Carl A. YoungNC State University

SITE Conference: Charleston, SCMarch 5, 2009

Middle Grades ELA & SS Pre-Service Teachers’ Perceptions of New Literacies

Research Focus

Narrative: “I believe that inquiry is universal, a part of what it is to be human. Over the

past decade a similar suggestion has been proposed for narrative. The presence of narrative across cultures suggests that to be human is to create and respond to story. Barbara Hardy (1977) calls narrative ‘a primary act of mind’ (p. 12), a fundamental way we understand and construct our experience in the world. However, within this universal presence of narrative, there is wonderful cultural variation in the sorts of stories told and in the manner and contexts of their telling. And within these cultural norms, the individual creates and tells and responds to story. And so the suggestion is that narrative is at once a universal and cultural and an individual phenomenon.

-- Judith Wells Lindfors (1999)

How do pre-service teachers think about and conceptualize 21st century literacies (for themselves and others)? And to what degree do they see digital video as a viable medium for narrative, specifically conveying complex concepts and ideas to others?

Research Focus

“variation in the manner and contexts of their telling” – multigenre reading and writing (Romano), multiliteracies (New London Group, 2000; Knobel, 2003), new literacies (Coiro, Knobel, Lankshear, & Leu, 2008 ), multimodal literacies

"Educators must be prepared to work with how messages are sent, received, and interpreted, as well as how media and technology position us as viewers and users of multimedia texts in the world.“ - Albers, P., & Harste, J., 2007

"English educators have the responsibility to influence the development, modification, and adoption of the newer technologies they will integrate into their teaching and their students' learning.“ - Swenson, J., et al., 2006

Context

ECI 596 MSL Senior Seminar (Pilot Course) Paired with ECI 430 Middle Grades ELA Methods

Project: Defining 21st Century Literacies DV Sound Bite Mark Twain - "a minimum of sound to a maximum of sense."

Influences: Presidential Election Advertising New CEE website Andrew Zuckerman’s Wisdom: http://www.wisdombook.org/ Indie Lo-Fi Music Movement (’90’s) / Guided Improvisation

The 21st Century Literacies DV Sound Bite Project (Young, 2009)

Project Steps:

1. Initial Freewrite: Define 21st Century Literacies

2.Think, Pair, Share: Small groups• Share individual definitions

• Craft group definition• Create Wordle (

http://www.wordle.net/) based on group definition• Develop sound bite• Develop storyboard and film!

3. Read literature on Literacy• Revise definition and sound bite• Create story board and film

4. Present Follow Up DV

Let’s View!Insert your own theme…

Carl A. Young – NC State University – carl_young@ncsu.edu