Thursday, June 1, 2023
1:45 p.m. – 2:40 p.m. Patel Center, Room 140
1:45 -2:00 p.m.
“Using our lives as text: A critical ethnographic case study planting seeds of hope in a Jamaican 4th and 6th form ELA classroom”
VIRTUAL PRESENTATION
I will present a section of a broader study that examined teachers’ and students’ emancipation literacies and dreaming in a multiple-sited transnational case study during this session. I’ll discuss the methodology I used for this project. One participant’s experience teaching the dream curriculum I developed utilizing Caribbean music, which was reconstructed to incorporate more contemporary Caribbean music, will be the main emphasis of this session. In order to describe the participants’ process of dreaming and becoming, I’ll discuss how she used emancipation literacies to share her dreams and planted seeds of hope which cultivated a safe space for her students to share their dreams. I will invite participants to discuss how they go about dreaming and becoming.
Dr. Dianne Wellington
2:05 – 2:20 p.m.
Policymakers and provincial governments have a responsibility to prioritise equitable, diverse, inclusive, and accessible (EDIA) approaches that leverage both intersectionality (Crenshaw 1991, 2021) and transdisciplinarity in literacies research. Supported by a federally-funded knowledge synthesis grant that surveyed the scope of EDIA in Canadian schools, this article focuses on youth marginalisation to address literacies learning. The authors address five concepts from a three-phase literature review to examine inclusive practices that respect, acknowledge and address EDIA in K-12 education. Across reviewed studies, there is an underlying trajectory outlining methodological challenges in implementing EDIA practices. We advance anti-racist and abolitionist approaches by addressing five areas: 1) making learning more accessible by adopting culturally-responsive pedagogy informed by local cultures, languages, and values, 2) pursuing sustainable professional development in culturally-inclusive teaching practices, 3) creating safer school environments that nurture community-driven relationships between parents, students and their teachers, 4) reforming educational policies to concretely address structural racism, discrimination, and misrepresentation of socially marginalized students by disrupting what is conceptualised and accepted as ideal culturally-responsive pedagogy, and 5) prioritising community perspectives and input curriculum decisions to support underrepresented students. Ultimately, this article echoes this issue’s orientations as it explores transdisciplinary practices composing an evolving understanding of literacies.
Dr. Amélie Lemieux
2:25 – 2:40 p.m.
“Pod Clubs for Professional Learning and Collegial Conversation”
While school- or district-provided teacher Professional Development aims to achieve standardized goals, autonomous and inquiry-driven conversations can supplement and individualize professional learning opportunities. Busy teachers may utilize education podcasts as a targeted way to examine problems of practice. Educators can freely access podcasts relevant to their interests and needs with any internet-connected device at any time. Podcasts can showcase the work of researchers and expert educators by providing a conversational approach to professional learning. By listening to common podcast episodes or series, educators can tap into shared texts that can facilitate professional conversations. Teachers can form Pod Clubs, similar to book clubs, by coming together to discuss what they heard. Pod Clubs offer group members opportunities for tailored professional learning, critical reflection, and collaborative conversations.
In this session, we will provide attendees a How-To Guide for bringing Pod Clubs to their own school or district. We will describe the contexts and methods of our pilot study and share key findings. Attendees will then participate in a demonstration Pod Club meeting by listening to a podcast excerpt, noting initial reactions, and discussing potential applications of ideas. In conclusion, we will share resources so our audience can launch Pod Clubs in their own spaces and support others in these accessible and tailored professional learning opportunities.
