As I sit and ponder personal learning development that has transpired throughout the

2021 Fall semester at Northern Vermont University, I am overjoyed with the quantity and quality
of growth I have experienced. In Inventive Thinking, the traditional definition of the word
“literate'' seems obstinate and close-minded after understanding the vast multifarious literacies
utilized in the 21st century. The ideology that literacy should be limited to reading and writing as
the only modalities to represent a literate being demonstrates a confined notion to marginalize
and create systemic oppression in educational institutions. As a future educator, the
understanding that a literate individual can express an absorption of information in numerous
modalities and are capable to recapitulate those skills represents literacy supremacy in today’s
ever-changing and highly connected world. The assignments in this course effortlessly
challenged the knowledge that was obtained from prior courses on how students learn by
highlighting the significance of learning itself.
As a future educator it is important to not only understand the contemporary definition of
literacy but to embrace and empower our students to explore their ability to learn through
inventive thinking. In social studies, much like the “real world” where civics, economics,
geography and history coincide, is about how we, as social beings, interact and make meaning
of the world in which we live. The first few assignments challenged me to dive into what literacy
is in my discipline and then to apply those multiliteracies into my content area. The consensus
of the content reviewed concluded that active, successful participants in a global society must
be able to consume, curate, and create. This means that in order for our students to be
successful they must be able to take everything in (consume), analyze and organize information
or identify thoughts of the information (curate), and share individual work of creation (create). An
educator’s role in this process is to guide and facilitate the intent on content while also allowing
students to take agency in their own learning. When applying multiliteracies (i.e., Informational,
cultural, financial, digital, critical, media, etc.) to social studies it is important to note that
educators should not limit literacy. This means that the intertwined use of literacies should be
encouraged. For example, if a research project is presented to students, it should allow them
the agency to explore multiple literacies because each one showcases strengths in an
adolescent’s development. For media literacy it shows the ability to articulate the importance of
credible sources and how to express individualistic ideas that can influence others in their
search for truth. As social scientists it is important to note that different people can come to
different conclusions in search of truth. This can then lead to how cultural literacy intertwines. If
one is culturally literate, social norms are accepted and or challenged. Financial literacy can
also be used for understanding how economics functions in their research (i.e., According to
Laswell, who refers to this concept of the economic system as, the goodies, or, who gets what,
when and how which ironically enough is at the heart of all politics can be the foundation of
one’s understanding). Regardless of how a student tackles the assignment, literacy is being
utilized throughout. We live in a world now where information and innovation are at our
fingertips and as educators, we must understand that instead of presenting an education that is
teacher centered it should be student centered learning that revolves around choices that
enables them to express their learning in diverse ways within the classroom.
The creation of a digital story that elaborated how I, as a learner, utilize multiple
modalities and literacies expanded the narrow definition of a literate being only being able to
read and write. As a learner, I utilize technology (i.e., digital and media literacy) heavily when
trying to learn something new but also lean on informational and critical. In a digital literate age,
we must be able to cultivate lessons that integrate ways for our students to showcase their
specific strengths when it comes to how they are as literate beings. Literacy in social studies is
about how we, as social beings, interact and make meaning of the world in which we live and by
restricting our view of what literacy is and means will only hinder the young minds that will
change our tomorrow.
After the foundation of understanding literacies, I was challenged to then create a
multimodal text set for students in the sociology class I was co-teaching with my cooperating
teacher. This text set challenged my ability to consider what would be used, how it is beneficial
to students, and if it was an appropriate Lexile level that fit into their zone of proximal
development. Understanding the quantitative (i.e., sentence length, word length and frequency
of unfamiliar words) and qualitative measures (i.e., what is appropriate for grade level) guided
how I would then front load this for students. Creating an assignment to teach reading
comprehension included the use of directed reading and thinking assignment (DTRA) while also
utilizing frontloading. Frontloading begins by consciously building a strong foundation of
knowledge, processes, and strategies that will enable the learner to do the inquiry, problem
solving, task, writing, reading, and so on with minimal guidance and support. As educators, we
must provide sufficient background knowledge, pre-teach vocabulary or concepts (when
necessary), check for understanding throughout using formative and informal assessments.
Strategies to use in a social studies classroom could be quick writes and meaningful
associations (i.e., concept map, alphabet brainstorm, knowledge ladder, brain dump, K-W-L
charts, anticipation guides). After the creation of informal and formal writing assignments, my
understanding of their importance in the classroom surpassed my initial expectations of their
uses. My main takeaway was that each assignment an educator presents to students has a
purpose and by organizing a plan using backward and universal design the students’ progress
excels the content itself inside and outside the classroom. In other words, as educators, we
must be able to listen and observe our students' needs to understand them and their learning
rather than to just simply respond.
For educators, persistence is a vital force that pushes us to continue regardless of the
obstacles that may occur in our efforts. As an aspiring teacher, the transitional process,
although difficult to envision at times, is the most rewarding. In my future classroom, I will strive
to build relationships with students that will cultivate a climate of a democratic classroom while
also incorporating a multimodal learning arena when applicable. I now recognize the importance
of diminishing the ideal that literacy is merely reading and writing and will strive to empower
students to avail oneself of multiple literacies that are present in our ever-changing modern
world. Allowing students to express their learning through use of multiple literacies will warrant
the expansion of one's knowledge in their search of learning as well as commissioning endless
possibilities and opportunities for future generations to surpass the current ones. As educators,
it is our duty to empower and inspire our students to strive for successes in personal learning. I
have no other intentions than to create an atmosphere in my future classroom that honors
students’ agency to consume, curate and create in numerous modalities and literacies which, in
turn, promotes students’ inventive thinking.