Preservice elementary teacher feedback for dialogic communities of joy in differentiated small group literacy instruction

Joyful and participatory classroom culture is the foundation for dialogic literacy communities. The significance of joyful pedagogies is particularly overlooked in contexts of teaching children with literacy difficulties. This article highlights pedagogical feedback methods to support elementary preservice teachers (PSTs) in developing dialogic and joyful literacy communities in small group differentiated literacy instruction. I detail feedback methods provided within PSTs’ final reading practicum internship. Self-reflective feedback, teacher educator feedback, and peer-to-peer feedback are embedded across practitioner research and multiple pedagogical tools to nurture dialogic communities of joy. Impacts from PST feedback include a nuanced understanding of the relationship between student engagement and literacy development through differentiated instruction, as well as an expanded conception of joyful literacy communities across disciplines. Future directions for pedagogical feedback are further discussed, including community-engaged teacher education, novice teacher professional development, and digital technologies to hone dialogic literacy communities of joy.