NCTE Consultants offer expertise on a wide-range of literacy topics, including 21st century literacies. When used in conjunction with other NCTE professional development resources including the Pathways Program, Web Seminars, Resource Kits, and more, schools/districts can build a long-term professional plan that supports teachers and makes a positive impact on student learning.
Click on the consultant name to learn more about their consulting experiences, publications, and education. View the sample workshops below and then complete the Request PD Services form for professional development planning assistance. View all consulting and services topics, here.
Middle-Secondary: Peggy Albers, Frank Baker, Lawrence Baines, Douglas Fisher, John Golden, William Kist, Katherine McKnight, Ernest Morrell Consultant Workshop Topics: 21st-Century Literacies
Below is a listing of workshop topics related to 21st-century literacies and the consultants available to present a workshop at your school or in your district. Additional NCTE consultants presenting on 21st-century literacies include Lawrence Baines, Douglas Fisher, John Golden, and Ernest Morrell.
New Literacies in Action
Consultant: William Kist
Audience: Teachers (Grades 5-Adult), Administrators, Literacy Coaches
Building on over ten years of research in classrooms, Dr. Kist will demonstrate a variety of strategies for engaging adolescents in a time of broadening literacies. Collected from classrooms across North America, these strategies can be implemented in a wide range of classrooms, from the technologically barren to the technologically advanced.
Assignments and assessments will be demonstrated that can be used in conjunction with: Blogging, Video Sharing, Sound File Sharing, Instant Messaging, Text Messaging, Podcasting, Using Games, Graffiti, Visual Art, Drama, and Dance.
Video clips from documentary footage shot on location in classrooms in Canada and the United States will be shown to provide real-world examples of students and teachers co-learning in new media environments.
Multimodality and the Art in Curriculum Design (Grades K-12/ESOL)
Consultant: Peggy Albers
In this workshop, teachers experience the Harlem Renaissance curriculum from a multimodal perspective. They see, feel, hear, and sense this literary movement as writers and authors created it. Teachers will learn how to create a variety of multimodal engagements using PowerPoint, art, drama, and music, along with their language texts, and learn how to integrate multimodality into curriculum.
See an example of how Peggy integrates reading, writing, art, and technology as her k-12 teachers create their version of Uptown by Bryan Collier which they entitle, A-Town.
See a photo of Peggy working with teachers from all over the nation in the NCTE Reading Initiative Summer Institute.
Art, Reading, and Literature (Grades K-12/ESOL)
Consultant: Peggy Albers
In this workshop, teachers understand the potential of art as a way to support print-based and multimodal literacy strategies. Through the study of artworks, teachers will learn how to introduce literary terms and reading strategies such as finding the main idea and looking for supporting details, how to engage students in thoughtful and critical conversations about texts, and how to encourage strong and descriptive writing. See a photo of Peggy working with art, literature and comprehension with preservice teachers.
Reading Art, Reading Lives (Grades K-12/ESOL)
Consultant: Peggy Albers
How often do your students create artwork in your classroom? How often are you baffled with their images? Art is often integrated into English language arts (ELA) classes, yet reading artworks is less easy. However, when teachers learn to read the images their students create, such readings can reveal much about students’ lives and literacy practices. Teacheres will examine artworks, and identify aspects that offer insight into students’ lives. See a photo of Peggy working with Fresno area teachers.
Hamming it up in the Classroom: Working with Drama and the Oral Language Arts (Grades K-12/ESOL)
Consultant: Peggy Albers
In this workshop, teachers will learn how drama and the oral language arts can generate strong engagement from students and elicit deeper levels of comprehension of written texts. Teachers will learn the basic elements involved in working with drama and speech (voice, movement, body position), and how to move written text into readers theater, oral interpretation and short plays. They will understand the important link among speaking, listening and performing engagements that encourage their students to consider text from multiple perspectives.
See examples of how Peggy works with Readers Theater and Langston Hughes’s poetry, and how she adapts a young adult novel into a Readers Theater.
Media Literacy 101
Consultant: Frank Baker
Audience: Teachers, ELA Supervisors
Most teacher/educators have never been trained in media literacy. This workshop introduces the core concepts/key questions and positions media literacy within that state’s teaching standards and frameworks. Extremely interactive and hands-on.
The Role of Media In Politics
Consultant: Frank Baker
Audience: Teachers, ELA Supervisors, students
This workshop introduces participants to the 30-second campaign commercial, so widely used in US campaigns. Emphasis is given to the language and the economics of political ads.
TV Toy Commercials: How They Influence Kids
Consultant: Frank Baker
Audience: Elementary educators, students
Toy advertising abounds on cable and commercial television. This workshop pulls back the curtain on production techniques, and aims to get the audience involved and comfortable using these spots in a classroom setting.
Understanding the Language of Film & Scriptwriting
Consultant: Frank Baker
Audience: All educators
Most teachers have never been taught how to watch a film actively. Using recent, popular film and those based on novels, I introduce the language of film and how each production element has meaning. I have developed a comprehensive film study guide to “To Kill A Mockingbird” which can be shared with the appropriate audiences.
Media Education in a Digital Information Age
Consultant: Frank Baker
Audience: All educators
Similar to Media Literacy 101, except new media and technology are emphasized here.
The Role of Writing in Media
Consultant: Frank Baker
Audience: All educators
Writing is the key to all media messages, whether they be advertising, commercials, TV, or film. Participants will explore all media with many hands-on activities.
Using Media Literacy Skills to Deconstruct Tobacco Ads
Consultant: Frank Baker
Audience: Upper elementary, middle, and high school
Using a hands-on approach, educators learn how to identify target audience and product placement in tobacco marketing. Counter advertising is introduced and participants create an original counter ad.