Out with the Old, in with the New: Digital Interactive Journals in an Elementary Language Arts Methods Course

Authors

  • Dr. Kathleen M. Crawford Georgia Southern University
  • Heather M. Huling Georgia Southern University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.56887/galiteracy.24

Keywords:

digital interactive journals, instructional technology, student engagement, preservice teachers, elementary literacy

Abstract

In this article, two elementary literacy teacher educators provide elementary language arts content and methods by implementing digital interactive journals in a face-to-face classroom setting. The authors present how this practice evolved from traditional interactive journals pre-COVID to an innovative and engaging learning experience post-COVID. Interactive journals provide students with opportunities to explore and apply content and methods, while also learning a teaching strategy that pre-service teachers can implement in their own elementary classrooms. The authors describe the design and development of digital interactive journals along with student work samples and instructional steps to transfer and implement this strategy across disciplines.

Author Biographies

  • Dr. Kathleen M. Crawford, Georgia Southern University

    Dr. Kathleen M. Crawford ([email protected]) is currently an assistant professor of elementary literacy at Georgia Southern University, where she teaches elementary language arts and children’s literature courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Before joining the faculty at Georgia Southern, she was a K–5 literacy coach and fourth- and fifth-grade English language arts teacher. Her teaching and research interests include engaging literacy experiences for elementary students and undergraduate teacher candidates, creatively embedding technological tools in teaching and learning, elementary teacher education, mentoring beginning teachers, teacher induction and mentoring programs, supporting academic coaches, and understanding the emotions involved in teaching and learning.

  • Heather M. Huling, Georgia Southern University

    Heather M. Huling ([email protected]) is a clinical instructor in the Elementary Education Program at Georgia Southern University. She teaches courses in curriculum and planning, arts integration, children’s literature, and language arts methods, and supervises students in their senior-level field experiences. She was an elementary educator in the public school system for seven years before moving into higher education to work with preservice teachers as a teacher educator and mentor. She is currently a doctoral candidate in the Ed.D. program in Curriculum Studies with an emphasis in multicultural and social justice education at Georgia Southern University. Her research interests focus on literacy, equity, preservice teachers, teacher education, and best practices.

Digital Interactive Journals (Crawford & Huling, 2023)

Downloads

Published

04/03/2023

Issue

Vol. 45 No. 1 (2023)

Section

Teaching Tips

How to Cite

Crawford, K., & Huling, H. (2023). Out with the Old, in with the New: Digital Interactive Journals in an Elementary Language Arts Methods Course. Georgia Journal of Literacy, 45(1), 77–89. https://doi.org/10.56887/galiteracy.24

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