Week 8 : New Literacies Professional Development (Final Project Annotated Bibliography)

 For my final project, I’ve decided to focus on the growing concern around professional development opportunities available to educators within the new literacies and media field. While new literacies and medias are on the rise, the lack of professional development opportunities continues to grow as a concern in education. The five articles below will help me introduce this topic and bring awareness to this growing concern.

Article 1 : 

Friedrich, L. Trainin, G. (2016). Paving the way for new literacies integration in elementary teacher education. Creative Education. 1456-1474. https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation.aspx?paperid=68237 

This article is a collective case study that focuses on new literacies integration in elementary teacher education. Many Midwestern student teachers who attended a public university were observed through this study. The creation of an innovative teacher education model was the product of the results of this study. The Triarchic Model of Teacher Education shares the relationship between a pre-service student teacher, field placement cooperating teacher, and teacher education technology coach. It is important to consider the current development of pre-service and in-service teachers when speaking on how we are ‘paving the way’ for new literacies and technologies - this is where our professional development starts. 

Article 2 : 

Knobel, M. Kalman, J. (2021). New literacies and teacher learning : Professional development and the digital turn. International Review of Education. 257-263. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8018510/pdf/11159_2021_Article_9899.pdf 

This article recognizes that teacher learning through professional development is so important but it hasn’t been what it can be. As educators, we know how effective the ‘learner-centered approach’ is, so why isn’t it encouraged for teacher education too? Teachers need professional development opportunities that are ‘teacher-centered’ and practice-oriented. We need to recognize the potential of digital technologies and move towards enriching learning environments for teachers. This article reviews the contributions made in the New Literacies and Teacher Learning : Professional Development and the Digital Turn book, sharing a variety of perspectives on in-service teacher professional development within this area of study. 

Article 3 : 

McGowan, C. E. (2018). The most efficient and effective ways to address new literacies for the 21st century classroom. Rowan University : Theses and Dissertations. https://rdw.rowan.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3498&context=etd 

This literature review provides extensive information on the most efficient and effective ways to implement new literacies in the classroom. The author puts a focus on curriculum development approaches, professional development, and the direct impact of new literacies on student motivation. It is helpful to consider the ‘best’ ways to support new literacy integration into the classroom to develop the most supportive professional development opportunities for teachers. An interesting addition to this study is the focus on the role and importance of motivation and engagement of students. 

Article 4 : 

Wang, S. Hsu, H. Coster, D. (2017). New literacy implementation : The impact of professional development on middle school student science learning. International Journal of Information an Communication Technology Education. 13(3). 53-72. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316714332_New_Literacy_Implementation_The_Impact_of_Professional_Development_on_Middle_School_Student_Science_Learning 

This article specifically focuses on developing a framework to help guide middle school science teachers’ in implementing new literacy in their classrooms. Through a two-year professional development experience, twenty five in-service middle school science teachers were observed and ‘followed’ while implementing new literacies with their students. The authors of this article investigated the impact of the professional development experience on their classroom practices and student learning outcomes. This study offers so much information on how much extensive and effective professional development opportunities actually affect teacher success and student outcomes. 

Article 5 : 

Zoch, M. Myers, J. Belcher, J. (2016). Teachers’ engagement with new literacies : Support for implementing technology in the english/language arts classroom. Contemporary Issues in Technology & Teacher Education. 17(1). 25-52. https://citejournal.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/v17i1English1.pdf 

This article reviews the study on in-service teachers that completed a new literacies and integration of technology with literacy focused graduate-level course. As a part of the course, the teachers taught a summer writing camp. The authors studied how the teachers were integrating technology into their classroom and how the graduate-level course supported that. This study offers a lot of information about how we should support the implementation of technology in the english/language arts classroom. An interesting point made through this study was that testing was found to be a challenging barrier to technology integration.