Academic Writing Lab: International Project

Purpose & objective

The purpose of our presentation is to share resources and strategies that can be used to develop global competencies and 21st century skills among graduate students in Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and the USA with limited technologies and equipment. The theme and entry point for this collaborative and trandisciplinary project is Academic Writing Lab; activities encompass multiple content area knowledge and skills (ex. geography, math, science, etc.), reading and language arts (ex. storytelling, news reporting, poetry). It provides authentic purposes for mobile technology use in the field (for data collection, recording observations, capturing images and video, etc.), and provides natural opportunities for inquiry and problem-solving. Our focus on the pedagogical approaches of transdisciplinary, universally-designed, global curriculum may be applied across learning contexts, grade levels and content areas and with various technology tools and devices. The project explored a wide range of meanings associated with computational thinking and global education among graduate students; the impact of educational technology in improving academic writing skills; and ways in which integrating new media and technologies into teacher education. The purpose of this project was to meaningfully integrate global competencies into “Academic Writing Lab” as a means of further developing their 21st-century skills and to develop creative strategies and possibilities of teaching new literacies with limited resources and equipment. Our goal was to: a) To present the role of new technologies in order to argue the challenges and advantages of app development in K-20 curriculum across content area s (i.e. math, geography, cultural studies); b) To introduce computational thinking and academic writing skills across content areas in developing multiple literacies (i.e information, technology, geography, media literacy): c) to demonstrate creative strategies and possibilities for engaging K-20 students in meaningful literacy activities while incorporating multimedia and digital storytelling.

Supporting research

Dweck, C. S. (2007). Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York, NY: Random House. Meyer, A., Rose, D. H., & Gordon, D. (2014). Universal design for learning: Theory and practice. Wakefield, MA : CAST Professional Publishing. Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. J. (2006). Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge: A Framework for Teacher Knowledge. Teachers College Record, 108(6). Partnership for 21st century learning (P21). (2014). Framework for state action on global education. Retrieved from http://www.p21.org/storage/documents/Global_Education/P21_State_Framework_on_Global_Education_New_Logo.pdf Rose, D. H., & Meyer, A. (2002). Teaching every student in the digital age: Universal Design for Learning. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Rose, D. H., Meyer, A., & Hitchcock, C. (Eds.). (2005). The universally designed classroom accessible curriculum and digital technologies. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press. Rose, D. H., & Meyer, A. (2006). A practical reader in universal design for learning. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press. Tye, B. B. & Tye, K. A. (1992). Global Education: A study of school change. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. UNESCO. (2013). Global Media Literacy Assessment Framework : Country Readiness and Competencies. Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/media-development/media-literacy/unesco-global-mil-assessment-framework/ UNESCO. (2011). Media and Information Literacy (MIL) Curriculum for Teachers. Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/media-development/media-literacy/mil-curriculum-for-teachers/