Teaching with children's literature in initial teacher education: Developing equitable literacy pedagogy through talk about books

Teaching about children’s literature in pre-service teacher education is quite rare, even though research shows it is crucial for teachers to be good at teaching reading as well as being committed readers (Commeyras et al., 2003; Cremin et al., 2009). Emphasis on the reading process can sideline the importance of talking about quality literature to engage students in reading (Author, 2016). I have positioned the role of talk about books as a core part of our undergraduate degree. In this way, my pre-service teachers are alerted to the potential of the ‘fiction effect’ to improve equitable engagement with reading (Jerrim & Moss, 2019) for all students. The paper explores how an initial teacher education course in Australia partnered with local schools to create authentic interactions about children’s literature. A dialogic approach to learning (Alexander, 2020) was adopted to teach pre-service teachers to develop equitable literacy pedagogy informed by children's literature. During their education program the pre-service teachers received letters from school children who wrote about their reading preferences. The letters were discussed for evidence of reading habits and new books were sought as recommendations for children to read. Through considering their own reading identities pre-service teachers collectively developed their knowledge about children’s literature as they developed knowledge of literacy pedagogy. The development of habits of noticing (Simpson et al., 2020) through iterative discussion helped the pre-service teachers’ learn about their students, learn from their students, and encouraged them to take a more holistic view of the teaching of reading.

Necessary but not Sufficient: Literacy Pedagogies for Changing Times

This paper argues the case for expansive and inclusive models of literacy pedagogy that can be applied to curriculua more generally. Literacy pedagogy in Australia has benefitted from using Freebody and Luke's (1990) Four Roles of the Reader Model. We analyse the Paul Kelly song video, Sleep, Australia, Sleep, using this model. Underpinning this model is the concept that each role is necessary but not sufficient. We discuss the benefits fo pluralism in language and literacy pedagogy in an age of standards-based reforms and shifting repertoires of literacy practices in pedagogies that speak back to the Anthropocene.

The liberatory potentials of multimodality: Collaborative Reggaeton music video production in Habana, Cuba

This study took place in Habana, Cuba over approximately 1 year, wherein the researcher collaborated with Reggaeton artists. While scholarship in multimodality has explored its potentials for literacy pedagogy, developing new literacies, and expanding identity possibilities, less research has focused on the creation of the spaces, tools, and resources required for composing multimodal products and on the liberatory dimensions of multimodality. This study highlights the backstories of these production processes, including the innovative use(s) of spaces and tools, the resources leveraged in order to construct and distribute multimodal media, and the ways artists made meaning together. The findings elucidate the ways the artists leveraged their ingenuity, collaboratively developed digital literacy practices, and produced multimodal texts to create new possibilities.

The Emotional Affordances of Visual Literacy Pedagogy

This chapter focuses on the experience of three educators in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. As much as possible, the researcher has worked to maintain the voices of the teachers and highlights concepts of self-expression, editing, and processing of emotions and trauma through traditional and multimodal texts. Findings from the study have implications for the ways that teachers experience traumatic events, the ways that writing can be used for classroom instruction across a variety of modes, and the ways that major political and social events are processed by educators.

Building a “Bridge” Between Theory and Practice

This chapter explores critical media literacy pedagogy. Using case study method, the author argues that The Washington Informer's, “Bridge” publication can be used as a practical pedagogical tool to teach students how to analyze and deconstruct media texts, and simultaneously inform students on how to produce alternative, counter-hegemonic media texts. This approach is consistent with literature on critical media literacy that calls for engaged and empowering pedagogy to encourage students to think critically about their roles in creating and maintaining a radical and participatory democracy.