Abstract
In this chapter, the author will investigate the use of screencasting as a multimedia feedback tool in two classes— a college level introduction to literature class, and a computers across the curriculum class geared towards K-12 preservice teachers. After situating the concepts of modeling and feedback strategies within seminal and contemporary scholarships, the author will provide a practical and anecdotal narrative of the uses of screencasting as an assessment tool within the frame of literacy pedagogies. In identifying the ways in which screencasting (video feedback) can be leveraged to enhance personalized instruction, the author will examine: 1) how technology can be used as a literacy practice; and 2) how a teacher preparation professor can model the practice of technology as a literacy for assessment purposes.
TopBackground
The purpose of this section is multifaceted. First, framing the pedagogical approach of modeling and effective feedback strategies is essential before diving into the ways in which screencasting can be used for student writing feedback in the remainder of the chapter. It is also important to identify how recent scholarship treats various forms of feedback methods. Within the scholarship, the author will pinpoint ways in which technology and digital platforms are positioned in the use of effective feedback methods as well as how first generation college students, in particular, might be affected by this form of instruction.
Modeling, within the paradigm of social constructivism, is considered an essential form of teaching—the strategy dates back to Bandura (1977) and has long since been viewed as an effective way to teach in multiple content areas (Dennen, 2003; Hansen, 2007; Hicks, 2013). Modeling is a performance of a desired target behavior (Besler & Kurt, 2015). Bandura (1977), among other notable social learning theorists such as Vygotsky (1962), continuously cited the power of observational learning throughout their academic and philosophical careers. Highlighted within Social Learning Theory is the view that learning is a continuous, reciprocal relationship between various factors, one of which is cognitive in nature (Bandura, 1977). Language is highlighted as an essential process of learning within the Social Learning Theory (also known as Social Constructivism), (Vygotsky, 1962) as opposed to cognitive theories that viewed language as a form of labeling, not a form of learning (Piaget, 1959). It serves to note that language is multifaceted in and of itself, and includes not only written forms of communication but also speaking and listening—all of which can be leveraged in both face-to-face and digital modeling.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Multimedia: A digital product that uses multiple forms of media, such as audio, text, video, and/or still images.
Personalized Feedback: Personalized feedback differs from differentiation instruction in that it attends to the specific interests and needs of students in the form of feedback to a draft.
Modeling: Pinpointing what the target behavior is by replicating the process or target behavior itself in front of learners.
Screencasting: A digital tool which records audio and captures, simultaneously, what is occurring on-screen (typically on an iPad, desktop, or laptop).
Social Constructivism: A learning theory that promotes the concept that learning is social and that learning occurs through building upon previous schema/experiences.
First Generation College Student: A college student whose parents, guardian, and/or immediate family did not attend college. Often a first generation college student’s parents have completed a high school diploma or less.
Flipped Learning: An instructional paradigm in which direct, content-driven instruction occurs via video at home and the application of that content occurs in the classroom with the facilitation of the instructor.
Differentiation: A teaching strategy which involves the instructor shifting the content in a way that meets the needs and skill levels of individual students vs. the students as a collective.