COEHP Honors Symposium

Author: Kira Hart | Major: Childhood Education | Semester: Spring 2023

My name is Kira Hart and I am studying Childhood Education with a focus in dyslexia and reading in the College of Education of Health Professions. My mentor is Dr. Christine Ralston and she is in the department of Curriculum and Instruction. I completed my research in Spring 2022, Fall 2022, and Spring 2023. Fall 2022 and Spring 2023 were funded by the honors research grant. I am graduating in May 2023 and will continue my education at the University of Arkansas. I am beginning my Master of Arts in Teaching in Elementary Education this summer. I am placed at Harp Elementary for a yearlong internship. I will graduate with my master’s degree in May of 2024. I plan to stay in Northwest Arkansas and get a job teaching in an elementary school.

Due to my college career being greatly affected by COVID-19 and witnessing the pandemic change the academic classroom, I wanted to study a topic that may have been impacted by the pandemic. In my personal observations, I noticed a pattern of an increase in the usage of recorded read alouds in both virtual and in person classrooms during and following the pandemic. As I delved further into my research, I discovered that there was a lack of literature and research over the recorded read aloud despite it being an instructional tool for literacy in the classroom.

In Fall of 2021, I was searching for a mentor. With an idea for my research, I began asking peers and other professors who may be a good fit for me. Dr. Christine Ralston’s name came up. She teaches many of the literacy education courses in my program. I met with her at the end of Fall of 2021, and she agreed to be my mentor for my research. I went into the research process blind, but Dr. Ralston guided me throughout the entire process.

My research is over the utilization of recorded read alouds by elementary teachers. ​​​​​​​ In my study, a recorded read aloud is defined as a type of digital read aloud. It is a video of a person reading a book while showing the pages. It occurs asynchronously. This is the type of digital read alouds that flooded the internet due to COVID-19. The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency at which teachers use a recorded read aloud, the purposes of using a recorded read aloud, and the literacy skills that are targeted using a recorded read aloud.

Data were collected with a web-based survey distributed via Facebook™ to elementary and middle school teachers in kindergarten through sixth grade. The survey was administered through Qualtrics and included 22 questions. The survey was opened at the end of December and was available through mid-January. The survey received 18 total responses. I was hoping for more participants, but the small sample provides many opportunities for further research. I analyzed the survey responses using frequency counts, descriptive statistics, and coding to identify themes and patterns.

I found that the frequency of a recorded read aloud has increased since before the pandemic. More teachers use recorded read alouds in their in-person classrooms than teachers who used recorded read alouds in their virtual classrooms. The most common purposes teachers reported for using a recorded read aloud include social emotional learning, vocabulary and comprehension development, virtual education, and student enjoyment.

My research has opened the doors for more research and discoveries surrounding the topic of the recorded read aloud. I am not sure continuing research on this topic is in the cards for me, but I will complete another research project next year for my master’s degree. This experience has given me the skills I know I will need for my action research project. More importantly, I have learned that I can conduct purposeful research with meaningful findings.