Innovative lab model brings undergraduate education students into elementary classrooms
Elementary reading instruction sprang to life this fall when William & Mary B.A.Ed. students engaged in their coursework at a local school. Throughout the semester, students at the School of Education have been studying reading instruction at Clara Byrd Baker (CBB) Elementary School.
An innovative lab model designed by faculty members in the Curriculum & Instruction department, this course format allows students to immediately practice the literacy instruction and classroom management skills they’re learning in a real-world setting, with oversight and coaching from Clinical Instructor of Literacy Education Tamara Williams.
“Every Tuesday and Thursday, juniors in the program take their two literacy classes at CBB. We’ve worked closely with Williamsburg-James City County Schools to make this happen,” said Kristin Conradi Smith '99, the Dr. Virginia L. McLaughlin Associate Professor of Education and coordinator of the Elementary Education program.
“This model allows students to learn about a concept, observe it in action and help in classrooms. It’s more of a medical model than a traditional educational model, and we think it really sets our program apart from others in the state.”
Students learned literacy theories and models followed by opportunities to observe teaching in a K-5 setting. They bridged the research-to-practice gap by participating in collaborative lesson planning followed by opportunities to deliver those same lessons immediately. They then returned as a group to engage in reflective discussions, building their capacity to refine their teaching techniques and develop as reflective practitioners.
“Being able to apply the [conceptual] frameworks to see how they connect to lesson planning and lesson delivery was essential to my understanding,” said Alex Zaccardelli '27. “The experience helped me not just intellectually understand how to teach, but viscerally feel what it is to teach effectively.”
On October 31, as the hallways of Clara Byrd Baker buzzed with the excitement of students and teachers celebrating Halloween, the William & Mary (W&M) students prepared reading lessons for kindergarten classrooms. More than just reading aloud, their lesson plans focused on language comprehension, and their goal was to engage kindergarteners in activities that build vocabulary and extend comprehension through a written response.
The chosen story, “My Lucky Day” by Keiko Kasza, was an ideal text for this age group. It allowed kindergarteners to practice making predictions, drawing conclusions and developing meaning-making skills. In small groups scattered throughout the hallways, the undergraduates introduced the book by displaying its cover, reading the title and leading an interactive vocabulary activity. The kindergarteners responded enthusiastically, using thumbs-up and thumbs-down gestures to indicate their understanding of key words.
Throughout the reading, W&M students asked questions like, “Who do you think will have the lucky day—the fox or the pig?” These prompts sparked creativity and critical thinking while keeping the children’s interest. After the story, the kindergarteners completed a reader’s response, practicing handwriting, spelling and sentence structure. To help young learners connect sounds to letters, W&M students guided them with questions such as “What letter makes the /p/ sound in pig?”
Williams moved between groups, offering real-time support and feedback. During the debrief, she praised their use of scaffolding techniques, such as breaking words into sounds and providing prompts to encourage participation. Several students noted their own excitement about how the prompts and phonics support helped the kindergarten groups stay interested and focused. They appreciated how the experience showed the importance of teaching foundational literacy skills.
While kindergarteners engaged in a read aloud, a different scene played out on November 14 in CBB’s fifth-grade classrooms. For fifth graders, reading comprehension requires grappling with more advanced topics and vocabulary. In this lesson, W&M students guided older learners through historically complex texts about voting rights in America. The lesson underscored the importance of scaffolding complex texts by building background knowledge, explicitly teaching vocabulary and breaking the text into small sections so all students could comprehend the challenging ideas and concepts.
Before and after the group lessons, Williams guided the class in leading young learners to take more ownership of their learning. For example, they incorporated choral reading—where the group reads aloud in unison with the teacher—to build confidence among students who struggled with fluency, and they used techniques like “turn and talk” and “stop and jot” to allow the fifth-grade students to ask questions and summarize content.
One W&M student posed the question: “Why do you think the author titled this ‘fighting for the right to vote’ instead of ‘receiving the right to vote’?” This prompted fifth graders to think critically about the struggle for equality and the impact of disenfranchisement. As the group lessons progressed, the undergraduates gauged student comprehension and employed appropriate techniques in response. Graphic organizers further supported the elementary students in organizing their thoughts and identifying key details, reinforcing comprehension and note-taking skills.
After the fifth-grade lessons, Williams highlighted the importance of pacing, modeling reading fluency and redirecting students to the text to build comprehension skills. For the student teachers, the focus shifted to managing cognitive load and building confidence with complex texts.
The juxtaposition of kindergarten and fifth-grade instruction highlights how W&M undergraduates are learning teaching methods tailored to the progression of literacy skills. For kindergarteners, listening comprehension, vocabulary games, guided predictions and scaffolded writing activities build the foundation for literacy. In contrast, fifth graders build on these early skills to analyze complex texts, discuss historical themes and engage in critical thinking.
The literacy program’s lab-based teaching model allows the students to learn more deeply by practicing techniques immediately, receiving individual feedback from their instructor and being able to learn from each other’s successes and challenges.
“[O]ne thing that really makes this class unique and so influential is that we got to go out and try the things we were learning. That not only helped us to apply our learning immediately and see the impact, but it also made all of us more confident teachers,” said Sarah Zakreski '26.
Whether guiding kindergartners through their first predictions or leading fifth graders through America’s complex history, William & Mary students are gaining invaluable insights into what it takes to make a difference in the elementary classroom.
