Exploring mediation in literacy development: peer, teacher, and robot interactions in early learning contexts

Abstract

This dissertation presents three studies focused on mediated literacy interventions to support emergent bilingual and young learners' reading comprehension and vocabulary development. Chapter Two examines teacher-student interactions during read-aloud sessions, analyzing how specifice mediations enhance bilingual students' engagement and comprehension, as submitted to the Journal of Literacy Research. Chapter Three, published in The Journal of Literacy and Technology, explores how children learn to use digital features in app books during buddy reading sessions, emphasizing peer mediation's role in developing digital literacy skills. Chapter Four investigates robot-mediated read-alouds, focusing on the feasibility of a robot providing instructional support to young children, which highlights both opportunities and challenges in robotic engagement with literacy tasks. Collectively, these studies underscore the significance of diverse mediated learning approaches - teacher-guided, peer-supported, and robot-facilitated - in enhancing literacy outcomes, offering insights for educators and researchers in developing innovative, inclusive literacy interventions