Print Rich Environments: Our pre-service teachers' report of what they observed in their field experiences

This study examined teacher candidates' observations and perceptions of classroom print-rich environments during field observations. The focus is on what the teacher candidates report and believe they have observed in classrooms regarding print-rich environments. The subjects were 35 undergraduate teacher candidates enrolled in two language arts and arts methods classes requiring 36 hours of field observations in an urban setting. Pre-service teacher candidates' weekly reflective journals and semester-end descriptions provided data sources. A qualitative method was used to examine patterns of observations and descriptions concerning print-rich environments. Results revealed that most teacher candidates did not realize and observe the dynamic nature of print-rich environments. Suggestions are offered for future improvement of field observations for pre-service teachers. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]