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Journal of Literacy and Technology Volume 18, Number 1: Spring 2017 ISSN: 1535-0975

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Digital Poetry Practicum: Preservice English Language Arts Teachers’ Dispositions of New Literacies

KatieDredger,Ph.D.JamesMadisonUniversity

[email protected]

SusanneNobles,Ph.D.LearnerPositioningSystems

[email protected]

JennyM.Martin,Ph.D.BridgewaterCollege

[email protected]


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Abstract

Thisqualitativestudyinvestigatedhowgraduatepreserviceteachers(PSTs)engagedina

digitalpracticumexperiencewithageographicallydistantsecondaryEnglishLanguage

Arts(ELA)classroom.ThegraduatePSTs,enrolledinaMastersofArts,EnglishEducation

programatauniversityinthemid-AtlanticUnitedStates,mentoredthe9th-gradestudents

intheonlinespacesofacoursewikiandvideoconferencing.Inthisportionofalarger

study,PSTsmentoredthestudentsduringapoetryunitorganizedbytheELAcooperating

teacherandhousedintheELAclassroom.AgoalofthispracticumwasbuildingPSTs’

PedagogicalContentKnowledge(Shulman,1986)andTechnologicalPedagogicalContent

Knowledge(Koehler&Mishra,2009)specifictotheuseofemergingtechnologieswithin

theELAclassroom.Thefindingsofthisstudyshowthatonlinespacescandevelop

dispositionsofNewLiteracies(Knobel&Lankshear,2007)andcanbridgetheoryand

practiceinteacherpreparationprograms.

Keywords:Teachereducation;wikis;NewLiteracies;poetry;digitalliteracy;EnglishLanguageArts;collaboration


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Introduction

Effectivelyenhancingclassroomliteracyinstructionwithvalue-addedtechnology

canbechallengingwithoutmodels.Evenexperiencedclassroomteachersoftenstruggleto

leadstudentswithcurriculumratherthantoleadwithtechnology.Thisstruggleiseven

greaterforthepreserviceteacher(PST),wholackscurriculumandlessondevelopment

experienceinadditiontolackingmodelsfortechnologyintegration.Thisisthencoupled

withthechallengeteacherpreparationprogramsoftenhavewithfindingpracticum

placementsforPSTswheretheycanexperimentwithaconfidentteacherwhoeffectively

integratestechnology.Whenanytheoryinvestigatedintheuniversityclassroomisnot

enactedinaclassroomexperience,PSTsmaybelesslikelytoadoptit,andthedispositions

ofNewLiteracies(Knobel&Lankshear,2007)arenodifferent.Thiscouldthenperpetuate

thelackofmodelsofeffectiveintegrationofdigitaltechnology.Furthermore,K-12online

coursesareofferedinall50states;however,lessthan2%ofrespondingprogramsin

teachereducationaddressthisneedforonlineteachingandlearningexperiencesby

providingPSTswithchancestoexploreteachingwithdigitaltools(Kennedy&

Archambault,2012).

DigitalpracticacanprovidePSTsanintroductiontoteachingstudentsinonline

spacesandachanceforin-depthmentorship(Nobles,Dredger,&Gerheart,2012;

Townsend,Cheveallier,Browning,&Fink,2013).TheonlinepracticumplacesPSTsina

positiontoobserveaclassroomteacher’scurriculumdesignindigitalspaces,aswellasto

understandhowtoworkcloselywithstudentswhoarephysicallyfaraway.Thisstudy

explorestheresultsofimplementingasix-weekdigitalpracticumforPSTs.Theprimary

goalsofthispracticumexperiencewere1)buildingPSTs’PedagogicalContentKnowledge


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(PCK,Howey&Grossman,1989;Shulman,1986)andTechnologicalPedagogicalContent

Knowledge(TPACK,Koehler&Mishra,2009),specifictotheuseofemergingtechnologies

withintheEnglishLanguageArts(ELA)classroom,and2)supportinghighschoolstudents

inthedevelopmentofacademicconfidencethroughcollegementorsandpeerreview.

WhilethislargerprojectimpactedboththestudentsandthePSTs,thisarticlearticulates

theimpactonthePSTs.

LocalpracticumplacementsforPSTsdonotalwaysmodelpedagogiessteepedin

effectivetechnologyintegration.Theteachereducatorsinthisstudydecidedtotakefull

advantageoftheaffordancesofdigitalpracticumexperiencesandplacedPSTswitha

teacherwhowasaleaderinintegratingtechnologyinherschool’s1:1program,even

thoughherschoolwasover200milesfromtheuniversity.ThePSTsneverphysically

traveledtotheirplacement.Instead,theyloggedintotheclassroomwikiand

communicatedwiththeircooperatingteacherandherstudentspredominantly

asynchronously.

ThisstudyinvestigatedhowthesesixPSTs,allpreserviceELAteachers,mentored

19ninth-gradestudentsinpoetryinterpretation,response,andrecitationwithinthedigital

collaborationspaceofawiki.Shulman’sPCK(1986)establishedthepremisethatPSTs

neededtobenotonlystrongintheircontentarea(ELAinthisstudy)butalsointhespecific

effectivepedagogiesthataremostsuccessfulinteachingELA.PCKimpliesthatteacher

preparationprogramsaremosteffectivewhendeliveredinacontext,thatmathteaching,

forexample,isdistinctivelydifferentthantheteachingofELA.Likewise,TPACKimplies

usingtechnologiesspecifictotheenactingoftheELAcurriculum.


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Thepoetryunit,commoninhighschoolcurriculum,isoneinwhichmanyteachers

lackconfidencebecauseofthesubjectiveartistrythatcandefinepoetry.Thislackof

confidencecan,inturn,affectstudentinterest.Somearguepoetryistheleastwell-taught

genre,atleastinpartbecauseofthiscycle:teachersthemselveswerenottaughtpoetry

wellwhentheywerestudentsandthereforelackconfidenceand/orinterest(Dymoke&

Hughes,2009).Thiscyclecanbehardtochangewithoutchangingpeople’sexperiences

withpoetry.

Toattempttobreakthecycle,theunitforthehighschoolstudentswasdesigned

aroundobjectivesfocusedonstudentchoiceandexplorationsupportedbythePSTinthe

roleofmentor.Thestudentswereasked:

• Toconnectwithpoetrybyfindingpoemstheyenjoyreading;

• Toreciteapoemtheyenjoybymemoryandwithexpression;

• Tounderstandthatpoetryisdifferentthanproseinwritingexpectations;

• Toidentifyandexplainanauthor’spurposewiththesupportofamentor;

• Tobeabletowritepoetryusingliterarytechniquestointentionallycreate

meaningwiththesupportofamentor;and

• Tosubmitanoriginalpoemforpossiblepublication.

Forengagementpurposes,thestudentschosetwopoemstopostontheirwikipagesand

annotateoverthecourseofseveralweeks,leadingtoafinaldeepanalysisofonepoemthat

includedanaudiorecordingofthestudentrecitingthepoem.Thecooperatingteacher

offeredthestudentsachoiceofthesepoemstheywouldstudyindepthtoincrease

engagement.Thestudentsalsoposteddraftsofatleastthreeoftheirownpoemsoverthe

six-weekperiod,culminatinginpostingthreefinalpoemsandsubmittingatleastonetoa


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poetrycompetition.Tohelpherstudentsfeelcomfortablewithsharingallofthiswork,the

cooperatingteachercreatedawidesafetynetforherstudents’explorationsofpoetry,anet

thatincludedherselfandthePSTsservingascollaboratorsandmentorsforthestudentsin

theirpoetryanalysisandcompositioninthisdigitalspace.Thiscollaborationofferedthe

highschoolstudentsanexpandedsetofreadersfortheirpoetrywritingandrecitations,

makingthisworkmoremeaningful(Applebee&Langer,2011;Gee,1989).

TheunitwasdesignedtoofferthePSTspracticewithrespondingtostudents’poetry

interpretationsinasmallergroupsettingtohelpthemdevelopskillstheycouldthen

transferwithconfidencetotheirownfutureclassrooms.Objectivesfromthecoursethat

applieddirectlytothepracticumrequiredstudentsto:

• Evaluate and experiment with multiple strategies and a range of content materials

and texts, both traditional and alternative and both explicitly and in the context of

writing instruction, in order to move toward the goal of reaching all students;

• Use multimodal composition and communication technologies to facilitate

reflection and instruction; and

• Utilize major components of reader-response theory as a means of enhancing

reading within content-area environments.

Thispracticumwastitled“RealWorldReaders,”andthecollaborationcountedtoward

10%oftheirELAmethodscoursegrade.Followingtheexpectationsprovidedtothe

studentsbythecooperatingteacher(seeAppendix),thePSTsvisitedtheirstudents’wiki

pageseachtimethestudentspostedaneworrevisedanalysisorpoemorrepliedtothe

commentthread.Inthisway,thePSTswereaconstantpresencetotheirstudents,

supportivelyencouragingthemtodevelopasthinkersandwriters.


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Asanationallyaccreditedteacherpreparationprogram,thepracticeofformally

aligningactivitieswiththeNCTE/NCATE(nowNCTE/CAEP)standardsfocusedthiswork.

ThedigitalpracticumsupportedStandard2,3.1,and3.7:

• Standard2.Throughmodeling,advisement,instruction,fieldexperiences,

assessmentofperformance,andinvolvementinprofessionalorganizations,

candidatesadoptandstrengthenprofessionalattitudesneededbyELA

teachers.

• Standard3.1:Candidatesdemonstrateknowledgeofandskillsintheuseof

theEnglishlanguage.

• Standard3.7:Candidatesdemonstrateknowledgeofresearchtheoryand

findingsinELA.(NCTE/NCATEProgramStandards,2003)

Thisdigitalpracticumhousedwithinthepoetryunitservedthesestandards.Additionally,

self-efficacyinteachingwasdevelopedasPSTsworkedalongsideanexperiencedteacher.

Finally,thisdigitalpracticumgavePSTsaneededopportunitytoworkwithatech-

savvyEnglishteacher(Hicks,2016:Kajder,2010;Kist,2005).TPACKmakesasimilar

argumenttoPCKaboutthecriticalimportanceofcontext.Technologyintegrationcourses

inteacherpreparationprogramsshouldnotbesiloed,divorcedfromthecontent.Instead,

effectiveteachingwithtechnologycanbeeffectivelyembeddedincontent-specificteacher

preparationcourses.Thedigitaltoolsandstrategiescanbeleveragedthoughtfullyto

enhancestudentlearningineachcontentarea.ThispracticumofferedthePSTsamodelfor

effectivecontentandtechnologyintegrationwithinasecondaryELApoetryunitthrough

itscarefuldesigntomeettheneedsofeachlearnerbyleveragingthedigitalspacefor

increasedindividualstudentsupport.Thecooperatingteachermodeledinstructional


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practicesthatintegratedtechnologyinsupportofcurriculargoals,aswellassupporteda

differentapproachtopoetry.AndthePSTspracticedtheirprofessionalresponsibilitiesof

bothPCKandTPACKinasafe,instructiveenvironmentwithsupportfromauniversity

supervisorandincollaborationwithamasterteacher.ThispracticumprovidedthePSTsa

richdigitallearningmodelofhowatraditionallynondigitalELAunitcanbeamplifiedwith

adigitalconnection.

ClassroomInnovationUsingWikis

Thispoetryunitwashousedinawiki.Awikiisadynamicinternetcomposition

spaceinwhichmultipleuserscanadd,change,andrevise,eithercollaborativelyor

individually.Userscanalsostoredocumentsandmultimodalartifactsinthewikispaceand

trackarevisionhistorytoseethecollaborativeprocessinaction.Thisrevisionhistory

servedasarecordofaccumulatedknowledgecreation.

Asametaphor,thewikiisadigitalthree-ringbinder.Imagineabindersolargethat

students,yearafteryearifneeded,cansharenotesandinsightsontheconceptscoveredin

acourse.Thenimaginethatstudentnotesinthisbindercouldincludemultimedia

perspectivesoftheskillsandcontentoftheclassandthatallofthisknowledgecouldbe

accessedelectronically.Thisnotebookmetaphor(Nobles,Dredger,&Gerheart,2012)or

“knowledgeplatform”(Parker&Chao,2007,p.58)hasbeenusedtodescribethepowerof

acoursewiki.Coursewikiscanincludenotesandperspectivesfromeachstudent,and

teachersmayorganizethespacebystudentname,muchlikefilesinafilingcabinetor

tabbeddividersinanotebook.Teachersmayalsosetupthewikiwithtabsdelineatedfor

courseobjectivesorthemes.Furthermore,wikiscanbestoredindefinitelysothatthe


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accumulatedknowledgecanliveyeartoyearorcanbeconfinedtospecificunitsof

learning.

Whatmakesthewikimuchimprovedoverthebinderistheeaseofsharingboththe

creationofknowledgeandtheknowledgecreated.Wikisprivilegeauthenticcollaboration,

animportantskilltoday’sstudentsneedtolearn(Dredger,2014;Dymoke&Hughes,2009;

Edmonson,2012;Kajder,2010;Wake&Modla,2012).Teacherswhobelievethat

“everyonetogetherissmarterthananyonealone”(Richardson,2009,p.57)findthatwikis

encouragestudentstoworkmoreefficientlywhileco-constructingknowledge.Theword

“wiki,”derivedfromtheHawaiianlanguage,means“fast,”and21st-centurylearnershave

theopportunitywithwikistoaccessandevaluatedigitalinformationcriticallyandquickly

andto“engageinthepurposefulworkofnegotiatingandcreatingtruth”(Stevenson,2010,

p.57)usingmultipleperspectives.

Usersofthesetoolsespousetheireaseofnavigationandthepowerofthe

collaborativespace.Eventhoughwikisaredeemedbyresearchassupportiveinhelping

teachersdevelopstudents’onlinecompetenciesinanetworkedage,theyareusedwith

studentslessthan1%ofthetimefortheintendedcollaborativepurpose(Reich,Murnane,

&Willet,2012).Thatsaid,educatorswhoarewaryofnewtechnologiesthatswirllikefads

throughin-servicepresentationsandpractitionerwebsitesarewise.Classroomteachers

whoaretryingtousethepowerofWeb2.0and3.0(mobile)technologiestomeetstudents

inlearningspacesthatarefamiliartothem,suchassocialnetworkingspaces(Abbitt,2011;

Ertmer,Ottenbreit-Leftwich,&York,2007),alsocanstrugglewiththelackofmodels

guidingthemineffectiveacademicintegrationofdigitaltools.Empiricalresearchthat

helpsteachersunderstandthequestionsofwhatworks,when,andwhywithtechnology


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integrationshouldbeusedtoinformclassroompractice.Inadditiontostudyingtheimpact

ofdigitalpractica,thisstudyalsohopestoprovidearesearch-basedexaminationofthe

impactofthoughtfullyintegratingwikisintotheclassroom.

AnchoringtheCurriculum

Forthisfour-weekunit,theninth-gradestudentsstudiedpoemsandpoetrywriting

intheirtraditionalclassroomwiththeirregularteacher,Ms.King(apseudonym).

Meanwhile,PSTsreadpoemsanddiscussedintheirtraditionalmethodsclassroomwaysto

respondtostudents’poeticattemptsandtostudentobservationsandanalysisofpoetry

thatservedasmentortextswithinthecompositionprocess.Thewikithenofferedashared

classroomspacewherethestudentsandthePSTscouldcollaborateandtesttheirlearning.

Thestudentspostedtheiranalysesofpoemsaswellastheirownpoemsandpoetry

recitationaudiorecordingonthewiki,andthePSTs,usingthediscussiontab,commented

onstudentwork.Thestudentsthenrespondedbothinthediscussionaswellthrough

revisionstotheirpoemsandrecitations.

ThisunitandsubsequentlythisresearchstudyalignedwiththeCommonCore

Initiative(NationalGovernorsAssociation,2010).Thestudentsworkedwithin“adeepand

flexibleunderstanding”(CCSSO,2011,p.8)ofpoetryasagenre.Specifically,students:

• Citedstrongandthoroughtextualevidencetosupportanalysisofwhatthe

textsaysexplicitlyaswellasinferencesdrawnfromthetext(CCSS.ELA-

Literacy.RL.9-10.1);

• Showedtheirabilityto“determineathemeorcentralideaofatextand

analyzeindetailitsdevelopmentoverthecourseofthetext,includinghowit


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emergesandisshapedandrefinedbyspecificdetails;[and]provide[d]an

objectivesummaryofthetext”(CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.2);

• Determined“themeaningofwordsandphrasesastheyareusedinthetext,

includingfigurativeandconnotativemeanings;[and]analyzedthe

cumulativeimpactofspecificwordchoicesonmeaningandtone(e.g.,how

thelanguageevokesasenseoftimeandplace;howitsetsaformalor

informaltone)”(CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.4);and

• Drew“evidencefromliteraryorinformationaltextstosupportanalysis,

reflection,andresearch”CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.9).

WhilestudentsalsoreadpoetryassuggestedbytheCCSS,itisinappropriateto

suggestwhethertheywerereadingwithinCCSSgradelevelbandsbecausepoetryisnot

appropriatelyanalyzedwithareadabilityscore(Mesmer,2007).CCSSsalsodonotsuggest

thatstudentwritingofpoetryisanessentialskillinninthgradeELAclassrooms.Thisstudy

showsthevalueofthepractice.

ResearchQuestion

Whatbeganasapartnershipbetweenanindependentsecondaryschoolanda

universityin2008becameaformalizedresearchstudyinthefallof2011.After

experiencingthissymbioticpartnership,theauthorsdeterminedthatpursuingthisproject

asaresearchstudywouldhighlightthenatureofthediscoursebetweenthelearning

groupsinvolved,uncoveringtheeffectsofboththedigitalpracticaandtheparticipationin

awiki.

Joiningthediscussionabouttheuseofclassroomwikisandaboutmentorshipin

areasofPCK(Shulman,1986)andTPACK(Koehler&Mishra,2009),theauthorswantedto


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knowwhetherperceptionsofqualityinteractionsboreoutunderrigorousdiscourse

analysisviewedfromaNewLiteracieslens(Knobel&Lankshear,2007;Lankshear,&

Knobel,2011).Theresearchquestionofthisstudywas,“Whatisthenatureoftheonline

discoursebetweenPSTsandninthgradersinteractingfromgeographicallydistant

places?”

TheoreticalFramework

TheexaminationofthediscourseofthePSTsandthestudentswithinthespaceofa

coursewikioffersinsightintoEnglisheducators’responsibilitytopreparefutureteachers

tonegotiatethedemandsandaffordancesofferedbytechnologyintegration.New

LiteraciesandCognitiveFlexibilityTheory,definedbelow,cometogethertoframethis

study.

NewLiteracies

Forthepurposesofthisstudy,werefertoNewLiteraciesasKnobelandLankshear

(2007)definetheminANewLiteraciesSampler.Thistheoreticalframeworkinformedour

purposeinthatteachingdigitallywillalwaysmeanthattheavailabletoolswillchangebut

thatanattitudeofreflectiveimplementationwhenenactingcurriculawithemerging

technologywillalwaysbeimportant.Whatmightbecalled“OldLiteracies”valuedthe

dispositionsofcentralizedexpertise,ownership,normalization,andfixidity.NewLiteracy

practicesvalueparticipation,distributedexpertise,sharing,experimentation,and

evolution(seeFigure1).NewLiteraciesisatermthathasbeencoinedinlightoftheinflux

oftoolsthathavefloodedourexistence.HowweusethesetoolsintheELAclassroom

requiresreflectivepractitioners.NewLiteraciesprovidetheopportunitytousetechnology

inatransactionalway.


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Figure1:MovingtowarddispositionsofNewLiteracies(ConceptsynthesizedinDredger,

Woods,Beach,&Sagstetter,2010).

AnalysisofNewLiteracies(Knobel&Lankshear,2014)requiresthatresearchersexamine

howparticipantsusetoolsandpracticesinordertoinformteachingandlearning(p.97).

CognitiveFlexibilityTheory

CognitiveFlexibilityTheory(CFT,Spiro,Coulson,Feltovich,&Anderson,2004)

statesthatadvancedknowledgeacquisitionhappensinclassroomsthatavoid

oversimplification.Forexample,thistypeofknowledgeacquisitionwouldbeevidencedin

thehighlightingofexceptionsinabodyofknowledge.CFTcanbeappliedtoteachingwith


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technology,astechnology-richclassroomsarealsoinformation-richandthereforemust

focusonmanagingalltheavailableknowledgewithoutsimplifyingit.

CFTisalsoapplicableintheteachingofpoetry,anintricatelyrobustgenre.The

followingthemesofCFTmapstronglywithdevelopingadeepunderstandingofpoetry.

• MultipleRepresentations:Inpoetrytexts,theamountandtypeofdiversified

examplesleadtocomplexthinkingabouthowconceptsmanifestthemselves.

• CaseStudies:CFTrequiresthatclassroomslookatactualoccurrencesof

phenomena,referredtointhemedicalcommunityas“cases.”Hence,case

studyhasbeendeemedaneffectivewaytostudycomplexissues.The

cooperatingteacherinthisstudyplannedtheinstructionwithinthiswikito

exploremultiplepoetictexts,or“cases,”tohonormultiplewaysoflookingat

apoem.

• FlexibleSchema:Inclassroomsthatarehoningflexibleschemas,patternsare

disrupted.Fixedknowledgeisdevalued,andpotentialknowledgeis

privileged.Thecooperatingteacherinthisstudyusedthisconceptby

creatingaculturewheretherewerenotsingular,“correct”interpretationsof

poetry.

• Multiple-Connectedness:CFTclassroomsaremarkedbyanefforttosee

similaritiesanddifferencesacrossrepresentations.Thus,studentsand

teachersinanELAclassroommaypointouthowpoemsrelatetoother

poems,othertexts,tohistory,ortopersonalexperience.

• MentorSupport:CFTsuggeststhatthelearningofcomplexconceptscannot

justbehandedtothestudent.Instead,guidance,offeredinmyriadways,


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shouldsupportknowledgeacquisition.Thecombinationofthecooperating

teacherandthePSTsasmentorscreatedstrongsupportforthestudentsin

thisstudyastheyembracedthecomplexityofpoetictexts.

Thehigh-levelthinkingtasksthatengagedboththesecondarystudentsandPSTsrequired

morethanconnecting.CFT,withitsfocusonapplication,multiplerepresentations,diverse

interpretations,multipleconnections,andmentorsupport,bettersuitedthegenreof

poetrywithinthiscollaboration.

Fromthisweusethetermaffordances,explainedbyBeachandO’Brien(2012)as

“boththoseliteracypracticeswhichthe[technologies]aredesignedtofosteraswellas

thoseliteracypracticesyouareinvitingstudentstoemploy”(italicsinoriginal,loc.133).

ThisexplanationisgroundedinGibson’s(1977)suggestionthathumansaltertheworld(in

thiscaseintheiruseoftools)toserveanemergingpurpose.Hencetheuseofthetool

supportsboththeteacher-identifiedoutcomesandtheunexpectedbutappropriate

learningthatemergesfromthepractice.Assuch,studentsdoing,inthiscasecreating,

reflecting,sharing,andrevisingpoeticworks,withthetoolsavailableframetheenduring

understandingoftheunitoflearning.

IntersectionsofFrameworks

NewLiteraciesandCFTconvergeinalogicalplacewhenstudyingtheaffordancesof

anewtoollikeaclosedcoursewikiusedtocreatealearningspacefordifferentsetsof

learnerswithdifferentlearninggoals.WhileourPSTswerebeingchallengedwithinthis

spacetoconsiderthelearner,thecontent,theinstruction,andtheirownprofessional

dispositions(CCSSO,2011),thesecondarystudentswereconcurrentlybeingaskedto(a)

refinetheiracademicthinkingwithinmultipleperspectives;(b)createoriginalpoetry;(c)


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thinkcriticallyabouttheaspectsofpoetrythatincludefigurativelanguage,polysemous

words,appealstoemotions,author’sstyle,economyoflanguage,narrativearc,rhythm,

tone,speaker,andpurpose.

NewLiteraciesmovesbothsecondarystudentsandgraduatestudentstoaplaceof

experimentationandinnovation,privilegingsharinganddistributedexpertise.The

paradigmofNewLiteraciesandtheaffordanceofthetoolssupportsstudentsintheir

developmentofcognitiveflexibility,withtheintendedconsequenceofdevelopingcritical

thinkinginstudents.Theunitwasbasedincomplicateddiscussionaroundpoetry,and

NewLiteraciessupportedtheacademicdiscoursethatresulted.

LiteratureReview

Thebodyofliteratureabouttheuseofwikisintheclassroomhasdepth,breadth,

andlongevity.Richardson’s(2006)firsteditionofBlogs,Wikis,PodcastsandOtherPowerful

WebToolsforClassroomsandKajder’s(2003)TheTech-SavvyEnglishTeacherareearly

examplesofpractitionertextsthatexaminedtheseissues.Bothauthorsarepioneersof

technologicalintegrationinsecondaryELAclassrooms.

Preparingstudentsfor21stCenturyLiteracies(Kress,2003;NewLondonGroup,

1996)meansmodelingwaysthatgeographicallydistantcolleaguescancollaboratively

constructknowledgeandcoursedesignindigitalways.Secondaryteachershaveshared

thatstudentsareengagedwhenNewLiteraciesofferthemspacestocollaborateandcreate

tomeetindividuallearningneeds(Kajder,2010;Kist,2005;Richardson,2009).

Differentiatedclassrooms(Beecher&Sweeny,2008;Tomlinson,2001)allowfor

individualizedlearningenvironmentsthatcreatebothfamiliarlearningspaces(Dredger,


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Woods,Beach,&Sagstetter,2010;Moll&Greenberg,1990)andmovestudentsinnew

directionsforessentialgrowthincontentskills.

Theresearchonteachingpoetrythroughdigitalmeansshowsthatmultimodality,

largeraudiences,andperformanceenhancetheteachingofpoetry(Dymoke&Hughes,

2011).ThisstudyfoundthatsomePSTsresistteachingpoetryattimesbecausethey

dislikethegenre.Theymaythinkthatpoetryisonlyfortheelite,isinaccessibleandtoo

difficulttoassess,isnotasimportantasothergenres;andisnotacollaborativecreative

space(Dymoke&Hughes,2011).Teachereducators,armedwiththefindingsofsuch

research,canstarttosupportPSTsinbreakingdownthesenotions.DymokeandHughes

(2011)discusswaysthat,pedagogicallyspeaking,ELAPSTsneedmentorshipintheartand

scienceofteachingsuchcreativecomposition.Thisspecificallyspeakstosomeofthemore

recentscholarshipontheimportanceofcontentknowledgedevelopmentinteacher

education(Forzani,2014;Gitomer&Zisk,2015;Lowenberg-Ball,Thames,&Phelps,2008).

AdditionalliteratureintheuseofdigitaltoolsintheELAclassroomhasfocusedontheuse

ofdigitalliteraciestosupporttheaccessingandsharingofknowledge,thecollaborative

powerofgainingconceptualunderstandings,andthewaysthatnewtechnologiescan

supportreflectiononlearning(Beach,2012).Poetrypedagogy,particularlyindigital

contexts,hasbeenexploredintermsofimplicationsandrestraintsofthetools(Carlin-

Menter,2013;Dymoke&Hughes,2009;Li,Snow,&White,2015).

Teachereducatorsneedtocontinuetofindwaysto“keepthepace”(Alvermann,

2011)asdigitaltechnologiesofferopportunitiesforengagementinspecificdisciplines.In

sum,thisworkfollowstheleadoftheseaboveresearchstudiesinexaminingspecifically

thewaysthatPSTsareguidedinthethoughtfulintegrationoftechnologyintheELA


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classroom.Asnewtoolsmoveintoclassrooms,teachersneedtobetrainedintheir

implementationandthewaysthattheycanamplifylearningtheenduringunderstandings

ofthediscipline.

Methodology

Thethreeresearchers,educationprofessionalswithnearlyfortyyearscombined

experienceteachinginsecondaryELAclassrooms,formalizedthisqualitativestudytwo

yearsintoasix-yearpartnershipbetweenasecondaryclassroomandauniversity

classroom,specificallyinateacherpreparationcourse.Theresearchersuseddiscourse

analysistoanalyzetheanonymizedcollectionofallwritteninteractions,collectedonthe

coursewiki,betweenthestudentsandthePSTswithinthecourseofoneunit.Theresearch

teamdefineddiscourseasGoldmanandWiley(2004)do.Discourseanalysisofwrittentext

describesthe“ideasandtherelationsamongtheideaspresentinatext”(p.64).Thisis

especiallyimportantinatextsuchasawikiandinageographicallydistantmentoring

environmentwherethemaininteractionbetweentheadolescentclassroomstudentsand

theirmentorsisintext,notinverbaldialogue.GoldmanandWileyproposethatwritten

textisawindowintothe“mentalmodel”(p.74)ofthelearnerandthattheselearner-

producedtextsgiveresearcherssounddataforsubjectivelybutnotarbitrarilyfurthering

understandingofstudentlearning.

The19ninth-gradestudentparticipantswerepredominantlywhite(20%werenon-

Caucasian)studentsatacollege-preparatory,independentPK-12schoollocated220miles

awayfromtheuniversity.Twelvewereboysandsevengirls.Thestudentsownedorleased

fromtheschoollaptopsthattheyusedintheclassroomeachdayaswellasbroughthome.

Allofthestudentshadinternetaccessathomeinadditiontotheaccesstheyhadatschool.


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InadditiontotheirEnglishclass,eachstudentwasenrolledinfourotheracademicclasses

andatleastoneelectiveclass.

TheparticipantsinthisstudyincludedsixPSTsinaMastersofArtsinEducation

teacherpreparationprograminEnglishEducationinalargeresearchuniversityinamid-

Atlanticstate.ThePSTswereallCaucasian,andfivewerefemalesintheirearlytwenties

workingtowardteacherlicensure.Theonemaleparticipantwasinhismid-thirtiesandhad

chosenacareerchangetopursueteaching.AllofthePSTsownedlaptopcomputerswith

internetaccessandalsohadaccesstouniversitycomputerswhenneeded.While

participatinginthisproject,PSTswereconcurrentlyenrolledinatleastthreeother

master’sleveleducationcourses,includingafallfieldpracticumexperienceinalocal

secondaryschooltwodaysaweek.Theexamplesintheanalysisanddiscussionsections

aretakenfromfivePSTsand10students.Thepseudonymsfortheseparticipantsare

showninTable1.

Table1

StudyparticipantsCooperatingClassroomTeacher

PreserviceTeacher(PST)Mentor

CorrespondingStudentMentee

Ms.King Ms.Aldich Prekan

Ms.Reznik Jake

Alice

Erika

Ms.Dean Camille


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Colton

Kobe

Ms.Wilkins Aaron

Ms.Atkins Peyton

Becausethecoursewikiandthewrittencommentsthatweresharedbetween

studentandPSTwerepreservedinanonlinedocument,thisworkiswell-suitedtowritten

discourseanalysis.Thisstudyisespeciallyinformativeinthattheparticipantsonly

exchangedverbalconversationstwice:shortintroductionsatthebeginningoftheunitand

poetryrecitationsviaSkypeasaculminatingactivity.Thedialoguethatexistsonthewikiis

essentiallytheentiretyoftheinteractionbetweeneachstudentandtheirPSTmentor.

Thus,athirdspace(Bhabha,1990;Soja,1996)apartfromthesecondaryclassroomandthe

universityclassroomwascreatedthroughthepowerofWeb2.0technologiesthatinturn

createdacommunityofpractice(Lave&Wenger,1991)forallofthecommunity’s

participants.

Theresearchteamcodedthedatausingtheconstantcomparativemethod(Strauss

&Cobin,1994).First,eachresearcherseparatelyreadandrereadeachinteraction

recordedonthecoursewiki,includingposts,uploads,andcomments.Theresearcherseach

codedthesedigitalinteractionsofthesecondarystudentsandthePSTsusingtheseinitial

codes:

• Socialniceties

• Expertlanguage


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• Expertthinking

• Complexcommunication(e.g.aprobingquestionordialogue)

• Integrationofcomplexcommunicationandexpertthinking

Theresearchersthenrereadthedatatogether.Aftercollaborationanddeliberation,

theoriginalcodesweremeshedandsituatedwithinthetheoreticalframeworksofour

research.Forexample,theterm“expertthinking”emergedasimportanttowhatthe

studentsandPSTsweredisplaying.Theresearchteamchosetoexplainthatwithina

broaderthemeof“expertise”then“distributedexpertise”overcentralizedexpertiseto

showthechangingfaceofwhatliteracymeansandhowthedigitaltooloffersaffordances

tosharetheknowledgeandclassroomlearning.Thefinalcodeswere:

• Participation

• Distributedexpertise

• Sharing

• Experimentation

• Innovation

• Evolution

ThetheoreticalframingofthesecodesintoaNewLiteraciesframework,organized

hierarchically,informedourfindings,discussedbelow.

Findings

Inthiscommunityofpractice,fourdistinctfindingsemerged.Thediscoursesofthe

PSTsshoweddevelopingdispositionsintenetsofNewLiteracies(Knobel&Lankshear,

2007),specificallyinthefollowing:


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• the support of student participation;

• the distribution of expertise to the students;

• the encouragement of sharing knowledge over owning it; and

• the spirit of experimentation, both for the PSTs in their practicum classroom and

in their own pedagogical choices.

Asateam,weorganizedthesefindingshierarchically,suggestingthatlearnersmustfirst

participatetobeseenasaknowledgeableexpert.Thenwesuggestthatsharingcomesfrom

respectinthelearningcommunitytosupportothers’knowledgegrowth.Finally,wewant

toseewaysthatlearnersareempoweredtotrynewthingsastheyapplyknowledgetonew

situations,effectivelyexperimentinginasafeenvironment.

Finding#1:ParticipationOverPublishing

TheNewLiteraciesparadigmofparticipationoverpublicationwasevident

throughoutthisdigitalcollaboration.Oneoftheaffordancesofawikiistheeaseofthe

creativeprocess.Therevisionhistoryofthewikishowsthatafinalproductisnotproduced

uponafirst,orevensecondandthird,draftofanycomposition.Forexample,Erika’s(all

namesarepseudonyms;seeTable1)wikipageshowed26revisions.Erikaclearly

understoodthatcompositionisaprocessandthattheproductmaynotbeasimportantas

thisprocess.

Thepowerofthewikitoenhancecreativecollaborationwithinthefocuson

participationwasshowninthedialoguethatdevelopedbetweeneachstudentandtheir

PSTmentor.Eachofthe19studentswasassignedaPST.ThePSTspromptedeachoftheir


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menteesthroughinquiry,helpingthembothlearnandencouragingparticipation.For

example,Ms.Aldichprobedherstudentmentee,Prekan:

I’dliketohearmoreaboutyourprocess.Didyouwritewhatyouwantedthepoem

tosay,thengobackandmatchittotheacrostic,ordidyoukeepitinmindwhileyou

werewriting?Howdidyoudecideonthesubjectofasalsamaker?

ThePSTswereencouragedtoengagethroughthoughtfulquestioning,honoringthe

learningprocessandrespectingthepersonalnatureofartisticcreation.

Participationoverpublicationalsowasshowninthethinkingprocessesofthe

students,asevidencedintheircomments.Forexample,Camilleexplainedtohermentor,

Ms.Dean,“Iputlinebreaksinthispoemsopeoplewouldtakepausestoslowdownthe

poemandmakethereaderstopforamomentandthinkaboutwhattheyarereading.”This

exampleshowedadevelopingauthorattendingtoherfutureaudience,onethatwasnot

justherteacher.Shereferredto“people”withtheconfidencethatshewouldhavereaders.

Hercurrentaudience,theassignedPSTMs.Dean,servedasasoundingboardwithinher

process.

Theprivatewikialsogaveasafespaceforstudentstoparticipate.Participatingin

anonlineenvironmentcanbeintimidatinginitially,butthedatashowedstudentsandPSTs

mentoringeachothertoparticipate,evenwhenreluctant.PSTMs.Atkins,seeingthat

Peytonwasnotparticipatingoftenorfully,commentedtohim,

I’mstartingtoseethatyouaren’tapoetryfan:)[sic]That’sfine,thereareplentyof

peoplewhodon’tlikepoetry.Maybeyoudon’tlikewritingit?Maybeyou’vejust

readsomebadpoemsovertheyearsthatmakenosense?Idon’tknow,butIhope

younevergiveuponthegenre!There'sapoetforeverybody.:)Ireallylikethis


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poembyWilfredOwens.Ithinkitisverypoignant,andIlikethatitiswrittenbya

youngmaninhisearlytwenties,reflectingonthehorrorsofwar.Likeothersof

Owens'poems,thisonedoesagoodjobofexpressingsadnessandangerandgiving

readershonestthoughtsonwar.Goodchoice!

ThisdemonstratedtheaffordanceofthewikiasadigitalspacewherePeytonwasableto

getindividualsupporttohelphimovercomehisreluctancetoparticipate.

ThePSTs,too,showedsomeconcernintheprocessofengagingindigital

interaction.Ms.Reznik,forexample,failedtorespondinitiallytoJake’sposts.University

facultyclarifiedexpectationsandencouragedpromptparticipation.Ms.Reznikgave

pointed,positivefeedbackandwrote:

Ialsowantedtowriteashortmessagetoapologizefornotcommentingonyour

wikipostsearlier.Iwasveryconfused;Iwaslookingforyourpostsinthewrong

spotandthoughtthatyoujusthadn’tpostedyet!Thankyouforbeingpatientwith

me;Ienjoyedreadingyourwikipostsandhopethatyoufindmycommentshelpful.

Jakeresponded,“Also,bytheway,it’sokayforthedelayincomments.Ididn’texactly

understandhowtheWikisworkedeither,butasyouprobablyknowIwasdelayedin

postingasecond,originalpoemIwrote.”StudentsandPSTs,throughthesupportive

natureofthewiki,overcameanyinitialreluctanceandembracedtheparticipatory,

collaborativenatureofawiki.Indoingso,thestudentspracticedbeingtruewriterswho

knowthatwritingisneverdone,andthePSTspracticedsupportingstudentsastheymade

thissometimesintimidatingstepintothiscommunityofwriters.

Finding#2:DistributedExpertise


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Asecondaffordanceofusingtheeducationalspaceofthewikitechnologyisthe

shiftingroleswesawintheteachersandthestudents.Asillustratedintheaforementioned

exampleofMs.ReznikandJake,thePSTsshowedthattheywerelearningwiththe

students,andthestudentsattimestookanurturingresponse.

Thisdistributedexpertisereflectsaparadigmshiftfromtheteacherproviding

informationtothestudentstoanenvironmentwheretheteachermodelslearningandthe

studentsarevaluedholdersofinformationaswell.Inthisauthenticlearningprocess,

expertiseissharedamongallparties.WhenMs.ReznikacknowledgedErika’sexpertisein

usingimagery,forexample,sheshowedErikaastrengthinherwritingthatshemaynot

havebeenawareofbeforethepracticumexperience.AfterMs.Reznikpointedouther

strengths,Erikasaid,“Iappreciateyourthoughtsandhavenoticedthatmystrongestareas

inpoetryareusingstrongimageryandwords.”Erikahadclearlydevelopedasenseofher

ownexpertiseasawriter.

Ittakestimetoreadandcommentonthestrengthsandareasforgrowthforeach

student,andthedigitalpracticumaffordedmoreone-on-oneattentionthanasingle

classroomteachercangive.Becauseofthis,distributedexpertiseismuchmorechallenging

toachieveinatraditionalclassroom.Inthethirdspaceofthewiki,theclassroomteacher

hadtheassistanceofthePSTstoacknowledgeallstudents’expertiseandencouragethem

inwaystheyexcelledinwriting.Noneofthiswouldhavehappenedwithoutthehighschool

Englishteacherlettinggosothatherstudentscouldbementoredbygrowingprofessionals

inthefieldofEnglishEducation.Thatis,noneofthisexpertisewouldhavebeendistributed

withouttheteacherbeingopentotheaffordancesofthewikiandsheandtheuniversity


182

supervisortrustingthestudentsandPSTstoworkprofessionally.Distributedexpertise

camewithlettinggo,whilemaintainingathumbonthepulseoftheinteractions.

Astheexampleaboveshowed,encouragingsharedexpertisehelpedthestudents

gainconfidence.Whatwasevenmorepowerfulwaswhenstudentsbecameconfident

enoughtonotetheirownstrengthsandexplainthechoicestheymadeinwritings.Colton

explainedsomeofhispoeticchoicestoMs.Dean:

Ithoughtthetoneormessagemightjustbetolivethroughtheday.Ithoughtit

mightbecalmingtothereader.Ireallyjustchosetouseabattoshowthisbecause

it'seasytorhyme.IdecidedtotakeoutthealliterationinsomepartsbecauseI

didn'tlikehowitchangedtheflow.

Colton’sconfidenceinhisdecisiontotakeoutalliterationbecauseitseemedforcedand

“changedtheflow”showedhisemergingexpertiseinexperimentingwithfigurative

language.

TheWeb2.0toolsusedinthiscollaborativepoetryunitfosteredaspaceforthese

higher-levelthinkingskillsthatwereinvitedthroughinquiryandaplacetothinkand

respond.Kobeshowedthisreflectionwhenheexplainedsomeofthechoiceshemadeto

hisassignedPSTMs.Dean,“Ireallytriedtomakeitfeelasthougheventhoughgettingover

afearisscary,lifeordeathsituationsreallyhelpyouout.”Whiletheexpertiseshownhere

wasnotinvolvingfigurativelanguageorspecificpoeticdevices,Kobewasshowing

confidenceinhiswritingchoices,anareawherehesawhimselfasanexpert.Beyond

reflectingonhisownwriting,Kobenotedapoet’suseofrepetition:

Repetition-thisreallyhelpedforthispoembecauseitexplainshowimportantitwas

forthesementobe‘free’fromtheirlivesthattheyhadsupposedlybeenunhappyin


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previously.Italsoreallyforcesthereadertomemorizethisstatementmakingit

sticktothereader.

Itispowerfulforwriterstousementortexts(publishedpoems)astheygainexpertise.

Similarly,significantsupportfromamentor,inthiscasePSTs,canhelplearnersgain

confidence.

Thestructureofthedigitalpracticumkeptstudentsfromfeelingunsupported.

WhenMs.Wilkins,aPST,suggestedtoAaronthatheendapoemwithastanzahehadused

previously,heresponded,“Wellthereasoni[sic]didn'twasbecausetheformatofthis

poemdidnothavethatiwillaskMs.Kingificandothat.Thanks!”Therewasasenseof

needingtoreturntotheclassroomteacherfortheexpertisethatfitherrole,butthat

expertisewasnotlimitedtoher.

Similarly,thePSTsnotedlearningfromthestudents.Ms.ReznikwrotetoAlice:

Ireallyenjoyedyourpoem.Ilovethatsomuchofitiscomprisedoftwo-word

sentences...thosearehardtocomebyinliterature,andIlovethem.Ithinkthatthey

emphasizethepowerofwords,andinyourpoem,theyshowthepowerofastateof

beingandhelpyourreadertostaytunedintoyourhumanexperience.Ithinkyou

hadaniceuseofrepetitionthroughoutyourpoem--itseemedtoemphasizewhat

wasmostimportanttoyou.Ithinkitshowsthatashumanswetendtohavearoot

issuethatshowsupinourlivesinvariousway.Inthiscase,youtouchedonanissue

thatalmosteveryonedealswithatsomepoint:worry.Ilikedhowhonestyouwere

inthispoem...Iamnotatalentedpoet,andIappreciateanyonewhocanexpress

suchhonestyinsofewwords.Thankyouforsharing!


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Thestudentsmaylearnfromtheteacher,butultimately,distributedexpertisemeans

studentslearningfromstudents,fromtechnology,fromexperience,andfromproblem-

solving,andtheteacherslearningfromthestudentsaswell.

Finding#3:SharingOverOwnership

AthirdtenetofNewLiteraciesthatemergedfromthedatawentbeyondsimply

puttingone’sworkonlinetoberead.InNewLiteracies,sharingisbeingwillingtoputone’s

workonlineforotherstouse,thatistoborrow,remix,andexcerpt.Theethosofnewmedia

isoneofopenaccess.

ThediscoursebetweenthePSTsandstudentsshowedthatbothpartiescould

practicethistenetofsharingviathewiki.OneofthePSTs’roleswastosuggestnewpoems

forthestudentstoreadbasedonthetypesofpoemsthestudenthadsharedonthewiki.

WhilesomeofthePSTssimplysuggestedatitleandauthor,otherslinkedtowebsitesthat

freelyprovidedtheirchosenauthor’spoetry.Forexample,Ms.ReznikwrotetoJake,“I'd

liketosuggestthatyouread‘FreeRiver’byPatrickDumas.Iwantedtosuggestanother

poemaboutariverbecauseyouchosetowriteapersonalpoemaboutariver.Here'salink

tothepoem:http://poemhunter.com/poem/free-river/.”Ms.Reznikwasrelyingonthe

openethosofexistingwebsitestoprovideapoemthatJakecouldeasilyaccess.The

websitePoemHunter(www.poemhunter.com)isafreesiteforauthorstopublishtheir

poems.Thesite’scopyrightnoticeexplainsthatpoetsstillholdtheirowncopyrights,sothe

poemscannotnecessarilybepublishedelsewhere.So,Ms.RezniksupportedJakeby

sendinghimtothesitewherethepoethimselfhadchosentosharehispoem,andJake,like

mostpeople,wasmuchmorelikelytoreadthissuggestedpoembecausehecouldaccessit


185

immediatelyandforfree.Awikimakesiteasytotakeadvantageoftheopensource

possibilitiesofthedigitalworld.

Thistypeofsharing(linkingtoworkputontheInternetbyotherauthors)hasbeen

embracedbymany.ThisprojectpushedthePSTsandstudents,particularlythestudents

whoweresharingtheirownpoems,muchfurtherintotheNewLiteracyofsharingby

havingthemagreetohavetheirworkbepartoftheopenaccessarchiveoftheInternet.Ms.

DeanapproachedCamille’spoemwithasimilardisposition:ifitisaccessibleonthe

Internet,thenitisavailableforsharing.ShewrotetoCamille,“I'mgoingtobecompletely

honest,Itearedupwhenreading‘Tides.’IcalledmyMomandreadittoher,itmovedmeso

much.(Ididn'tgiveyournameoranythinglikethatobviously.Ihopeyoudon'tmind.)”Her

explanationtoCamilleshowedthatonlyafterthefactdidsheconsiderthatCamillemight

nothavefullyembracedthenewliteracyofsharing.Ms.Dean’sdiscourse,evenasshe

realizedthissomewhattoolate,showedhowthislevelofsharingissomethingpeoplemust

learnandpractice.

Camille’sresponsethenshowedthat,notonlywasshewillingtohaveherpoem

shared,thissharingwasapositiveexperienceforherasawriter:“ThankyousomuchandI

amgladyoulikeditenoughtoshareit.”ThePST’schoicetosharethepoem,whichwas

madepossiblebythecollaborativeaffordancesofthewiki,ultimatelybecameapowerful

momentoffeedbackforCamille.ItwasnotCamille’soneclassroomteacherwhohadread

andappreciatedherpoem;itwasaPSTtwohundredmilesawayandhermother.

Finding#4:ExperimentationOverNormalization

Atthehighestlevelofoursuggestedhierarchyisexperimentation.ThistenetofNew

Literacieswasexemplifiedinthisdataasthechoicetotrysomethingbeyondtheexpected


186

orestablished.JustasNewLiteracysharingbecomessharingwithanyoneintheworld,the

NewLiteracyofexperimentationholdsmuchwiderpossibilitiesthroughtheaffordancesof

digitaltools.Forexample,audioandimagescanbereadilycreated,borrowed,andremixed.

Thediscoursefromthisprojectexhibitedexperimentationinthreeways:thePST

experimentingwithherroleasteacher;thestudentexperimentingwithwaystopresent

herideas;andthePSTandthestudentexploringexperimentationtogether.

Ms.AtkinsperformedwhatwasexpectedofallPSTsonthewiki.Sherespondedto

Peyton’spoemsbyexploringtechniquesshesawhimusing.Yetthroughherdiscourse,it

becameclearthatshewasintuitingaresistancetopoetryinPeyton.Peytonwrotenothing

directlyabouthisfeelingsaboutpoetry,butMs.Atkinsdecidedtoexperimentwithherrole

onthewiki.Excerptedfromwhatthelongersegmentwequotedearlier,shewrote,

I'mstartingtoseethatyouaren'tapoetryfan:)[sic]That'sfine,thereareplentyof

peoplewhodon'tlikepoetry.Maybeyoudon'tlikewritingit?Maybeyou'vejust

readsomebadpoemsovertheyearsthatmakenosense?Idon'tknow,butIhope

younevergiveuponthegenre!

Ms.AtkinstookthisriskofwritingtoPeytonaboutsomethingshewassensing,albeit

withoutface-to-facecontactwiththeyouth.Thiscarefulattentiontothenuancesofone’s

student’sdiscourseisanimportantaspectofbeinganeffectiveteacher.Thewikiafforded

Ms.Atkinsthechancetoexploreandgrowasateacher.

Camillealsodemonstratedself-explorationthroughthewiki.Asastudent,shewas

assignedtopostanimagewithoneofherchosenpoems;however,Camilledecidedto

experimentasapoetwithhowvisualscontributedtoherpoems’meanings.Shechose

imagesforallherpoems,somethingmadeeasybytheimageuploadingcapabilitiesofthe


187

wiki.Shethendecidedtoexplainoneofherimagechoices:“Mypictureisalsokindoflikea

Metaphor[sic]becauseitisinthegroundandthengrowsandfind[sic]outwhatlightis

andkeepsgrowingwithoutquestion.Thisislikehowifyoudon'tknowwhatloveisu[sic]

fallinlovewithoutquestioneventhought[sic]itmightbeabumpyroad”(seeFigure3).

Figure3:Creativecommonslicensedphotographincludedinwiki,http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en,PhotobyKuniakiIGARASHI.

Camilleappliedherknowledgeofpoetictechniques,specificallythemetaphor,by

experimentingwithimages,showingevenmoredeeplyhowmuchsheunderstoodwhata

metaphoris.


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Ms.ReznikandAlicediscussedaboutexperimentationinwriting.Ms.Reznikfirst

wrote,“Your‘IAm’andPantoumpoemsseemtobeverypersonal;Ilikethewayyouused

refrainsinyourPantoumtoemphasizetherealizationyou’vehadabouthowyoulivelife.”

Ms.ReznikwasaskingAlicetothinkabouttheexperimentationAlicewasdoingwithher

writing:beingautobiographical.ItwasAlice’sresponsethatshowedthetruelevelofher

experimentation:

Thankyousomuch!Igladyoulikedallofmypoemsandcomments.Asformy“I

Am”andPantoumpoems,Iwrotethemtomakeitseemasthoughitwaspersonal

butinrealityits[sic]notallentirelytrue.:)Ijustreallyenjoywritingaboutreal

thingsthatdon'thappentomeorneverhave,its[sic]fun!

Alicewaspushingherselfasawriter,somethingthatcancertainlyhappeninatraditional

classroom.However,thefirstpartofwhatshewrotealludestothefactthathavinga

responsiveaudienceonthewikimadethisexperimentationevenmoreworthwhile.

Discussion

ThisresearchdetailsthewaysthatPSTsandstudentsworkedwithoneanotherin

thisdigitalliteracypracticumthroughwrittencorrespondenceonacoursewiki.Thedata

showedawillingnessonthepartsofalltheparticipantstoexperimentwithemerging

technologies.ThestudentwriterssoughtfeedbackandmadeconnectionswiththeirPST

mentors,andtheserelationshipshelpedthestudentsfeellikefullmembersofawriting

community.Inturn,thePSTspracticedapplyingthecontentknowledgeandtheoretical

digitalpedagogytheywerestudyinginapracticumthatwasunavailableinlocal

placements.


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ItmattersthatthisinteractionhappenedbetweenPSTsandninth-gradestudents.

Peerswithinaninth-gradeclassroommaynotsituatethemselvestoencourageothersbut

insteadwanttoshowacademicknowledgethattheyfeelright.Thetendencymaynotbeto

bequietandlistentootherstudents.Inthethirdspaceofthewiki,nostudentdominated

theconversations.Everystudenthadtimetothinkabouttheirwork,andasevidencedby

thecontentontheirindividualpages,studentsparticipatedmuchmoreequallythanin

traditionalclassroomdiscussions.

Thistimeandspaceforreflectionalsohelpedstudentsgrowintheircomfortas

readersandwritersofpoetry.Formanyninthgraders,eventhosewhohaveanEnglish

teachertryingtochangethecycleofpoetryanxiety,thegenredoesnotlenditselfto

experimentation.Ninthgraderswantthepoemtorhymeandtomeansomethingclear.This

wikicollaborationofferedplacesforPSTstobeadditionalvoicestotheclassroomteacher

toshowstudentsthatrealpoetsexperiment.Thisunit,becauseoftheaffordancesofspace

andtimeoftheembeddeddigitalpracticum,mademoreofthestudentsfeellikepoetsthan

wehadeverseenbeforeinourcombinedyearsofteaching.

Poetryiscomplex.Polysemousvocabulary,sophisticatedsubjectmatter,nuanced

tone,elusivespeakers,andnontraditionalsyntaxvexadolescentsastheyarechallengedto

constructmeaningfromthesevariedtexts.AnELAclassroomcommittedtoadvanced

knowledgeacquisitionhasevenmoreopportunitiesforcomplexthinkingand

communicationtodevelopwiththementorsofferedbythisdigitalpracticum.ThePSTs

servedaslearningmentorswhohelpedstudentsembraceversussimplifythecomplexities

ofpoetry.Forexample,oneoftheconsiderationsthatDymokeandHughes(2011)caution

againstisthemistakeofassumingthatpoeticvoiceisnecessarilyequatedwiththeauthor.


190

Wesawstudentsgrapplingwiththiscomplexityindiscussionswiththeirmentors.One

studenttriedonanidentityasaspeakerinherpoetrywritingthatdidnotreflectherasa

person,andthePSTencouragedhertotalkaboutthischoiceandhowwritingfroma

differentspeakerperspectivefelt.Successforstudentscomesin“offeringmany

opportunitiestodiscussinasafeandcollaborativeenvironment[bytapping]intonew

communicativespaces,suchaswikis”(Dymoke&Hughes,p.55).Thewikiinthispracticum

andtheaudienceofthementorsprovidedthisexpanded,safe,communicativespace,and

thedatashowedexperimentationthatwelcomedspecificfeedbackandincreased

discussionsbeyondthetraditionalclassroom.

Asaresearchgroup,wepusheddeeperintothisconceptofauthenticaudience

withinthisproject.Weaskedourselveswhethercommentingonartisauthentic.Whilewe

imaginethatleavingatheatreanddiscussingaplayorcommentingonapieceinanart

museumisauthenticconversationaboutart,thereissomeperformativenaturein

modelingthediscussionofpoetryforneophytepoetsandneophyteteachers.Whatwe

foundtoworkasasharedexperienceforus,theresearchers,wasacomparisontothepeer-

reviewprocess.Werecognizedthatthereisalanguageandanarttothinkingcritically

aboutwrittenpoetryandproseintheacademicworld.Thisistheforumthatwesaw

createdbythisdigitalnetwork.Studentswereencouragedtothinkandcreatewithalarger

audiencethanjusttheirclassmatesandtheteacherinmind,anaudiencethatmodeledthe

academicdiscourseofpoetryanalysis.Theninth-gradestudentsshowedsomenervesand

sawthisforthechallenginglearningenvironmentitwas.Buttheyalsogrewintoconfident

thinkersandwriterswhocouldclearlyarticulatetheirunderstandingofthechoicesthat

writersmake.


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PSTsalsohadanauthenticaudienceofstudentsandthereforehadtheopportunity

topracticetheirdevelopingteachervoicewithinthediscourseofthewiki.Theyworkedon

beingencouragingbutalsoconstructivelycritical,andthisbalancewasdifficultforthese

neophytes.Encouragingstancesincommentstostudentpoetryareachallenge,evenfor

seasonededucators,andthisinvitedspaceforinteractionseemedtomakethePSTswant

todowell.Revisionandreflectionservedapurpose,beyondtheclassroomteacher;this

additionalaudienceseemedtomakeadifference.

Inadditiontoworkingwithstudents,thePSTswerementoredinanELAclassroom

whereNewLiteracieswaspracticedfortheskillsthatcouldbenurturedinsteadofjustasa

fascinationwithemergingtools.Inthisway,thePSTswereofferedabridgebetweentheory

andpractice.PSTssawinnovativeteachingpracticeswithtechnology,andthecooperating

teacher’sclassroombecameamentortextthatPSTscould“read”toconceptualizetheir

futureclassroom.Toooften,cooperatingteachersareencouragingoftechnologybutmay

notbeparticularlyinnovative,ormayevenbereluctantbecauseofpastnegative

experiences.IfateacherpreparationprogramwantstoteachNewLiteracies,theyneedto

offerpracticumexperiencesinrealclassroomsthataretechnologicallyrich.Those

placementsmaynotbenearby.

ThisdigitalpracticumalsoofferedaplacewherePSTs(movingtotheothersideof

thedesk)couldbegintoseethemselvesastheteacherinaclassroom.Thenatureofthe

collaborativespaceofthewikimadeitclearthatthereweremanyexpertsinthisspace,

fromthecooperatingteachertothefellowPSTstothestudentsthemselvesasthey

developedtheirdistributedexpertise.ThepracticuminvitedthePSTstopracticeteaching

withintheseshiftingrolesbyconveyingthemselvesasnotknowingeverything.Ultimately,


192

thiscreatedaspacethatencouragedpossibilityversusaspacetocontrol.Thisnotionof

distributedexpertiseisespeciallyimportantwhenconsideringemergingtoolsintheELA

classroom.WhenPSTsarementoredindistributedexpertise,theycanbegintoseethat

theywillneverbeexpertinallcontentorinthetoolsthattheywillteach.Theycantake

confidenceasalearningcoachasopposedtoanall-knowingsage,continuallylearningwith

theirstudents.

Classroommanagement,oftenastruggleforPSTs,wastakenoutoftheequation

withthewiki,givingthemevenmorespacetoexploretheirrolesasfellowexpertswith

students.PSTscouldfocusonhoningpedagogicalskillsinsteadofthemanagementones

theyneedtomasterinface-to-facepracticumexperiences.Asanintroductorypracticum,

thisexperienceproveddynamiceventhoughastudentwasontheothersideofthescreen

andthePSTneverlefttheiruniversityclassroomandneverdealtwithclassroom

managementissues.ThePSTscouldfocusonconstructiveresponses/feedbackthat

promotedcriticalthinking.

Conclusion

Ultimately,thiswasaDeweyanexperienceforthePSTsinthesensethattheywere

doing,whileinteractingwithrealstudentswhowerereadingandwritingwhileusing

technology(Dewey,1938).Becauseoftheaffordancesoftechnology,thelinesareblurred

inregardstothelimitsofnotleavingtheuniversityworldoftheoryanddiscussion.Online

spacescanbridgethegapbetweentheoryandpracticethatisoftenlamentedinteacher

preparationprograms(Perrow,2013).In2009,21%ofteacherssurveyedreported

requiringstudentstocontributetoclasslearningviablogsorwikis(Gray,Thomas,&

Lewis,Tice,&NationalCenterforEducationStatistics,2010).Wikismaybetheeducational


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Web2.0toolthatbestharnessestheeaseandpowerofcollaborative

publishing.Richardson(2009)acknowledgesthattheideathat“anyonecaneditanything

onthesiteanytimethattheywant”(p.56)maybedauntingtoteachersfromthe

managementperspective,butitneednotbe.Justasatravelerinanewtownfeelsabit

disconcertedatfirst,frequentingthesiteandexperimentingwiththenavigationoptions

bringsfamiliarity.Thecontrolsonthewikithatrequirevisitorstogainpermissionto

accessthesitemayhelpmitigatesomeoftheconcernsofinitialwikiusageaswellasmini

lessonsandclassroomrulesonacceptableuse.Ultimately,wearelivinginnewtimeswhen

itcomestocreating,collaborating,andinteractingintheworld,andtheinnovatorswith

thedispositionsofNewLiteracieswillthrive(Coiro,Knobel,Lankshear,&Leu,2014).

Teachereducationcancreatespacesforthesepractices.

Thisstudyhaslimitations.Whilethisanalysisisofonesemesterofasix-year

partnership,itchroniclesasmallgroupofstudentsandPSTsandisnotmeanttobe

generalizable.Weseewaysthatfurtherresearchcouldexplorelongerinteractionsand

couldstudyachievementdataandstudentandPSTperceptionsofsuchpracticum

experiences.Weseewaysthatthedynamicsofthisparticularclassroomteachercouldhave

madeforaparticularlypositiveexperiencewhenanothermaynothave.Werecognizethe

importanceofdevelopinginPSTsacriticalstancewithemergingtechnologies;wedonot

claimthatourPSTscontinuedtotakethisstanceintotheirownclassrooms.Thisisripefor

furtherresearch.

Whilenotwithouttheselimitations,thisstudyhasimplicationsintheteacher

educationclassroom.HughesandDymoke(2011)cautionPSTsto“evaluatethepoem,not

thestudent”(p.55).Thewikiaffordedthis,asthePSTsworkingasynchronouslywereable


194

tofocusonthewordsineachpoem.Thelackofface-to-facecontactactuallyaffordedthis

focusonthepoeticdevicesversusafocusonthepersonwhowrotethepoem.Whilesocial

connectionswereforged,equatingthepoemwiththepersondidnotoccur.

Richardson(2009)remindsus,“Aswecontinuetomovetowardaworldwhere

everyonehasaccesstoideasandwherecollaborationistheexpectationratherthanthe

exception,wikiscangoalongwaytoteachingourstudentssomeveryusefulskillsfortheir

future”(p.59).Mentorsusingtechnologylearnquicklythatthementorshipgoestwoways,

thatwearealwayslearningnewskills,hacks,andremixeswhenitcomestoliteracies,

technologyuse,andpracticalapplications.Thiscloseexaminationofonesemesterof

interactionsexemplifiessomeoftheseexpectationsinatimeofshiftingdispositions

towardsliteraciesandtechnologiesintheclassroom.


195

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AppendixPoetryPracticumExpectationsinELAMethodsCourse

ExpectationsofPreserviceTeachersWednesday,Oct.15:

• Getfamiliarwithwikisite• Commentonintroductionpageonstudents’wikipages• ResearchwhatPoetryOutLoud(POL)is

Wednesday,Oct.22:

• CommentonPOLpage:• theirpoemchoice,theimagetheychosetorepresentaspotinthepoem,and

techniquesstudentshaveexplained• Whatdoyouseehappeninginthepoemtohelpstudentsunderstandit?

• Commentontheintroductionpage:• Respondtostudentcommentsbacktoyou

Wednesday,Oct.29:

• CommentonthePOLpage:• Respondtostudents’’newreflection• Whattone(s)doyouthinkthestudentevokewhenrecitingthispoem?• Listentotheiraudiorecordings(onthebottomofthePOLpage)andgive

feedbackforreflectionorimprovement• Commentonthenewpageoriginalpoetrypage:

• GivefeedbackonthisfirstpoemstudentschosetosharewithyouWednesday,Nov.5:

• CommentonthePOLpage:• Respondtotheirreflectiononstudentrecitation• Suggestanewpoemthestudentmightwanttoread

• Commentonoriginalpoetrypage(s):• Givefeedbackonpoemdraft(s)lookingspecificallyathowtheyaretryingto

usepoetictechniquesWednesday,Nov.12:

• Readthefinalprojectguidelines(postedonwiki):• Besuretoclickonfullassignmentandexemplar• YoucanviewotherexamplesonPastReadersandWriters/PoetryPages

frompastClasses(linkedatbottomofpagelistonleft)• Commentonthestudents’finalprojectpage:

• Whatthoughtsdoyouhaveontheirpoemchoiceandhowtheymightmaketheirfinalanalysisandrecitationforit?

• Commentonoriginalpoetrypage(s):• Studentswillhavepostedrevisedpoem(s)ornewpoem(s)


203

Friday,Nov.14-Sunday,Nov.16:

• Commentonoriginalpoetrypage(s):• Studentswillhavepostedrevisedpoemsforyourfinalfeedback,revision

ideas,etc.Wednesday,Nov.19:

• Commentonoriginalpoetrypage(s)• Studentswillhaveposted3ormorefinalizedpoemsforyourfinalcomments.

Wednesday,Nov.26:

• Commentonfinalprojectpage:• Watchfinalprojectandgivefeedback• Suggestonelastpoemforthestudentstoexplore