University of Rhode Island DigitalCommons@URI Open Access Dissertations 2015 On Becoming a Digital Literacy Mentor: Self-Determination and Media Production in Elementary Education Yonty Friesem University of Rhode Island, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/oa_diss Recommended Citation Friesem, Yonty, "On Becoming a Digital Literacy Mentor: Self-Determination and Media Production in Elementary Education" (2015). Open Access Dissertations. Paper 399. https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/oa_diss/399 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@URI. It has been accepted for inclusion in Open Access Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@URI. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ON BECOMING A DIGITAL LITERACY MENTOR: SELF-DETERMINATION AND MEDIA PRODUCTION IN ELEMENTARY EDUCATION BY YONTY FRIESEM A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULLFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN EDUCATION UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND AND RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE 2015 DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DISSERTATION OF Yonty Friesem APPROVED: Dissertation Committee Major Professor Renee Hobbs Julie Coiro Paul G. LaCava Anne Goodrow RIC: Donald Halquist Dean, Feinstein School of Education – RIC URI: Nasser H. Zawia Dean, The Graduate School - URI UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND AND RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE 2015 ABSTARCT Today, anyone with a smartphone has access to a whole suite of tools to create video and multimedia that can be instantly and widely shared. While research shows the cognitive, social, and emotional benefits of media production on students’ learning, less is known about how media production is integrated into the context of elementary education and only a few schools have begun to experiment with video production as a means to promote literacy and learning. This research explored some effects of a two-year initiative to integrate digital literacy in a suburban public elementary school. For a period of six months, the researcher interviewed and observed four full time teachers and four support team members and examined students’ work artifacts, teachers’ tweets, collecting survey data from the entire faculty. Multiple case studies reveal the sequential process used by teachers to integrate media production into existing lessons through active collaboration with other faculty and support team members. One Grade 4 teacher used media production to modify a history assignment as she learned to give more control to her students. Another set of Grade 4 co-teachers supported each other to balance the playfulness of creating a videotaped book report with a more systematic approach to addressing educational standards. A Grade 2 teacher worked with the school’s literacy coach in the development and implementation of a science unit as students used media production to advocate for environmental sustainability. In order to embrace this new pedagogy, all four teachers went through a set of hierarchical stages starting with building trust and relatedness with colleagues; developing their sense of mastery and competence; and becoming confident and reassured to use media production as a form of instruction that includes both play and empowerment. By reflecting on and ii analyzing their ability to shift their instructional strategies during the course of the year, they became digital literacy mentors. This research has implications for those interested in providing a holistic model of teacher professional development within an elementary school context, and demonstrates the value of supporting teachers’ intrinsic motivation to meet the needs of their young learners. iii ACKNOWLEDMENT Many people supported my journey from high school media literacy teacher in Israel to doctoral candidate at the University of Rhode Island and Rhode Island College. I am deeply grateful to my committee members, the staff at Ocean Elementary, Media Education Lab members, my two cohorts, and of course my friends and family. All of them supported me as I struggled to find my voice as a media literacy scholar, conceptualize my ideas, and write in English. I am thankful for the mentoring of each one of my committee members especially my major advisor, Dr. Renee Hobbs who guided me into the media literacy field. Dr. Julie Coiro was the first person I contacted at URI. Working with her at the Summer Institute in Digital Literacy, taking her classes, and presenting together at conferences shaped my professional identity as an education scholar. Her devotion to her students is evident in the rigor of her instructional standards and the quality of the feedback she provides. Her encouragement and insights into my work and ideas promoted my academic research in digital literacy. Dr. Paul LaCava introduced me to the literature and research practices in special education. He supported my emerging scholarship in the area of assistive technology and media use for exceptional students. His warmhearted support through my years in the program proved invaluable to my effort to combine research and professional development for teachers. Dr, Anne Goodrow taught me how to look at children’s development by reconciling Piaget and Vygotsky and connecting this to the scholarship on resilience. Dr. Norbert Mundorf has been a dear friend who supported and encouraged me to look into the connection of media studies and emotions. I would also like to acknowledge the faculty and staff iv at URI and RIC: Cynthia Weller, Mona Niedbala, Anne Seitsinger, Janet Johnson, David Byrd, and Diane Kern whose cheerful support helped me in myriad ways. The staff at Ocean Elementary modeled how to use media production in a public school. Their work made my work meaningful. George, the media library specialist invited me to the school and became a supportive colleague. Charlotte, the literacy coach was my guide to teaching at the elementary level. She helped me learn how to incorporate technology into the elementary school classroom. Sarah, Isabella, Sophia, Rachel, and Barbara have been an inspiration to watch. I learned so much from documenting their successful integration of media production throughout the daily struggle of public school teachers. Grace, the math coach, Abbie, the behavior specialist, and Diana, the school principal gave an enormous support to the staff and the research. Furthermore, they modeled by how their own work using media production can expand from literacy and social science to math, positive behavior reinforcement, and administration use. My research was part of my work at the Media Education Lab. During my years at the Lab, we had many “labsters” whose work promoted my development as a scholar. Collaborating with Kelsey Greene at the First Star URI Academy and on different projects at the National Association for Media Literacy Education was vital to my growth and learning the field. Doing professional development on Universal Design for Learning with Jeannine Chartier and collaborating on promoting media literacy to all students helped me to see how media can change peoples’ lives. My intriguing conversations with Sait Tuzel helped me to better conceptualize how teachers’ practices relate to their motivations. My work with Zoey Wang on GiveMe5 v taught me about the creativity and media production. I also want to thank Mike RobbGrieco, David Cooper Moore, William (Billy) Bowden, Mary Moen, and David Quinn. Their work at the Lab shaped my understanding of the different aspects of media production. I would like also to thank Charlie Coiro, Rhys Daunic, and Sherilyn Brown who helped me understand the different aspects of teachers’ professional development and educational leadership. I would not have started my academic journey without the enormous support of my dear colleagues in Israel who supported me as a high school teacher and then as an emerging scholar: Ariel Friedman, Dorit Ballin, Evanna Ratner, Ornat Turin, Eden Zuli, Bridgit Anor, Dafna Wasserman Katz, and Orit Peretz. In my programs at Temple University and at URI/RIC, my cohort peers who became colleagues and friends provided valuable feedback as I was developing my ideas. My dearest friends, Nir Bareket and Tal More endured my struggles and were always there to listen, advise, and support me in this process. This has been true in so many areas of my life: their contribution to my academic growth and resiliency was precious and irreplaceable. Last, I want to thank my family. My parents, Claude and Nicole Friesem never stopped believing in me and pushed me to pursue my dreams whatever they are. Their endless love is still essential to my self-determination. My brothers, David and Gavriel, and my sister in-law Noa Lavi, all supported me in my journey and kept giving me the strength to follow my interests, develop my scholarship and connect to community outreach. My biggest supporter, reviewer, and my partner in life, Elizaveta made it possible for me to keep my sanity while I finished the program and vi started my life as a full time academic. I am forever grateful for all your feedback and for enduring me in my craziest moments of the last four years. You have been my motivator to be a better academic and most importantly a better human being. vii DEDICATION This work is dedicated to Renee Hobbs. I have so many acknowledgements for your mentorship in the years since we first corresponded. Our relationship went beyond major advisor and advisee. Our first Skype talk and my visit to the Media Education Lab at Temple University in Philadelphia convinced me that I had found my home. Your endless support and push for academic excellence motivated me to produce a deep and meaningful study that will benefit educators and scholars. I cannot thank you enough for the infinite hours of work, review, feedback, rewriting, and conversations. The empathy and respect you infuse into the Socratic method allowed me to feel like a colleague and taught me the meaning of mentorship. Your friendship was the most important part of my journey.