Multiliteracy (Philippine Setting): Action Research

Multiliteracy One stage after another Angela M. Esmeralda March 2017 I, myself, integrate digital technology in teaching. I have high regards to different resources found in the internet. I make sure that I maximize all the available sources to make my teaching more meaningful and effective. While reading articles online, I came across the word, Multiliteracy. Multiliteracy is a theory of which encourages the engagement with multiple literacy methods – linguistic, visual, audio, gestural, spatial and multimodal – to learn and communicate. It is truly that digital computers have made a great impact in the society. Given this fact, it is a must that, as we progress in the field of technology, we need to take note that our responsibilities also progresses. “ To be a successful leader in the 21st Century, school leaders need to be open to change, know how to manage to change and be a risk takers.” (Schrum, L. and Levin B., 2015) I have been teaching for 3 years. I have attended various seminars and workshops that explain the importance of both reading and digital learning. Although each concept may belong to two different fields, both have a great benefit from each other. We have encountered numerous articles, journals and researches that explain the fundamental use of digital learning to Reading in the 21st century learning. Digital learning has been playing a great role in the field of Education. Many of us use technology in teaching. This encompasses several web platforms such Facebook, twitter, blogs and Youtube. We are currently surrounded by thousands of information stored in a virtual library called the internet. This has been the case for the past 20 years or so and will continually progress as the time goes by.” As we teach the next generation of Web users about the networks available to them, we are also giving them the opportunity to learn a mindset that can allow them to stretch and explore the potential of this interactive medium.” Glister, 1999 For the last term of this academic school year, students are teachers are given the chance to do integrated performance task. This means that one Performance task aims to achieve two or more skills and subjects. This Performance task is an integration of the subjects English, Social Studies, and Filipino. In connection to the English subject, the Performance task aims to make the students identify and share the importance of a particular culture through its traditional or local cuisine. The objective of this PETA is to share the culture that each group represents with the help of its traditional food. The class was divided into 6 groups. Each group member acted as cook/chef. Considering that the food is just a supplementary, therefore, the students must give attention in knowing the country’s background, tradition, and culture. As I have mentioned above, students are dependent on the technology. A new emergence of paradoxical concept is that, students aren’t very much aware of the proper and correct way of getting information on the internet. There is a small number of students who are practicing quoting, paraphrasing, summarizing and citing sources. Take for example the grade level that I’m handling this academic school year, the batch of grade 7. I remembered a time when I asked them to read the essay entitled, “Where is the Patis?” by Carmen Guerrero- Nakpil. I asked them to research for articles online about the essay. The next day, students were able to give various answers to the questions I gave about the text, but when I started asking about the sources of their answers, students weren’t able to give even the websites where they took the information that they have. This has made me realize that even though there is a large number of students who are digitally native, there is still a large number of students who disregard the importance of acknowledging sources. The aim of this action research is to answer the following question: I. A. Are the students able to relate themselves to the literary pieces that we are reading? B. Are they able to see the impact of one culture to its countrymen? II. A. Are the students maximizing all sources in finding relevant answers using the technology? B. Are the students who are capable of integrating the reading into different subjects and or activities? 21st Century skills for learning and innovation include critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity. (Schrum, L. and Levin B., 2015). Albeit all the information are very available to the students, and the expectation on our students to find relevant answers also escalates. This means that they are expected to develop more than one or two skills. Students are now expected to perform very well in the classroom. As mentioned by Barbara R. Blackburn (2008), there are several ways to achieve Literacy. There are some general principles differentiate one student to anther: A. Students need to read and write regularly and see literacy as an integral part of learning. B. Students need to experience language regularly, authentically and in variety of ways. C. Students need instruction in literacy. They become better readers and writers when supported by instruction that teaches them how to grow and improve. Multiliteracy means that it is no longer enough for literacy teachers to focus solely on the rules of standard forms of the National Language. Rather, the business of communication and representation of meaning today increasingly requires that learners are able to figure out the differences in patterns of meaning from one context to another. These differences are consequence of any number of factors, including, culture, gender, life experience, subject matter, social or subject domain and the like. Every meaning exchange is cross-cultural to a certain degree. As I have read in the book written by Neil Selwyn, Is technology Good for Education, he mentioned that “Digital technology is now part of Education. The past forty years, have seen exponential increases in computer processing power accompanied by major technological developments such as the internet and mobile telephony. Smartphones, tablets, and other computerized devices are now common means with people, consuming media, engaging with the core institutions in our societies and generally living out many aspects of everyday life.” (Selwyn, 2016) Kalantzis and Cope have created a Pedagogical Framework that will help us, the teachers, to identify how Multiliteracy takes place and what are the advantages. Source: http://amandahealey2.weebly.com/multiliteracies-model.html The Multiliteracy is categorized into 4 major quadrant: The Experiencing the known and new, Conceptualizing by naming and with theory, Analyzing functionally and critically, and Applying appropriately and creatively. This is where the concept of Multiliteracy took place. Each step that they took is connected to a stage. The overall PETA process made them achieve one literacy after another. The entire performance task has contributed to their understanding of a concept and to how they will make use of this knowledge in real-life. In the beginning of the week – long PETA, students were asked to group themselves and choose a country that they would like to present. Afterwards, they completed a proposal worksheet which indicates their objectives and their agenda – how do they plan to achieve the objectives. Afterwhich, the students were asked to discuss the dishes that they wish to include – Main Course, appetizer, soup, dessert, and beverages. Their assignment is to research about how the food under the given categories originated and how they have been contributing to their culture. Also, the students created a trifold that indicated information about their chosen country and its local cuisine. They also indicated the sources of their information. On the PETA presentation day, students brought all the materials they need for the booth and studied all the information necessary to ensure that they will be able to answer the questions of the guest judges. By the end of the PETA, I certainly believe that the students were able to achieve literacy and as well as made them experience an authentic learning by experiencing things by themselves. I created a table that summarizes how they were able to achieve each the stages. ENGLISH PERFORMANCE TASK Experiencing The students reflected on the theme of the essay that they read, Where is the Patis? by Carmen Guerrero – Nakpil. The students identified the impact of the Filipino Culture in the lives of the Filipinos. Conceptualizing The students thought of Foreign Culture that they wish to explore (History and Food Cuisine). Students gathered data through research. The students managed to cite all of their sources. Analyzing The students relate all the gathered information and evaluate how History and Food Cuisine of a Foreign Country have contributed greatly to their culture and tradition. Applying The students created an artistic food booth that demonstrates the different culture and tradition of a country. They creatively executed through food booth and carefully delivered their knowledge by answering the questions of the guest judges. Overall, I certainly believe that our Grade 7 Students have achieved multiple literacies that are relevant and vital in 21st century learning. One task is interconnected to another task that contrives in further enabling the development of one skill to another. This skill is also interdependent to several more skills. Given the fact that there is a big number of students nowadays who can access the internet for more than 5 hours per day, this only implies that they are capable of getting information in the internet. Students are in need of maximizing all the sources that the world wide web can offer. Although majority of what is in the internet can be accessed for free, they also need to practice all the possible ways of citing sources and acknowledging the intellectual property the owners of these information. Practicing this in a very young age indicates being a responsible user of the technology and the internet. As teachers, we aim to elicit all the potentials of our students. We are playing a vital role in making them learn. The activities that we provide them are very significant for these serves as their chances and opportunity to experience and discover essential things that they need in order to survive and adapt to the fast eve-changing world. The integration of different activities to come up with one PETA has made the students explore things and as well as maximize all their resources. This task made my students achieve Multiliteracy. The use of several stages in this PETA is connected to the stages of Multiliteracy; Experiencing, Conceptualizing, Analyzing and Applying. The PETA is not just a mere activity but rather a task that made them develop important skills that they will need in the near future. Multiliteracy will be achieved if we tend to expand the horizon of our expectations of what our students can give to us. This doesn’t mean that we require them to do a lot, but rather make them see things in all other perspectives and make them realize that each view is correct and acceptable. This means that we should expect them to give more and thus, let them give more. Multiliterarcy is achievable. We should not encapsulate their abilities but make them explore all the things out there. We need to let them integrate things by themselves and see the worth of all their discoveries. Let them enjoy learning and make them realize the importance of it. Sources: Blackburn. B. Literacy from A to Z: engaging students in Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening. 2008, New York, USA: Routledge Healey, A. ‘Multiliteracies Model’, Transforming Pedagogy with Multiliteraries in the Classroom’ retrieved February 2017 retrieved at http://amandahealey2.weebly.com/multiliteracies-model.html Kalantsiz and Cope 2002. ‘Multiliteracies’, New Learning retrieved February 02, 2017 retrieved at http://newlearningonline.com/multiliteracies. Schrum, L. and Levin B., Leading 21st century Schools: harnessing technology for Engagement and Acheivement. 2015. London, United Kingdom; Sage Publications Ltd. Selwyn, N. Is technology Good for Education. 2016. Cambridge UK: Polity Press, p. 77 Selwyn, N. Is technology Good for Education. 2016. Cambridge UK: Polity Press, p. 70 MULTILITERACY: One stage after another Action Research 2016-2017