Exploring and Expanding
Asynchronous Session
Digital Inclusion Status Among Pre-service Mathematics Teachers’ External Supervisors: A Niche to Effective Teaching Practice in an ODeL Environment View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Terungwa James Age, France Machaba
There is a high degree of expectancy for an educationist working in an open distance e-learning (ODeL) environment to be digitally inclusive and anything short of this expectation is an abnormality that needs to be treated with all levels of seriousness. Pre-service mathematics teachers’ external supervisors too are not left out of this expectation. Hence, this study, aimed at determining the digital inclusion status of external supervisors of pre-service mathematics teachers in an ODeL environment. The study adopted a survey design with a self-structured questionnaire. A sample size of 44 pre-service mathematics teachers’ external supervisors randomly selected from 6 provinces out of 9 provinces in South Africa who were supervising preservice teachers from the University of South Africa (UNISA). The results of the study revealed that the respondents have devices that they can access the internet (¯X=3.20), there is strong internet network in their locations (¯X=3.14) but the internet data is not affordable (¯X=2.16), they have not undertaken a digital literacy programme (¯X=1.93), hence, not digitally literate (¯X=2.86). The study further revealed that mathematics pre-service teachers’ external supervisors cannot sufficiently apply internet usage skills online (¯X=2.23) and they are not satisfied with their internet usage outcome (¯X=2.02), thus, need to improve on their internet usage skills (¯X=3.7). It was concluded that the external supervisors are not digitally inclusive, therefore subsidized internet data and periodic digital literacy training programme were recommended so as to enable the supervisors to be digitally inclusive for optimal performance.
Multimodal Format for Inclusive Literacy Instruction: Graphic Novels in the Curriculum View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Francine Falk-Ross
With more widespread use of online and multimodal text, and evolving attitudes toward cultural and linguistic diversity, culturally responsive practice has continued to be an important consideration in classroom instruction. This paper describes research conducted in two consecutive middle grades education methods courses. Pre-service teachers were first asked to critically analyze traditional and graphic novels for explicit and implicit messages, and the sociopolitical themes. They then developed their own personalized graphic novel stories to include themes that addressed middle grades students’ social and emotional needs (e.g., self-identity, empowerment, and resilience) and content area elements, and provide suggestions/models for positive resolution. The analysis activities heightened their awareness of the implicit messages communicated by texts and transformed their ideas for teaching and creating texts that consider diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Cultivating Diversity and Inclusion Using Children’s Literature View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Paula Saine
Teachers must examine their personal biases and past experiences to ensure they do not interfere with their ability to demonstrate to students they are valued as individuals and that their diversity should be embraced. In doing so, students will be better able to appreciate and accept others of different abilities, races, cultures, religions, and so forth if they are given the opportunity to engage in literacy activities that promote these differences. Furthermore, as teachers create safe and collaborative learning environments to foster inclusive classrooms, students will be better equipped to work with others who have different perspectives. This study focuses on how critical consciousness of self, environment, and the classroom curriculum cultivate an inclusive education.
Awareness of Spiritual Giftedness in Advising to Reduce Equity Gaps and Improve Retention: Removing the Stigma of Ancestral Giftedness as an Academic View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Onalenna Valerian Diphoko, Ida Meyer
The guidance and support of South African students experiencing ancestral callings and their customs needs more research and transformation in institutional advising and support practice to close the equity gap and improve academic success as a correlation. In the process of creating an institutional advising and support system for this cohort of students, it should improve their sense of belonging. This is of importance, since in our own advising experience at the University of Pretoria these students often feel isolated – feeling misunderstood and not knowing where to turn for (culturally related) support. Furthermore, two of the main aspects of identity development (the developmental age of most students entering university) is self-concept and self-esteem. Being aware of the African identity in this aspect in advising and support is therefore not something we could keep ignoring. Through our advising experiences we have realized recently that there are many African students dropping out of university related to ancestral calling not being understood. Often, they give their reason for deregistration as “mental health/health issues”. We have experienced the same in our exclusion processes. Our proposed intervention in this relatively new field thus focuses on the importance of an institutional and specifically an advising and support system awareness of this growing cohort of students as a success measure to reduce the equity gap, which should increase retention and academic persistence in record time.
