Pre-service students and in-service teachers’ rating of the Letra program: a piloting experience in Latin American countries / Valoración de estudiantes universitarios y maestros del programa tutorial Letra: una experiencia piloto en países del espacio Iberoamericano

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to analyse the pre-service students and in-service teachers’ rating of the Letra program. This program is a tutorial system that uses the MOODLE learning platform to create a virtual learning environment. The Letra program incorporates recommendations from the latest scientific report on learning how to read, the National Reading Panel, which determines what critical skills should be taught to ensure that children’s reading education is successful and thus help avoid any future difficulties that may arise in this area. These critical skills are: phonological awareness, alphabet knowledge, fluency and vocabulary and comprehension. A sample of pre-service students from the Canary Islands, and in-service teachers from México, Guatemala and Ecuador participated in the Letra program. Positive ratings were received by both the pre-service and in-service teachers, and these ratings were not mediated by experience in receiving previous online professional courses.