Comprehension strategy instruction with literature circles and response journals: Promoting preservice teachers’ metacognitive thinking about a multicultural text.

In this inquiry, we investigated 62 preservice teachers’ understandings about comprehension strategies while applying them to a multicultural novel, Maniac Magee. We explored literature circles and reflective journaling as instructional models to engage preservice teachers in discussions and self-reflections about multicultural and social justice issues. From thematic, within case and cross-case analyses, we identified four themes: lifelong learners and social learning, preservice teachers’ personal connections with text, preservice teachers’ connections to future instruction, and the cultural divide. We propose preservice teachers enrich understandings of cultural diversity while learning best literacy practices as they focus on multicultural literature with self-reflection through reader response journaling.