Research Explores Relationship Between In- and Out-of-School Literacy Activities
Assistant Professor
Irvine, Calif., December 1, 2008
Rebecca W. Black is an assistant professor in the Department of Education at the University of California, Irvine. She teaches courses and advises students in the Language, Literacy, and Technology specialization.
Dr. Black earned her B.A. in English and Spanish from Stetson University and went on to teach Spanish and English as a Second Language. During this time, Dr. Black found that many of her students were much more engaged and confident during classroom activities that involved popular cultural texts, which prompted her ongoing interest in the relationship between students’ in- and out-of-school literacy activities. Dr. Black then went on to earn her M.A. in Applied Linguistics, with an emphasis on Bilingual/ESL teaching at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. In 2006, Dr. Black completed her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Since coming to UC Irvine in 2007, Dr. Black’s research has explored how adolescents, particularly English language learners, are using new technologies to learn, create, and communicate with other youth from around the world. According to Dr. Black,
“New digital media provide unprecedented means of gathering information, exchanging ideas, and connecting with others in ways that can traverse traditional boundaries of time and space. Moreover, as work, academic, and leisure activities are increasingly mediated by technology, the skills necessary for academic and economic advancement as well as for full social and civic participation in a globalized, digital age are arguably quite different from and/or are extensions of many skills that have been needed in the past.”
Thus, Dr. Black’s work seeks to develop understandings of the ways in which technology can help young people develop critical skills for navigating increasingly complex and globally-networked 21st century contexts.
Another primary goal of Dr. Black’s research is to leverage understandings of the types of informal learning and literacy activities (both on- and offline) that youth find meaningful and motivating as a means of informing pedagogical practices and curriculum in more formal learning spaces such as classrooms, community centers, and after school programs. An underlying premise of this work is that it is important to recognize and build on the existing language skills, technological competencies, and personal interests that all youth bring to learning experiences.
