November Learning: Expanding the Boundaries of Learning

Readers and Writers Differ: What “New” Literacy and an Expanding Toolset Mean for Our Teaching (and Learning)

Dr. Sara Kajder, Assistant Professor, Department of Education, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA

The shifts in how we define literacy and the toolset we use in our work as readers and writers makes this an incredibly exciting (and sometimes daunting) time to teach. What does it mean to teach and learn in a classroom that values new literacies? Where are our students learning to read and write? What can we do with technology to engage, empower and evoke our students’ thinking, insights and knowledge – and how does that differ from what we have done before? Are our students REALLY digital natives? As much as our talk will pose critical questions, the bigger goal is to explore practice. We’ll examine methods for co-constructing literacy practices alongside our students and think deeply about what learning means within those examples and contexts. Keep in mind – though this is a workshop that is targeted to challenge and move the thinking and practice of any teacher who works with readers and writers in the classroom, it is intentionally interdisciplinary, reflecting how we learn/inquire and what it means to really value and “leverage” the learners in our classrooms.

Location: Boston Park Plaza Hotel
Price: $225
Note: Limited to 30
Audience: Grades 4 – 12