Literacy Educators Gather to be Inspired by Global Scholars
On July 15, a group of 75 literacy educators gathered to hear Australian scholar, Dr. Brian Cambourne, speak on natural language learning. The group was comprised of members of the New Literacies Teacher Leader Institute, which was a week long intensive workshop experience held at the Friday Institute; literacy faculty from NC State's Elementary Education Department and UNC Chapel Hill's College of Education; and members of the Capital Area Writing Project , which for 26 years has provided professional development for teachers, held at NC State's College of Education. International guests included two teachers from Shanghai, China and two professors from New Zealand.
Dr. Cambourne's witty and fast-paced talk challenged the educators to make critical literacy accessible to as many members of a culture as possible. He emphasized, "Critical literacy is the only way we can have better, fairer, and kinder societies." Entertaining the group by singing the popular song, "Doing What Comes Naturally," Dr. Cambourne advocated for an approach to teaching literacy which un-complicates the process of learning, making literacy more accessible to diverse learners. Dr. Cambourne is presently a Principal Fellow in the Faculty of Education at the University of Wollongong, Australia, and is conducting a lecture tour in America. Earlier in the day, he consulted with the College's elementary education faculty about their innovative teacher education program. Dr. Cambourne has conducted research on how literacy learning occurs for the past thirty years.
Earlier in the week literacy educators attending the New Literacies Institute were challenged by Dr. Yong Zhau, Director of the Confucius Institute at Michigan State, to take advantage of new opportunities to communicate and collaborate as a result of new technologies that limit barriers of time and space. He spurred the teachers to seize the opportunities that come along with a flattened world and to become "global leaders and learners." The international speakers and literacy workshops are in keeping with the NC State College of Education's emphasis on global and digital learning for 21st century teacher education.
For more information visit the College of Education at NC State or join the New Literacies Collaborative.