127
Copyright © 2012, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited.
Chapter 9
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-1788-9.ch009
1. INTRODUCTION
Our Language Arts teaching methods course
focuses on multiple literacies including digital
literacy, critical literacy and media literacy. Our
“students” are teacher candidates engaged in this
one-year teacher Pre-service program. We provide
this course at a laptop university – one with an
emerging presence in the field of digital pedago-
gies. Each of the teacher candidates is assigned a
laptop for the duration of the program. In the first
section of the paper, we outline the context of the
course, our instructional goals, and the theoreti-
cal framework that we have used to evaluate our
instruction. Next, we describe our investigation
to determine how, and to what degree technology
Lorayne Robertson
University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Canada
Janette Hughes
University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Canada
The Teachers They
are Becoming:
Multiple Literacies in Teacher Pre-Service
ABSTRACT
The authors review all aspects of a Language Arts methods course for pre-service teachers, one which
employs a multi-literacies pedagogy (The New London Group, 1996) and is taught at a laptop-based
university. The course begins with a deliberate immersion into the complexities of multiple literacies,
including digital literacy and critical literacy. The authors outline the course assignments, resources
and instructional goals to determine how technology impacts pre-service teacher learning and intended
future practice. The qualitative data sources include digital artifacts such as digital literacy stories, book
talks that focus on social justice issues, and media literacy lessons. In addition, the researchers draw
from cross-program data based on teacher candidate refections and interviews. The data suggest that
both the use of digital technology and a multi-literacies pedagogy can help pre-service teachers refect
on personal experiences to develop literacy teaching and learning practices that have transformative
elements.