Towards Preparing Educators for Multiliteracy

1. Towards Preparing Educators for Multiliteracy Tim McGee Director of Graduate Programs School of Design & Media Philadelphia University

2. The Abstract The teaching of print literacy, traditionally understood as the ability to read and write texts made primarily out of words, was the responsibility of all teachers at the elementary level and the specialty of English, Language Arts, and Composition teachers in middle school, high school, and college. With the advent of digital computers and the multiliteracy demands they create, some teachers at every level find themselves ill-prepared to teach even the decoding of multimedia and multimodal texts, much less their encoding or production. Taking into consideration state standards, teacher education programs, and current theories of multiliteracy and multimodal discourse, this presentation suggests short and long term action plans to help prepare the teachers of today and tomorrow to meet the multiliteracy needs of their students.

3. The teaching of print literacy, traditionally understood as the ability to read and write texts made primarily out of words, was the responsibility of all teachers at the elementary level and the specialty of English, Language Arts, and Composition teachers in middle school, high school, and college. With the advent of digital computers and the multiliteracy demands they create, some teachers at every level find themselves ill-prepared to teach even the decoding of multimedia and multimodal texts, much less their encoding or production. Taking into consideration state standards, teacher education programs, and current theories of multiliteracy and multimodal discourse, this presentation suggests short and long term action plans to help prepare the teachers of today and tomorrow to meet the multiliteracy needs of their students.

4. The teaching of print literacy, traditionally understood as the ability to read and write texts made primarily out of words, was the responsibility of all teachers at the elementary level and the specialty of English, Language Arts, and Composition teachers in middle school, high school, and college. With the advent of digital computers and the multiliteracy demands they create, some teachers at every level find themselves ill-prepared to teach even the decoding of multimedia and multimodal texts, much less their encoding or production. Taking into consideration state standards, teacher education programs, and current theories of multiliteracy and multimodal discourse, this presentation suggests short and long term action plans to help prepare the teachers of today and tomorrow to meet the multiliteracy needs of their students.

5. The teaching of print literacy, traditionally understood as the ability to read and write texts made primarily out of words, was the responsibility of all teachers at the elementary level and the specialty of English, Language Arts, and Composition teachers in middle school, high school, and college.With the advent of digital computers and the multiliteracy demands they create,some teachers at every level find themselves ill-prepared to teach even the decoding of multimedia and multimodal texts, much less their encoding or production. Taking into consideration state standards, teacher education programs, and current theories of multiliteracy and multimodal discourse, this presentation suggests short and long term action plans to help prepare the teachers of today and tomorrow to meet the multiliteracy needs of their students.

6. E Technologies Demand Literacies

7. The teaching of print literacy, traditionally understood as the ability to read and write texts made primarily out of words, was the responsibility of all teachers at the elementary level and the specialty of English, Language Arts, and Composition teachers in middle school, high school, and college. With the advent of digital computers and the multiliteracy demands they create, some teachers at every level find themselves ill-prepared to teach even the decoding of multimedia and multimodal texts, much less their encoding or production. Taking into consideration state standards, teacher education programs, and current theories of multiliteracy and multimodal discourse, this presentation suggests short and long term action plans to help prepare the teachers of today and tomorrow to meet the multiliteracy needs of their students.

8. The teaching of print literacy, traditionally understood as the ability to read and write texts made primarily out of words, was the responsibility of all teachers at the elementary level and the specialty of English, Language Arts, and Composition teachers in middle school, high school, and college. With the advent of digital computers and the multiliteracy demands they create, some teachers at every level find themselves ill-prepared to teach even the decoding of multimedia and multimodal texts, much less their encoding or production.Taking into consideration state standards, teacher education programs, and current theories of multiliteracy and multimodal discourse, this presentation suggests short and long term action plansto help prepare the teachers of today and tomorrow to meet the multiliteracy needs of their students.

9. What’s the Problem? • Where’s the Gap Analysis? • What data indicate a gap between actual performance and potential performance? • What standards are the students not meeting that would warrant training their teachers in multimedia and multimodal discourse?

10. Do Standards Really Matter? http://www.state.nj.us/njded/genfo/midliteracy.pdf

11. Language Arts Standards for Pennsylvania and New Jersey

14. Incorporation of NJ CCCS into Teacher Training Curriculum • Preservice Education • New Jersey’s universities and colleges have long been known for fostering excellence among those who educate our youth. Now these teacher training institutions are being called upon to incorporate the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards into their teacher training curriculum. Therefore, those who teach in or administer teacher training programs need to familiarize themselves with the standards for language arts literacy and this framework, which provides examples of excellent teaching and learning. Faculty should be sure that their preservice programs promote both content and methodology that are consonant with the new standards. Since most teacher educators stay abreast of current research and educational philosophy, much of what they teach already addresses the standards for literacy. Nevertheless, it is important to reexamine practices to ensure that teacher training programs equip future teachers with the skills and content they need to work with students in the 21st century. • http://www.state.nj.us/njded/frameworks/lal/chapt1.pdf

15. Revision of NJ Standards Informed by Standardized Tests From the FAQ Page of NJ DOE Website: Q. Why were the Language Arts Literacy Core Curriculum Standards changed in 2004? A. The driving force was the required testing in Language Arts each year in grades 3 through 8 by 2005-2006. As a result, the changes focused on developing individual grade-level Cumulative Progress Indicators (CPIs) for the 5 Language Arts Literacy Core Curriculum Content Standards at grades 5, 6, 7, and 8. Previously, those grade-levels were clustered at grades (5 and 6) and at grades (7 and 8). http://www.state.nj.us/njded/aps/cccs/lal/faq.htm

16. English Secondary Education at The College of New Jersey

17. English Secondary Education Certain courses required for an English Secondary Education major must be taken during certain college years. Sophomore Year (2 Units) EFN 299 - Schools & Communities SED 224 - Adolescent Learning and Development Junior or Senior Year (2 Units) EFN 398 - Historical & Political Contexts of Schools EED 400 - Teaching Writing (preferably after the Junior Experience) Junior Year (3 Units) These three courses include a shared field experience and should be taken together EED 390 - Methods of Teaching Secondary English SED 399 - Pedagogy in Secondary Schools SPE 323 - Secondary Content Literacy in Inclusive Classrooms Senior Year (3 Units) EED 490 -- Student Teaching (2 units) SED 498 -- Collaborative Capstone Seminar It is strongly recommended that the student not enroll in any additional courses during his or her student teaching seminar. 1 Health Requirement You must meet the State of New Jersey health requirement in order to be certified in New Jersey. The requirement may be met in one of three ways. HPE 160 (also fulfills a liberal learning behavioral, social, or cultural perspectives requirement) BIO 141 (also fills the natural science requirement for liberal learning) BIO 181 (also fills the natural science requirement for liberal learning) Take the State of New Jersey health examination at a county Superintendent of Schools office For more questions, please contact Emily Meixner, Director of the English Secondary Education Program or view the English T website. PRAXIS/NTE Tests During the final year of your program, you should arrange to take the PRAXIS/NTE test.  The only test required for New Jersey secondary certification in English is "English Language, Literature, and Composition:  Content Knowledge."  Pennsylvania certification requires the same subject area test, plus the PPST Reading, Writing, and Mathematics tests as well as the "Principles of Learning and Teaching, Grades 7-12." Information and registration forms for the Praxis tests are available in the STEP office, 154 or 157 Forcina. Certification Apply for certification early in the semester of your graduation in the STEP office, 157 Forcina.  Note that you cannot be certified until after you have graduated.  If you "walk" in the May graduation ceremony but take any courses over the summer, you are considered an August graduate and cannot be certified until late August, which may prevent you from being hired in many school districts. For further information on certification, contact Roberta Conjura in the STEP office, 771-2318. Relevant Links Global Student Teaching Kappa Delta Pi @ TCNJ New Jersey Council for the Humanities, Teacher Institute New Jersey Department of Education National Council of Teachers of English Pennsylvania Department of Education Taking the PRAXIS Exam Rethinking Schools Sigma Tau Delta @ TCNJ Teaching Tolerance « Return to English Department Home

18. What Is Media Literacy? • Media literacy is the ability to access, analyze, and evaluate the many complex messages presented through the mass media. It focuses on helping young people, in particular, to not only become more careful and critical consumers of media messages so they can make more informed choices about their health, purchases, and values, but to also become creative producers of media to more effectively communicate their thinking, ideas, and priorities. • http://www.education.uconn.edu/conferences/medialit/whatis.cfm

19. Some Definitions Privilege Consumption over Production Definitions of Visual Literacy: • The ability to look at visual information with perception. A visually literate person understands how visual elements contribute to the meaning of the whole.www.pbs.org/weta/myjourneyhome/teachers/glossary.html • The ability to transform thoughts and information into images; includes thinking and communication. Visual communication takes place when people are able to construct meaning from the visual image.en.wikibooks.org/wiki/SA_NCS_Visual_Arts:Glossary • Visual literacy is the set of skills involved in the interpretation and criticism of images. It is a field of study in academia, drawing on art history and criticism, information design and graphic design, and computer interface usability. It is also a goal of education paralleling linguistic literacy. The basic skills of visual literacy include the vocabulary of concepts necessary for understanding and discussing images. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_literacy

20. What Is Media Literacy? • Media literacy is the ability to access, analyze, and evaluate the many complex messages presented through the mass media. It focuses on helping young people, in particular, to not only become more careful and critical consumers of media messages so they can make more informed choices about their health, purchases, and values, but to also become creative producers of media to more effectively communicate their thinking, ideas, and priorities.

21. 5-Minute Brainstorming Activity • Working individually or in groups, identify five things that teachers should know or know how to do in order to promote multiliteracy among their students. • Rank those skills or content areas in importance, with 1 being most important.

22. In-service or Course-based Short Term Solutions • Digital Imaging • Interactive Media I • Integrated iLife • Interactive Media II • Web Design • Flash for Interactive Learning • Introduction to Digital Audio Design and Production • Introduction to Digital Video Design and Production • Interactive Narrative/Dramaturgy

23. 5-Minute Brainstorming Activity Working individually or in groups, suggest two specific actions that you, as a private citizen or as a professional, can do to help revise, reform, remodel, or repair the current situation that leaves many pre-service teachers ill-prepared to address the multiliteracy needs of secondary and post-secondary students.

24. Challenges • Good assessment is difficult to do, which is why much assessment is no good. • What gets tested is what gets taught. • Utility is a value often undervalued in universities.