Case Study Title: Using digital storytelling as a scaffolding

technique to improve academic literacy skills of first-year ECP

students Anthea Adams, Business Faculty,

CPUT

• Exploring my task

• Designing & developing learning activity

• Formative evaluation of prototype learning activity

Presentation Outline

Similarities University of Technologies

Underprepared for higher education studies - socially, economically & cognitively (Van Schalkwyk, 2008)

First-year Human Resource Management students

Extended Curriculum Programme (ECP)

Cape Peninsula University of Technology

Students battle with the demands of traditional literacy

Entry-level subjects (Business Communication Skills, Personnel Management & Business Management)

Complex texts, higher order thinking & sophisticated writing skills (interrogate, make judgements, present and criticize arguments, defining problems & proposing solutions) (Eberly Center, n.d.)  

Background (cont.)

ECP students’ latent potential - therefore significantly challenged - demands of academic literacy skills

The use of digital storytelling as a scaffolding technique to improve the academic literacy skills of first-year ECP students in the HRM department

Background (cont.)

Concept of affordances (Bower, 2008:6-7) - match the teaching and learning challenges with the best technological tool, namely digital storytelling

A digital story is “anything that employs digital technology to construct narrative” (Sylvester & Greenidge, 2009:290)

Digital storytelling enables students to “construct narrative and expository texts (combining multiple media images, voice, music, video, transitions, and movement) (Skinner & Hagood,2008:19)

Intended Outcomes

Scaffolding technique to develop academic writing skills (Cleary, 2008:254-261) such as:

• planning writing to achieve clarity, coherence & cohesion

• drafting techniques (process approach of writing) & peer feedback to structure logical, coherent & cohesive texts

Intended Outcomes (cont.)

• revising and editing erroneous language & sentence structure

• encoding and decoding academic & business texts

• making meaning from texts

Intended Outcomes (cont.)

• developing content area vocabulary

• being aware of audience, purpose, register and form (Sylvester & Greenidge, 2009:291)

Secondary aim - create an enabling environment (develop multiple literacies such as technological, visual, media and information literacy)

Intended Outcomes (cont.)

• Student perceptions “an easy subject”

• Maintaining student interest

• Academic literacy - one of six modules in this subject is usually covered during the first semester

• Throughout the year all lecturers at all levels of study are required to address academic literacy in their Teaching and Learning (T&L) activities

Challenges

• First-year level skills are crucial for success in all levels of study

• Covert assessment of academic literacy skills

• Assumptions

• Mismatch between traditional pen & paper T&L activities & students’ preferred learning styles and interests

Challenges (cont.)

• Students’ lack of basic computer skills

• HDHET (Higher Diploma in Higher Education and Teaching) - challenged to actively participate in scholarship of teaching (being informed about & applying best T&L practices)

• Educational opportunities for students & myself - digital storytelling is an ideal technological tool (educational goals)

Challenges (cont.)

• Individual & group paper-based assessments & written tasks (written assignments, short projects & oral presentations)

• Research topics –consulting various sources)

• Neglect - several drafts (formative assessments) & visit Writing Centre

• Bus Comm Skills and PM - only two subjects using paper-based integrated assessments & tasks

Established practice

• Personal narrative, one of two distinct models of digital storytelling (Cachago, 2013)

• An adaptation - earlier collaborative work - Fundani staff members & academic staff in the Education Faculty at CPUT (Ivala et al., 2012)

• Several workshops - guide students in developing digital stories

• Create personal stories based on topic ‘Myself’• Open-ended topic - individual digital stories • Focus on various aspects (culture, likes and

dislikes, hobbies, family, friends, community, etc.)  

E-learning advantage

Second semester - students develop their digital stories in groups

‘Workplace diversity’ & Occupational Health and Safety’ - ideal for collaboration

Potential for collaboration of digital storytelling - Teaching team - integrate three subjects (Bus Comm Skills, PM & EUC)

E-learning advantage (cont.)

• Workshop topics (story mapping, scripting, locating and developing visuals and audio & narrating stories)

• Bus Comm lecturer - focus on script writing (elements of a digital story, incorporating figures of speech, etc.)

• EUC colleague focuses on technological aspects (downloading software and audio, selecting effective transitions & storyboard presentation)

E-learning advantage (cont.)

Middle conflictProblem Solution

(tension) (resolution)

Beginning End(call to adventure) (closure,learning)

Transformation(Dillingham, 2001 & Ohler, 2003)

Visual Portrait of a Story diagram

Middle conflictProblem/change/event/s/incident/s/activities

Solution/ spin-offs/results/consequences

Transformation /change/development/growth

What new insights have I gained?(Dillingham, 2001 & Ohler, 2003)

Visual Portrait of a Story diagram (cont.)

• Ivala et al. (2012) – advise other practitioners - mindful of the following:

• technological challenges (availability of software in computer labs on campus)

• Step-by-step planning of project

• Participation (interdisciplinary teaching team)

• Access to resources (e.g. headsets for narration and scanners to scan pictures)

Key points for effective practice

• Scheduled sessions in computer labs

• Scaffolding techniques

• Assistance from tutors and mentors

• Virus protection

• Research (e.g. similar contexts)

Key points for effective practice (cont.)

• On-going project - myriad of benefits (lecturers & students)

• Benefits contribute - development of graduate attributes (sought after skills in industry)

• Capitalize on its opportunities for interdisciplinary & student collaboration

Conclusions and recommendations

Boughey, C. n.d. Naming students’ problems: An analysis of language-related discourses at a South African University. Grahamstown: Academic Development Centre, Rhodes University.

Bower, M. 2008. Affordance analysis – matching learning tasks with learning technologies. Educational Media International, 45(1):3-5.

Cachago, D. 2013. Digital Storytelling Workshop. Cape Town: CPUT.

Cleary, S. ed. 2008. Communication – A Hands-On Approach. Cape Town: Juta.

CHECED 2013. CHECED ICT Course notes. Bellville.

References

References (cont.)

Condy, J, Chigona, A.,  Gachago, D., and Ivala, E. 2012. Pre-service students' perceptions and experiences of digital storytelling in diverse classroom. Turkish Online Journal for Educational Technology (TOJET), Vol 11, 3.

http://www.tojet.net/articles/v11i3/11326.pdf CPUT. 2010. Information Literacy. http://library.cput.ac.za/information_literacy/prephase.html [20 May 2013]. Eberly Center, 2013. Why are students coming into college

poorly prepared to write? USA: Carnegie Mellon University.

References (cont.)

Gonye, J., Rugare, M., Dudu, W.T. & Sibanda, J. 2012. Academic writing challenges at Universities in Zimbabwe: A case study of great Zimbabe University. Journal of English and literature, 3(3):71-83.

Jacobs, C. Collaboration as pedagogy: Consequences and implications for partnerships between communication and disciplinary specialists.Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, 28(3):227-237.Jacobs, C.Transgressing disciplinary boundaries: Constructing alternate academic identities through collaboration with ‘the other’. African Journal of Research in Mathematics, Science and Technology Education,14(2):110-120.

Matthews, V, 2013. Case Study Presentation at CHECED course, 22 May 2013. CPUT.

Ohler, J. 2005/2006. The World of Digital Storytelling. Learning in the digital Age, 63(4):44-47.

References (cont.) Scheepers, J. & Jattiem, R. 2002. Communication for Personnel

Management. Cape Town: Oxford University Press. Sylvester, R. & Greenidge, W. 2009-2010. Digital Storytelling:

Extending the Potential for Struggling Writers. The Reading Teacher, 63(4):284-295.

Rose, D., Lui-Chivizhe, L., McKnight, A. & Smith, A. 2003. Sacffolding Academic Reading and Writing at the Koori Center. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 32:41-49.

http://nvit.bc.ca/docs/scaffolding%20academic%20reading%20and%20writing%20at%20the%20koori%20centre.pdf

[20 May 2013].

Thank you!Enkosi kakhulu!

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