Childhood Education Students Present Honors Research on Literacy Camp

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Leslie Pervere, from left, Erin Phelan and Anne Schexnayder are pictured with their presentation.

Three University of Arkansas students studying childhood education presented their Honors College research last month at the Arkansas Reading Association annual conference.

Leslie Pervere, Erin Phelan and Anne Schexnayder presented "Parents, Tutors and Students Perceive University-Sponsored Literacy Camp to Be Beneficial" at the meeting in Little Rock. They conducted the research under the mentorship of Linda Eilers, clinical associate professor of childhood education, and Marcia Imbeau, professor of special education.

Eilers and Heather Young, an assistant professor of childhood and elementary education, created the University of Arkansas Clinic for Literacy last year. The clinic sponsors literacy camps in spring, summer and fall during which university students provide intervention for children. Returning students attending the clinic's programs have averaged 1.5 years of growth in their reading levels, with some students gaining more than two years of growth, Eilers and Young said.

By surveying the university students who worked at the camp, Pervere, Phelan and Schexnayder found that tutors' positive experiences are characterized by increased personal knowledge and skills, positive relationships with tutees and beneficial previous learning within their teacher-education program. They also found that the children who attended the camp respected their tutors and were excited to learn from them and that the one-on-one attention was the best aspect of the experience.

The project was funded by the Honors College pilot team grants.