Preface: Why "New Literacies and Global Learning"?
In 2010, as I completed my student teaching internship in Science Education at North Carolina State University, I was confident that my professors had ushered me through a teacher preparation program that had equipped me with a strong background to succeed in teaching High School science. I knew my science content, I held constructivist teaching perspectives and valued inquiry-based learning for all students, and I recognized the importance of student diversity, valuing each student’s intellectual and cultural resources, and their lived experiences. Before the university, I came to teaching from a family of educators who held me accountable for listening to the experience of veteran teachers, and taught me that my excitement for the classroom could be best harnessed under the mentorship and expertise of those around me. I understood that I had much to learn and much to offer, and my undergraduate program had empowered me to do great work in the science classroom.
But I also saw missing pieces in my teacher preparation; there were a few other things – most likely from observations and conversations with career teachers in my own family – that I knew I would need, on top of what I had learned with my professors. Most noticeably, I had a glaring lack of training in developing students’ academic and disciplinary literacy skills. After two study abroad experiences and a minor in Anthropology, I wanted to find ways of bringing the world into my science teaching for my students to experience – something else that my undergraduate program had not emphasized.
In seeking a resource to fill these gaps, I stumbled across the New Literacies and Global Learning graduate program (NLGL) in NCSU’s Department of Curriculum and Instruction. This was it! The name alone was a perfect descriptor of where I believed Education was moving, and this seemed like the perfect place to accomplish the additional learning I wanted in order to be a great teacher. I started my coursework even before taking on my first full-time teaching position, and I continued taking classes alongside of my years as a beginning teacher.
All along, I had trouble describing the program to others who might ask. But three specific themes always showed up: student diversity, global learning, and the dynamic nature of today’s literacy. This is what drew me into the NLGL, and this is what has shaped my professional learning (both formal and informal) over my first years in the science classroom. As the NLGL was not necessarily created with science teachers in mind, I was offered the chance to design a unique graduate program that would best serve my interests. This flexibility has led to a focus on multicultural education within the context of 21st century teaching and learning theories. While I could not have articulated it at the start, the question that has guided me all along through my graduate work has been “How can I teach my High School science classes as globally and culturally responsive courses?”
But I also saw missing pieces in my teacher preparation; there were a few other things – most likely from observations and conversations with career teachers in my own family – that I knew I would need, on top of what I had learned with my professors. Most noticeably, I had a glaring lack of training in developing students’ academic and disciplinary literacy skills. After two study abroad experiences and a minor in Anthropology, I wanted to find ways of bringing the world into my science teaching for my students to experience – something else that my undergraduate program had not emphasized.
In seeking a resource to fill these gaps, I stumbled across the New Literacies and Global Learning graduate program (NLGL) in NCSU’s Department of Curriculum and Instruction. This was it! The name alone was a perfect descriptor of where I believed Education was moving, and this seemed like the perfect place to accomplish the additional learning I wanted in order to be a great teacher. I started my coursework even before taking on my first full-time teaching position, and I continued taking classes alongside of my years as a beginning teacher.
All along, I had trouble describing the program to others who might ask. But three specific themes always showed up: student diversity, global learning, and the dynamic nature of today’s literacy. This is what drew me into the NLGL, and this is what has shaped my professional learning (both formal and informal) over my first years in the science classroom. As the NLGL was not necessarily created with science teachers in mind, I was offered the chance to design a unique graduate program that would best serve my interests. This flexibility has led to a focus on multicultural education within the context of 21st century teaching and learning theories. While I could not have articulated it at the start, the question that has guided me all along through my graduate work has been “How can I teach my High School science classes as globally and culturally responsive courses?”
The purpose of this website is to share with others the answers I have found for this guiding question.
Click below to begin exploring the findings of my graduate coursework:
Click below to begin exploring the findings of my graduate coursework: