Poster #69 - Digital Literacy Instruction in Early Elementary School: Affordances and Constraints in the Common Core Era

• In Event: 3-206 - Poster Session 13
  In Poster Session: PS 13 Section - Education, Schooling

Integrative Statement

The Common Core State Standards have reconceptualized the definition of literacy and what it means to be literate in the United States (Dalton, 2012). In addition to supporting the development of traditional literacy skills, K-12 teachers are now required to incorporate digital technologies into their instructional practices and create student-centered educational experiences that effectively address 21st Century Skills. While federal and state governments have allocated substantial funding to provide technological resources to students across grade levels (Miranda & Russell, 2012), teachers of early elementary school students (K-2nd grade) are charged with providing instruction in digital literacy without the support of established curriculum or accountability measures. To better understand the perspective of early elementary school teachers in the era of the Common Core, this study surveyed K-2nd grade teachers (n = 37) from a relatively large public school district in Northern California. Participants were asked to estimate the extent to which their students practice computer and information literacy skills and identify affordances and constraints to digital literacy instruction in their classrooms. Preliminary analyses reveal that early elementary grade students practice computer literacy skills (such as basic computer operations) more often than information literacy skills (such as locating information online), see Figure 1. Findings also show that 2nd grade students are presented with far more opportunities to locate and collect information from online sources compared with Kindergarten and 1st grade students, F (2, 35) = 9.733, p < .001. Importantly, we find that the instructors’ grade-level assignment (K-2nd grade) and the socioeconomic status of the children and families that they serve (as indicated by the school’s Title I status) influence their views about when and whether to introduce students to various digital literacy skills. For example, instructors at Title I schools favor introducing computer literacy skills at much earlier grade levels. We also find that Kindergarten teachers believe that information literacy skills should not be introduced until the 2nd grade whereas 1st and 2nd grade teachers believe these skills should be introduced much earlier (F (2, 36) = 7.021, p = .003). Teachers identified high student-to-teacher ratios, lack of time, and young children’s limited self-management skills as major impediments to digital literacy instruction in early elementary grades. Conversely, they indicated that knowledge of grade-level technology standards and access to district- and school-level technology support enhance their ability to teach digital literacy skills (see Figure 2). In sum, while young students may have access to technological resources with targeted support to build basic computing skills, many early elementary school teachers indicate that they rarely, if ever, address information literacy skills in the classroom. Moreover, student access to digital literacy instruction may be dependent, at least in part, on their teachers’ beliefs and values, which vary considerably by grade level and student population. These results highlight the need for clear and consistent expectations for digital literacy instruction in early elementary school as to ensure equitable and ample opportunity for all students to utilize digital technology resources and build 21st Century Skills.

Authors

• Delnaz Hosseini, San Jose State University
  Presenting Author

• Emily Slusser, San Jose State University
  Non-Presenting Author