With this new year (Happy 2016 :D ) comes a new semester and new courses. One of the courses I am taking this semester is called 21st Century Literacies Across the Primary/Junior Curriculum (aka. EDUC4P27). During the first lecture we were discussing exactly what a 21st century classroom can look like and how it can impact the learners. Essentially, it emphasizes 21st century skills that involve technology and personalized learning to improve students creativity, which can include anything from digital textbooks, using internet during tests, and personalized schedules (21st Century Education, 2012).
We also learned briefly about literacy and all of it’s different types. To summarize, literacy is essentially the way we show we understand something, and the way we use different techniques to do so. We also discussed how it is important for us to be critically literate which Stevens and Bean (2007, p. vii) define as “critiquing the relationships among language use, social practice, and power”.
Finally we explored the different types of literacy. According to the Ministry of Education and other Scholars there are currently 11 types of literacies that students need to know. These include: Critical, Media, Moral, Character Education, Environmental, Financial, Global, Multicultural, Technological, Mental Health, and Discipline-Based Literacies. Although some of these may seem self-explanatory, others are a little bit harder to grasp. Within the coming weeks, we are going to apply the Jigsaw method in class to try and teach ourselves the literacies. In doing so we will have “expert literacy groups” where we will all explore a single literacy (ie. Environmental literacy) in depth, which will make us “experts” on the specific type. Then we split up again into groups consisting of experts on all of the literacies to teach each other and “put the puzzle together”. I am eager to learn about each of these in depth from my peers and be able to practice my teaching skills on my peers as well. Perhaps I will make a post all about the literacies in the near future!
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