Into the Unknown: Teacher Feedback During Conversations to Facilitate Children’s Uses of Language to Build Knowledge and Vocabulary

Dr. JeanMarie Farrow, Assistant Professor of Literacy and Director of the Reading Specialist program at Fairleigh Dickinson University, will present findings from the work she and her colleagues, Drs. Barbara A. Wasik and Annemarie Hindman, have unearthed in exploring conversations with young children in early childhood classrooms. This body of work was drawn from larger intervention initiatives to accelerate the language development of children in underserved communities. Dr. Farrow will highlight unique aspects of teacher feedback during conversations that may leverage child vocabulary growth to support children’s later reading comprehension. She will share specific strategies teachers can use during conversations with young children to enhance their language development.