Learning Portfolio

•Meaning-making is a social practice •Literacy practices are influenced by cultural, social, local and global contexts, which are linked to our personal identities.•DESIGN: Patterns of meaning are not repeated, they are the evolution of old ideas•The interrelationship between ways in which we make meaning has shifted from a set standard to a dynamic skill set•Student literacy events/experiences need to be acknowledged as support for meaning-making •To extend the traditional definition of literacy, multiple modes of communication need to be acknowledged•Electronically mediated communication has made an impact on new literacies by making literacy events more accessible•New Literacy Studies promote the dynamic nature of literacy and the contexts that affect the lens in which we create, interpret or understand multiple literacies. •Children come to school with dynamic/individual resources that can be used to facilitate meaning-making •We need opportunities to interact with different types of texts and problem solve

What was learned?

1.Recognizing and reflecting upon my childhood literacy experiences2.Recognizing and reflecting upon early literacy experiences of my parents and grandparents3.Reflecting upon how #1 and #2 shaped me as a student 4.Fostering a commitment to working with diverse populations that stems from bachelor of education experiences in Toronto5.Reflecting upon how #1-4 act as a baseline to my literacy teaching experiences

Internalizing Multiliteracies pedagogy

In order to foster an inclusive classroom, I will focus on: •Supporting the dynamic needs of my students and actively seeking resources •Acknowledging, reflecting, comparing, and sharing multiliteracies in order for students to “cope with the challenges of the 21st century…[and] exploit all possible means to interpret or approach any given task” (Ball, 2000, p.249)•Respecting student literacy events/experiences and encouraging their classroom use, fostering a strong link between home and school •Empowering student voices through critical literacy experiences and reflective practices•Incorporating students’ skills and previous knowledge to the curriculum•Modelling the excitement of learning, cooperating, sharing, and investigating•Promoting risk-taking and reflection in a safe learning environment

By the end of this course, I realized how a focus on multiliteracies pedagogy can positively influence my teaching practice. I also realized the limits of traditional literacy definitions.

CHARACTERS

•Course readings•Questions directed at personal teaching practice •Interactions and discussion questions with peers and professor •Links to additional resources•Links to personal practical knowledge

How/When

Learning Portfolio

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