TAL Project

2023

Researchers

Matthew Deroo, PI, deroomat@miami.edu
Jennifer Kahn , Co-PI, jkahnthorne@miami.edu

Sophia Cayuso, 1st year PhD student in the Department of Teaching and Learning has served as a graduate research assistant on our project, which was funded by the School of Education and Human Development's (EPIC) SEHD Pilot for Interdisciplinary Collaboration Grant

Abstract

This EPIC project is a second iteration of an interdisciplinary learning design to support community-based inquiry among immigrant and transnational youth. In Fall 2021, with Andrew W. Mellon CREATE Grant support, Drs. Deroo and Kahn worked with a high school (based in Little Havana) class of racially, ethnically, linguistically, and economically diverse first- and second-generation immigrant students to support digital, spatial storytelling around narratives of personal and community migration. The analysis of student learning found that students positioned themselves within the local sociopolitical landscape and their stories reflected broader sociopolitical forces. However, additional supports could deepen their critical, analytical skills to address systems of power governing their community. This project seeks to further refine curricular material and technologies to better support the development of students’ critical digital spatial literacies within a context of community inquiry.