Reconstructing Picture-Book Pedagogy for Higher Vocational English Education: A Culture-Digital-Dialogue Synergistic Model

Xiang Li

doi:10.70088/08v24g74

Authors

Xiang Li Yangming Honors School of Humanities, Ningbo Childhood Education College, Ningbo, China Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.70088/08v24g74

Keywords:

higher vocational education, picture-book pedagogy, culturally responsive teaching, artificial intelligence, teaching competence

Abstract

Students in applied English programs oriented toward early-childhood and primary education are expected to develop not only language proficiency but also the professional capacity to select instructional resources, interpret cultural content, design age-appropriate activities, and organize meaningful classroom interaction. However, picture books in higher vocational English courses are frequently utilized merely as supplementary reading materials or lesson-plan references, leaving their substantial teacher-education value significantly underdeveloped. Drawing on second language acquisition theory, culturally responsive teaching, sociocultural theory, communities of practice, and cognitive load theory, this study proposes a Culture-Digital-Dialogue (CDD) synergistic model for cultivating picture-book teaching competence among preservice teachers. The model systematically reconstructs the instructional chain through five interconnected phases: cultural resource transformation, AI-assisted pedagogical adaptation, collaborative microteaching, school-based trial teaching, and evidence-based reflective practice. A 32-week quasi-experimental study was conducted with 92 students from two cohorts of an applied English program, comprising an experimental group implementing the CDD model and a control group receiving conventional picture-book reading and lesson-plan training. Evidence gathered through competency assessments, learning portfolios, classroom observations, peer reviews, dual-teacher feedback, and representative case analysis demonstrates that the experimental group significantly outperformed the control group across multiple dimensions, including cultural transformation, AI-supported instructional design, classroom interaction, reflective lesson design, and intercultural interpretation. These findings suggest that the CDD model can effectively shift higher vocational picture-book teaching from supplementary language-material utilization toward integrated preservice teacher competence formation, offering a replicable framework for teacher education reform.

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