Browsing by Subject "Multiple literacies"
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Item Creating a Sense of Place: Using Multiple Literacies to Help Students Understand Geography(2010-12) Bustos, Charlene D.; Todd, Reese; Lesley, Mellinee; Johnson, Peggy; McMillan, SallyGlobalization is ever-apparent in our economy, our media, and our political stature, suggesting geography truly is a life-skill. In the current test-driven educational climate, certain subjects which are not under the high-stakes testing agenda get short-changed due to time-constraints and administrative pressures. One such subject is geography—a sub-topic under the umbrella of social studies. The expository text in the state-adopted textbooks provides some basic information of the topic being studied, but is frequently written in a dry, difficult, convoluted style, which often inhibits student engagement. Textbooks do not contain sufficient text or in-depth information on topics to offer experiences students need to develop critical and evaluative reading skills. This qualitative case study investigated the strategies employed by one fifth grade social studies classroom teacher as she used multiple literacies to teach social studies with a focus on geography. Data sources included detailed field notes of researcher’s observations, questionnaires and surveys (teacher and students), focus groups, transcripts of interviews with the teacher and participating students, teacher lesson plans, teacher planning resources, teacher and researcher reflective journals, and student work samples of classroom assignments. Findings revealed three themes for supporting geographic learning: storytelling as a vehicle for transmediation; writing and drawing as tools for representation; and authentic learning in a socially-safe environment. Findings also revealed that a classroom teacher can teach and meet the state and local standards while at the same time nurture an enthusiasm for learning. Vertical alignment of curriculum, teacher collaboration and student choices within parameters were key elements of the results. In general, conclusions indicate implications for the education community in the areas of classroom teacher practices, school administrator involvement and support, teacher educator institutions, curricula writers, and educational researchers.Item Finding the third space : a case study of developing multiple literacies in a foreign language conversation class(2010-05) Demont, Brandi Leanne; Swaffar, Janet K.; Schallert, Diane L.; Frizzi, Adria; Moore, Zena; Horwitz, Elaine K.The present inquiry is a qualitative case study of conversations and attitudes of students participating in a non-required, second-year conversation section offered as a voluntary adjunct to required second year courses in Italian. The findings in this dissertation support calls by policy makers in foreign language education who advocate for a more integrated and holistic approach to foreign language education. Through this empirical qualitative case study, I have used the construct of Third Space (Gutiérrez, 2008) to examine students’ development of multiple literacies (Swaffar & Arens, 2005) in a foreign language conversation-based classroom. The theory of Third Space is seen as a kind of authentic intersubjective space, where students’ ways of knowing and learning are accepted and expanded in the learning environment. The study describes the results from the implementation of a language pedagogy based on the model of multiple literacies in an Italian conversation class. Students in the class read and viewed a wide variety of authentic materials, around which they anchored their class discussions. Through activities involving multiple readings of the given text, the students co-constructed their interpretations based on personal experiences and on the socio-cultural background of the text. Students also engaged in self-reflective exercises documenting their own learning processes. Through interpretive analysis of student work produced in the class, the ecology of learner developments and the corresponding classroom talk are assessed. I have identified three major themes that are evident as essential elements to the students’ developing trans-linguistic proficiency in conjunction with their evolving cultural literacy. In particular, self-reflection and identity, expanded practices of knowing and learning, and the influence of semiotic mediation on classroom interactions are the three elements that define how these students articulated their Third Space in conjunction with this particular language learning context.Item What’s in their backpacks : pre-kindergartners’ literacy practices from home to school and back(2010-12) Scott, Deana Jill Allen; Brown, Christopher P., Ph. D.; Mosley, Melissa; Schallert, Diane; Reifel, Stuart; Worthy, JoPre-kindergarten students often arrive the first day of school carrying a backpack filled with supplies which they are eager to use. Inside these backpacks are scissors, glue, and crayons. This study proposes that the pre-kindergartners are also carrying another backpack, their literacy backpack holding all of their literacy skills and practices that they use every day at home. This qualitative case study examined these literacies brought from home in the students’ figurative literacy backpacks. The study also focused on their teachers’ literacy views and practices. The study was conducted in three parts. First, through field observations and interviews with parents, the literacy practices occurring at home were identified and examined. Unique “literacy stories” were crafted from the data for each of the pre-kindergartners and shared with their parents. Part two of the study examined the two pre-kindergarten teachers’ literacy practices through semi-structured interviews. The impact of external forces (e.g. state and federal mandates, school curriculum, grant requirements, and trainings) on the views and practices of the pre-kindergarten teachers was discussed. These external forces stress the development of formal literacies, thus modeling a narrow definition of literacy. Part three of the study focused on sharing the students’ “literacy stories” with their teachers and examining the teachers’ reactions to the stories. Data from the interviews following reading the stories pointed to the teachers’ acknowledging the multiple literacies found in the homes of their students and a desire to learn more about their families’ literacy practices in order to utilize them in the classroom. The students’ “literacy stories” proved to be a valuable tool in expanding the teachers’ definition of literacy. The stories helped the teachers broaden their views of literacy to include literacy practices that occur in many different cultural and social contexts; adopting a definition more in line with the socio-cultural development of literacy and the NLS concepts (Street, 2003). Using this definition, multiple literacies will be made visible in the classrooms and connections from home to school can be made allowing students to strengthen their existing literacies and expand them to incorporate other literacies.