On Tuesday, January 21st, the ILKIS team presented to a group of students visiting East Carolina University from Shaanxi Normal University (SNU) in China. This was the second year of giving this presentation to a group of SNU students. The presentation introduced the 18 students to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, data about children aged 0-5 in Pitt County, and early literacy concepts. Dr. Swaggerty and Dr. Atkinson also discussed the Early Literacy Coalition of Eastern North Carolina and the role of the ILKIS team in researching the impact of Imagination Library in Pitt County. Following the presentation, the students were shown an assortment of Imagination Library books and Dr. Swaggerty read “Philomena’s New Glasses” aloud. The presentation concluded with a group discussion about early literacy and family reading behaviors in China and the United States. The students also talked about books they grew up reading and how to promote reading in their future careers.
Later on, Dr. Atkinson and the students joined Greg Needham, Director of Pitt County Libraries, on a tour of Sheppard Memorial Library. On the tour, they were able to learn about the history of the library, visit each section of the library, and explore some of the titles on their own. Yuying, a student from SNU, really enjoyed how the library enables children to have a sense of independence through its touch-screen computer. On the touch screen computer, children can touch a picture of something and find books on that topic. Yuying also was fascinated by the program events the library has for parents and children.
Throughout their time in Greenville, the students will tour local schools, visit classrooms at ECU, and learn about a broad range of topics related to the United States education system. The students will be in Greenville until February 14th, hosted by the ECU Office of Global Affairs and the College of Education.
Written By Courtney McCarthy