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Reading and Writing: Challenges Facing Today’s Students

Belinda M. AndersonAssistant Professor of Reading

Northampton Community College

Teens in your classroom

Common annoyances during class time Texts Tweets Instagram Selfies in the bathroom

Millenial Generation:Digital Natives

These students have grown up with digital technology: Cell phones Text messaging Video games

Being surrounded by media does not necessarily mean students recognize or understand its content or intent. Information Communication Technology (ICT)

Creates a paradox for educators

Information Communication

Technology

Millenials have access to more information that any other generation in history. Creates complex technological environments to

navigate Extensive use of ICT creates false sense of

competency among teens Misperception among many adults that teens are

“media savvy.” Hands on is not the same as heads on…

Social Media – A moment of reflection…

Facebook vs. Book People’s memory of Facebook posts are 1 ½ times

greater than their memory of sentences in books The human brain favors natural, spontaneous writing

over polished writing Modern technology allows written language to more

closely emulate preliterate communication, hence making it easier to remember

How can we utilize this in our classrooms???

“Why the Brain ‘Likes’ Facebook” – Reader’s Digest June 2013

Reaching the Millennial Generation

Today’s teens bring to school a complex set of literacy practices and backgrounds that are underused and often unacknowledged by educators.

We need to bridge the knowledge the students bring with content they need to learn to be successful.

Bridging the Gap

Social Constructivism

Media Literacy

Alternative Writing Assignments

Social ContructivismVygotsky

Social Constructivism – collaborative learning Vygotsky felt all cognitive functions originate as products of

social interactions Learning is the process by which learners assimilate and

accommodate new knowledge as they integrate into a knowledge community

Zone of Proximal Development: Level of potential development that the learner is capable of reaching under the guidance of teachers or in collaboration with peers.

Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in Society. London: Harvard University Press.

Media Literacy

Ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and effectively communicate in a variety of forms including print and nonprint texts

Stories Preservice teachers uncomfortable using media

literacy – wanted to use traditional writing methods My observations from MS - College

Alternative Writing Assignments

Writer’s autobiography Compose a multimodal and multigenre

autobiography of your past, present, and future writing life.

Things I carry/Apps I carry Draw your phone/backpack. Think about the

tangible/in-tangible items that you bring to school. What do the things you carry say about you as a scholar, writer, person?

Alternative Writing Assignments

Visual Essay Choose a pop culture issue. Create a visual essay

that critiques the issue and presents both your understanding and your predictions for future change.

Take Action! Create a space for students to design individual

questions for inquiry. Make direct, explicit connections among student interests, disciplinary content, and state and national standards

How can you utilize this information in your

reading/writing classroom?

Break into groups

Brainstorm ideas

Navigate potential pitfalls within your district, building, classroom

Share with others

Sources

Considine, D., Horton, J., & Moorman, G. (2009). Teaching and reaching the millenial generation through media literacy. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 52(6), 471-481

Hundley, M., & Holbrook, T. (2013). Set in stone or set in motion? Multimodal and digital writing with preservice english teachers. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 56(6), 500-509.

Spires, H., Hervey, L. G., Morris, G., & Stelpflug, C. (2012). Energizing project-based inquiry: Middle-grade students read, write, and create videos. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 55(6), 483-493.

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