Abstract #3246

Abstract: With new technology and means of communication, the visual image and other modalities has become increasingly important (Unsworth, 2002; Green & Erixon, 2020). In this global and digital society, questions arise about how reliable and truthful online texts are and how readers should relate to them (Luke, 2014). Building on previous results (Wejrum, 2024) there is a need to develop L1 teachers’ work with digital texts.

The purpose of the project is to develop and implement teaching methods to improve students' digital reading comprehension and critical reading skills. The study tries to answer the following research questions: RQ1. What aspects of the tested teaching methods have teachers perceived as successful in helping students improve their digital reading comprehension? RQ2. What aspects of the tested teaching methods have teachers perceived as challenging for students to improve their digital reading comprehension? RQ3. What do the teachers perceive as key components for improving the students’ critical analytical skills?

In the study seven teachers (Year 4-9) at five schools participate in four meetings (one per month) in which there is time for group reflections, a lecture on a specific theme (explicit teaching of reading strategies, media literacy, rhetorical analysis, multimodal analysis) and collaborative lesson planning. After each meeting the teachers conduct the planned lesson. Research materials are notes from classroom observations, the teachers' logbook notes, transcripts of semi-structured interviews and audio recordings of the teachers' group reflections. Qualitative interaction analyses and content analyses of discussions and interviews will be conducted using The Five Resources Model for Critical Digital Literacy (Hinrichsen & Coombs, 2013) together with the concept of Powerful Professional Knowledge (Stolare et al, 2022) as theoretical foundations.

The project is ongoing, but tentative results show that a majority of the teachers lack prior experience of regarding digital texts when teaching about reading and find the explicit reading strategies very useful. Moreover, the teachers of Year 4-6 need to pay extra attention to the structure of the lessons since younger students more often appear to struggle to keep their attention on the text when using digital devices.

References:
Green, B., & Erixon, P. (Eds.) (2020). Rethinking L1 Education in a Global Era: understanding the (Post-)National L1 Subjects in New and Difficult Times. Cham: Springer.
Hinrichsen, J., & Coombs, A. (2013). The five resources of critical digital literacy: a framework for curriculum integration. Research in Learning Technology 2013, 21: 21334. http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/rlt.v21.21334
Luke, A. (2014). Defining Critical Literacy. In J. Z. Pandya, & J. Ávila (Eds.), Moving Critical Literacies Forward: A New Look at Praxis Across Contexts (pp. 19–31). London: Routledge.
Stolare, M., Hudsun, B., Gericke, N., & Olin-Scheller, C. (2022). Powerful Professional Knowledge and Innovation in Teacher Education Policy and Practice. In B. Hudson, N. Gericke, N., C. Olin-Scheller,& M. Stolare (Eds.) (2022). International perspectives on knowledge and quality: implications for innovation in teacher education policy and practice. London: Bloomsbury Academic. http://doi.org/10.5040/9781350178434.0010
Unsworth, L. (2002). Changing dimensions of school literacies. Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 25(1), 62–77.
Wejrum, M. (2024). Läsa bredvid raderna: Högstadieelevers kritiska läsning av digitala multimodala argumenterande texter [Reading beside the Lines: Lower Secondary Students’ Critical Reading of Digital Multimodal Argumentative Texts]. [Doctoral Thesis, Karlstad University]. DiVA. https://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kau:diva-101258

Bio for the participant
Marie Wejrum has a PhD in Educational Work and is senior lecturer at Karlstad University, Sweden. Her main research interest involves reading skills in a digital world in relation to democracy issues. She defended her thesis in 2024 on adolescents’ meaning making processes of multimodal argumentative texts. Wejrum has been working at Karlstad university since 2013, mainly with teacher education, professional development and research in projects regarding reading skills and the teaching of reading. Wejrum has a background in media and communication followed by a teacher career in lower secondary school teaching Swedish and English.

Complete contact information for the participant
Marie Wejrum, PhD in Educational Work
Karlstad University
Department of Language, Literature and Interculture
SE-651 88 Karlstad Sweden
Phone + 46 54-700 1478, Mobile + 46 70-6659684
marie.wejrum@kau.se

Professional development for complex digital reading comprehension (more information)