Between generic digital literacy and disciplinary digital literacy A pioneer study – first language teaching

Author(s):

Orit Avidov Ungar(presenting / submitting)Alisa Amir

Conference:

ECER 2016

Network:

16. ICT in Education and Training

Format:

Paper

Session Information

16 SES 07 A, 21st Century Skills and Robotics

Paper Session

Time:

2016-08-24

17:15-18:45

Room:

OB-H1.49 (ALE 2)

Chair:

Philippe Gabriel

Contribution

Digital literacy relates to a learner's ability to effectively use digital tools such as devices, software, social media and apps, and to a great extent it involves the cultivation of Computer and Information Literacy (CIL) as well as literacy in reading and writing in the digital space (Koberg, Detienne & Heppard, 2003).

CIL is the basis of digital literacy, which is defined as a person's ability to use a computer for research, to create and to communicate effectively at school, at home and in the community. Computer literacy refers mainly to the technical-pedagogical ability to use computer procedures, while information literacy refers to the ability to manage and evaluate information and use it effectively (Fraillon & Ainley, 2010).

The place of digital literacy in adapting the education system to the 21^st century raises a question regarding the perception of digital literacy as a separate generic subject that serves all disciplines, and as such one should be taught separately, and the perception of digital literacy as a set of skills embedded into the teaching of each discipline. This debate about the distinction between generic and disciplinary literacy is not new, and has been treated by many scholars (e.g. Fang & Coatoam, 2013; Gillis, 2014).

Despite the advances in the integration of computers into education, there remains some discomfort stemming from two main sources: the gap between the ICT revolution in schools and the reality at school (Ertmer & Ottenbreit-Leftwich, 2010), and the place of digital literacy within the teaching of the discipline.

The uniqueness of this study lies in its examination of the degree of mastery and use of digital tools using a research tool developed by teachers of the same discipline, with emphasis on the degree of mastery and use of digital tools that promote the teaching of that discipline and not just a tool that examines teachers' attitudes towards the integration of ICT into teaching in general.

For this pioneer study, we chose the discipline of first language teaching in high school, where literacy skills, including writing, are learned mainly as an end, as opposed to other subject areas where these tools are learned as a means. The focus on teaching writing enabled us to extract those ICT tools that can explicitly assist with writing.

Since writing requires use of complex cognitive processes that include broad-scope planning for all stages of writing, editing and revising, the tools directly serve the discipline and constitute an essential part of it. Thus part of the research tool that we developed and will present in the lecture focuses on ICT tools relevant to the generation of written content, in other words, dimensions of 'learning to write'.

In the lecture we will present findings on the mastery of first language teachers in digital tools that promote writing, their use of these tools in their classroom teaching and in the assessment of their students' written products.

Method

Participants: The research sample included 392 high school teachers in Israel. Almost all the teachers have academic qualifications. About half (48.7%) hold a B.A. degree, about half (44.6%) also hold an M.A. degree, and the rest hold a PhD (2.3%) or have yet to comlete any degree (4.4%). Seniority ranges between veteran teachers with up to 43 years of experience and novice teachers with no seniority. Instrument: The research questionnaire has two parts. The first part contains 24 statements in three categories. It deals with the direct aspects of integration and use of digital tools in teaching the discipline, with emphasis on teaching writing as part of first language teaching. The second part contains 10 statements in two categories and pertains to the teachers' attitudes and mindsets regarding the integration of these tools into teaching practices in general. The Dimensions of the research tool are: Part 1 – Integration/use of digital tools in teaching the discipline 10 statements - Skillfulness – the extent of mastery of the ICT tools. 8 statements - Writing – using ICT tools for teaching and learning for the generation of written content. 6 statements - Evaluation – using ICT tools for assessment purposes in teaching. Part 2 – Attitudes towards integrating digital tools into teaching 8 statements - Attitude – attitudes towards the use of ICT and the change in teaching practices. 2 statements - Self-efficacy – perception of self-efficacy regarding the use of ICT tools in teaching. The participants were asked to rank 34 statements pertaining to the above five parameters on a 4-point frequency scale: (1) not at all, (2) sometimes, (3) often, and (4) almost always. The questionnaire was distributed via GoogleDocs to first language teachers from high schools in the center of the country. In this lecture we will focus on the first part of the questionnaire: the integration/use of digital tools in first language teaching.

Expected Outcomes

Findings show that that teachers show a high degree of skillfulness in the mastery of ICT tools (average 3.17, SD 0.57). However, the degree of use in teaching writing with ICT tools is very low (average 1.60, SD 0.54). Regarding the integration of ICT into teaching practices, this focuses on evaluation of students' written output (average 2.46, SD 0.63). Hence it emerges that teachers tend to see themselves as having mastered ICT tools, but tend not to use them to generate written content or alternatively, do so only rarely (1.60). This gives rise to the question of what barriers impede the use of ICT tools in teaching among teachers of this discipline? Scholars indicate two types of barriers to integrating technology into teaching: environmental and human (Ertmer, Ottenbreit-Leftwich, & Tonduer, 2015). This study adds an additional, third barrier that we will call the 'disciplinary barrier'. In order to advance the integration of technology into first language teaching,,we must identify those technological tools that will help teachers advance the teaching of the discipline and the understanding that these tools can, indeed, do so – in the case of this study, specifically the advancement of teaching writing. Understanding the professional development of teachers and relating to that in their learning is important for attaining effective results that will be expressed in classroom teaching. Hence we recommend professional development that focuses on the need to advance the discipline and not just on the need to promote 21st century skills as scholars do (Cunningham, 2009), so that the 21st century skills will constitute a means to advancing the discipline rather than just an end in themselves.

References

Cunningham, C.A. (2009). Transforming schooling through technology: Twenty-first-century approaches to participatory learning. Education and Culture, 25(2), 46-61. Ertmer , P. A. & Ottenbreit-Leftwich, A. T. (2010). Teacher Technology Change, How Knowledge, Confidence, Beliefs, and Culture Intersect, Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 42(3), 255-284. Ertmer, P. A., Ottenbreit-Leftwich, A. T., Sadik, O., Sendurur, E., & Sendurur, P., (2012). Teacher Beliefs and Technology Integration Practices: A Critical Relationship, Computers & Education, 59(2), 423-435. Fraillon, J. & Ainley, J. (2010). The IEA International Study of Computer and Information Literacy (ICILS). Online: http://forms.acer.edu.au/icils/documents/ICILS-Detailed-Project-Description.pdf Gillis, V. (2014). Disciplinary literacy. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy,57(8), 614-623. Koberg, C. S., Detienne, D. R. & Heppard, K. A. (2003). An empirical test of environmental, organizational, and process factors affecting in cremental and radical innovation. The Journal of High Technology Management Research, 14(1), 21-45. Koberg, Detienne, & Heppard, (2003). Northcote, M., & Lim, C. P. (2009). The state of pre-service teacher education in the Asia Pacific region, in, C.P. Lim, C. Brook, & G. Lock (Eds.), Innovative practices in pre-service teacher education: An Asia-Pacific perspective (pp. 22-38). Sense, Rotterdam. Accessed online, on 27/09/2013, at: https://www.sensepublishers.com/files/9789087907532PR.pdf

Author Information

Orit Avidov Ungar (presenting / submitting)

Achva Academic College, The Open University, Israel

Alisa Amir

Achva Academic College of Education, Israel

Education

Rishon le zion

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