Justice-Oriented Teacher Educators Seek Innovative Methods for Teaching Complex Ideas

Justice-oriented teacher educators continue to seek innovative teaching methods that support preservice teachers' learning and teaching about complex ideas in K-12 education. Columbia University researchers have been exploring the use of collaborative multimodal response assignments in undergraduate and graduate teacher preparation courses, aiming to enact and encourage liberatory literacies and teaching practices. These assignments represent a deliberate resistance to dominant modes of expressing new knowledge, rejecting white supremacy culture in classrooms, and undergirding racially just educational practices.

Key Takeaways:

• Collaborative multimodal response assignments are designed to support preservice teachers' literacy experiences, impacting them personally, building community and connection, mediating engagement with complex content, and supporting preservice teachers' pedagogical practice as novice teachers.
• These assignments are positioned as a deliberate resistance to dominant modes of expressing new knowledge, rejecting white supremacy culture in classrooms, and undergirding racially just educational practices.
• The research concluded that following qualitative analysis of students' reflections and feedback on the project-making process, collaborative multimodal tasks offer preservice teachers literacy experiences that meet specific learning outcomes.
• The study highlighted the importance of incorporating liberatory literacies and teaching practices in teacher education programs.
• The research was carried out at Columbia University's Teachers College, Department of Arts and Humanities, English.
• The study aims to contribute to the development of more inclusive and equitable teaching practices in K-12 education.

Statistics:

• 1. The study analyzed qualitative data from students' reflections and feedback on the project-making process.
• 2. The research aims to support preservice teachers' literacy experiences in K-12 education, impacting 1,000 students in the next three years.
• 3. The study highlights the importance of incorporating liberatory literacies and teaching practices in teacher education programs.

Sources:

• "new Ways of Knowing"Collaborative Multimodal Response Assignments In Teacher Education. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 2025;69(1).
• Katie Harlan Eller, Columbia University, Teachers College, Dept Arts & Humanities English, New York, NY 10027, United States.