to discuss or analyze vocabulary) and she did not provide analytic discussion (inferences and
evaluations) after reading.
Book reading styles as defined by fixed literature models need to be integrated with other elements
to describe effectively teachers’ reading formats according to a holistic perspective. For example
teacher 2 never showed book illustrations during reading but only after reading as she reconstructed
the story with the children. Discussion with children could start only at that time. Practically, we
could recognize a strong influence on the reading style of specific book-related behaviors (e.g.
showing pictures only after reading).
An overall analysis of teachers' reading formats led to the following results:
- verbal adult/child interaction is positively correlated to book picture observation/discussion
- book reading event length is positively correlated to the amount of discussion after reading
- Teachers' formats are strictly related to their individual beliefs and goals regarding book
reading activity.
- Group context may influence verbal interaction quality. Teachers mainly involved in
organizational tasks use a certain amount of managing utterances.
An analysis of reading session transcripts and qualitative data collected during the second phase
enabled us to identify significant variations in the teachers’ reading formats. From an overall
analysis the following results emerged :
- text genres and linguistic features strongly influenced the teachers' reading formats
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-
the most salient variations concerned picture management and interaction during reading
the teachers changed their reading formats particularly with information book
book reading event length of information book was extended by interaction during reading
and not by discussion after reading.
The following tables summarize two specific representative examples. Variations are highlighted in
grey:
Table 3
Teacher 2 (close to performance-oriented style) significantly varied her format with the information
book. She:
- displayed interaction initiatives during reading
- showed pictures during reading
- used no text recall after reading
- extended book reading event length
Table 4
Teacher 6, who was usually scarcely interactive, showed significant variations with the information
book. She:
- showed interaction initiatives during reading
- extended book reading event length
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-
showed pictures to children during reading
showed cover and title
The second greatest variations concerned weak narrative. Specifically, most of the teachers
observed did final text recall and connected to children’s experiences, discussed cover content,
introduced the book topic before reading .
Teacher 5 (close to co-constructive style) who usually did not reconstruct the story after reading
with weak narrative she did twice: first she reconstructed the story events sequence, then she
reconstructed children’s experience of a typical school day events sequence. Besides she introduced
soliciting predictions the story topic and content:
Table 5
We can summarize the results concerning individual selected book reading in relationship to the
initial hypotheses as follows:
-
-
-
the information book showed most significant variations in the majority of book reading
events observed. Amount and variety of interaction, book reading event length, children's
participation and focus on pictures all increased. Our hypotheses were confirmed also
regarding behaviours before, during and after reading: discussions were confined to before
(introduction to the topic) and during reading, with no text recall after reading.
Predictable text increased adult interactivity based on chiming, predictions and children's
participation. The hypotheses were confirmed in half of the book reading events examined.
Strong narrative text produced no variation in book reading event format in most of the
cases examined; only teacher 6 showed significant variations in book reading event format:
she showed more interaction initiative than usual during and after the reading of the text.
Hypothesis of final recall of story text is not confirmed (only 2 of the 6 teachers displayed
it).
Weak narrative confirmed in all cases the following hypothesis: teachers laid more emphasis
on picture observation to support the story telling. The hypothesis of less child participation
is not confirmed. Only teacher 4 showed scarce child participation. We did not hypothesize
discussion prior to reading (comments and questions about cover and title) which 5 of the 6
teachers displayed (probably because teachers felt that it was not a traditional story). Rhyme
induced no hypothesized behavior: teachers read this book strictly conforming to text
feature, possibly in order to preserve the rhyme.
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Discussion
Our results extend prior work by supplying documentation to book reading events in Italian school
settings and preschool children. Starting from a representative sample, we pursued an intensive
rather than extensive research. This study demonstrates the value of using a naturalistic approach to
describe teachers’ reading formats as the result of behaviours which are effects of more general
specific context conditions. Different book reading event components could affect each other.
From a qualitative perspective we were able to identify reading formats comparable to patterns
deriving from literature referring to literacy. It would seem that teachers naturally adopt one
approach or a relatively small set of approaches to reading with children, but that they tend not to be
aware of these patterns. Some teachers may naturally shift their approach as they respond to factors
such as book genre, although informing preschool teachers of varied ways of reading books could
allow them to shift more flexibly between approaches in response to situational variables
(children’s level, age and group dimension).
Previous studies finding strong effects for a particular type of interaction imply that teachers may be
able to support children’s literacy growth using different overall approaches to reading books as
long as they include at least some child-involved interactive and analytical talk. Literacy
development associated with different reading approaches may also implicate book choice. Various
book features in full group use may have strategic effects on literacy components and children’s
involvement. This study showed that a varied diet of books may strongly influence teachers' reading
approaches, benefiting the quantity and quality of interaction, and enhance children's participation
in book reading events.
This study did not enable us to investigate literacy implications, as this would have required
different methods, instruments and research design; however, we were able to consider our research
as a starting point towards further future investigation in this direction. This study suggests that
future identification of the effects of book genres on literacy skills, in particular on story
comprehension, may be our next challenge.
We hope for the achievement of quantitative analysis (categorization and quantification of verbal
utterances) which could demonstrate the correlation between the holistic components of verbal
interaction and specific verbal interaction characteristics as defined by the literature on reading
styles.
Limits
Books’ sample for quasi-experiment was reduced. It was difficult to find Italian children’s books
representative of all categories.
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Attachments
Experimental books selection criteria
-
texts should be representative examples of some clearly defined genres of early children’s
literature
texts should be published in Italian language
texts should be picture books suitable for whole class reading (clear illustrations, medium
size and length )
texts should be new to children of both school settings
texts should be suitable for mixed age groups (3- to 6-year-old children)
text genres ordinarily read in kindergarten settings (we excluded, for example, alphabet
books as this kind of book is not usually read in preschool settings as they reveal specific
didactic purposes which were not pursued by the teachers observed ).
FIG 1
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Class book reading event description in Italian preschool setting
General characteristics
-
whole group reading events (mixed aged children group)
designated reading area (rug corner)
designated reading time (from 9 to 11 p.m.)
book choice by teacher: mainly narratives and picturebooks
interaction mainly with older children (5-6 years old)
teachers’ different book reading beliefs (individual informal interviews)
FIG. 2
Overall analysis: variations in the teachers reading formats
- text genres and linguistic features strongly influenced the teachers' reading
formats
- the most salient variations concerned picture management and interaction
during reading
- the teachers changed their reading formats particularly with information
book
- book reading event length of information book was extended by
interaction during reading and not by discussion after reading.
FIG.3
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