More Knowledgeable Other(s)

Sensemaking and Networking in Digital Ad-Hocracies

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/ie.2024.413

Keywords:

digital literacies, sociocultural theory, ad-hocracies, writing community

Abstract

Vygotsky’s (1934; 1980) sociocultural theories of learning posit that learning is a socially negotiated activity. Learners can sustain this activity, and specifically how they engage in literacy practices, through participatory experiences with experts, known in sociocultural theory as a more knowledgeable other (MKO). However, hierarchies in academia can make these possibilities for collaboration scarce or difficult to break through for doctoral students, sustaining traditional hierarchies and bureaucracies of education. Digital platforms, though, can afford the possibility of subverting these divisions of social order in the academy and make room for different interlocutors to not only better access these MKOs but to also become an analogous MKO. In socially-mediated spaces such as Twitter, otherwise known as X, an acceptance of ontological and epistemological plurality can occur in virtual communities of practice. Through three examples with the American Educational Research Association’s (AERA) Writing and Literacies monthly Twitter chats, the authors showcase how Vygotsky’s concept of the MKO can appear in digital spaces, demonstrate the participatory nature of online writing communities, present the possibilities in providing opportunities for online collaborative experiences, and highlight the importance of a plurality of knowledge in public scholarship.

Author Biographies

Caroline B. Rabalais, Georgia State University

Caroline B. Rabalais is a high school English teacher and a third-year doctoral student in teaching and learning in language and literacy education at Georgia State University. Her research interests focus on the confluence of pre-service teacher preparation and in-service teaching, teacher wellbeing and autonomy, governmentality, and increasing social justice-oriented education in the high school English classroom. She is a graduate board member of AERA's Writing and Literacies Special Interest Group and president of her university's Middle and Secondary Education Doctoral Council. She can be reached at cbedingfield1@student.gsu.edu.

Trevor Aleo, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Trevor Aleo is a teacher, educational consultant, and doctoral student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champagne. He is also the co-author of Learning that Transfers: Designing Curriculum for a Changing World and serves on the graduate student board of AERA's Writing and Literacies Special Interest Group. His research explores hybridity approaches to teaching disciplinary literacies, digital literacies, and youth literacies in the secondary English classroom. As a consultant and teacher researcher, he’s committed to developing emancipatory ecologies of learning that position learners as storytellers, sensemakers, and designers of new social futures.

Dianne Wellington, SUNY Cortland

Dianne Wellington is a Diversity Faculty Fellow and an Assistant Professor of Literacy Education at SUNY Cortland.  Before SUNY Cortland, she completed her Doctor of Philosophy at Indiana University, she was a Secondary English Education Teacher and Composition Instructor in North Carolina. Dianne's research examines emancipation literacies, transnational literacies, healing and restorative literacies, and antiracist pedagogy. As a teacher, educator, and researcher, she explores ways in which in-service teachers explore emancipation for themselves to help their students do the same. Dianne uses her transnational identity to move across spaces to further equity and antiracist practices through collaboration, reflection, and critical dialogue.

References

Akram, W., & Kumar, R. (2017). A study on positive and negative effects of social media on society. International Journal of Computer Sciences and Engineering, 5(10), 351–354. https://doi.org/10.26438/ijcse/v5i10.351354

Anzaldúa, G. (2007). Borderlands | la frontera: The new mestiza. 2nd edition. Aunt Lute Books.

Baker-Bell, A. (2020). Linguistic justice: Black language, literacy, identity, and pedagogy. Routledge.

Baker-Bell, A. (2022, February 22). This whole thread [Tweet]. Twitter.

Bhattacharya, K. (2022, March 29). I love me some Anzaldúa. If you liked Borderlands, wait till you read Light in the Dark which was supposed [Tweet]. Twitter.

Bhattacharya, K. (2022, March 29). Welcome to the place where humans chat via bird-generated discourses. I am so profoundly grateful to be part of your [Tweet]. Twitter.

Cook, J. & Smith M. (2004). Beyond formal learning: Informal community eLearning. Computers & Education, 43(1-2), 35–47.

Doctorow, C. (2003). Down and out in the magic kingdom. Macmillan.

Ebner, M., Lienhardt, C., Rohs, M., & Meyer, I. (2010). Microblogs in higher education – A chance to facilitate informal and process-oriented learning? Computers & Education, 55(1), 92–100.

Edwards, J. (2021). Ethical autoethnography: Is it possible? International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 20(1), 1–6.

Esposito, J. & Evans-Winters, V. (2022). Introduction to intersectional qualitative research. Sage Publishing.

Gao, F., Luo, T., & Zhang, K. (2012). Tweeting for learning: A critical analysis of research on microblogging in education published in 2008-2011. British Journal of Education Technology, 43(5), 783–801.

Heath, S. B. (1983). Ways with words: Language, life, and work in communities and classrooms. Cambridge University Press.

Heaton, J. (2004). Reworking qualitative data. Sage.

Hodges, T. S. (2017). Theoretically speaking: An examination of four theories and how they support writing in the classroom. The Clearing House, 90(4), 139–146.

Hughes, S. A. & Pennington, J. L. (2017). Autoethnography: Process, product, and possibility for critical social research. SAGE.

Hunter, J. D., Silvestri, K. N., & Ackerman, M. L. (2018). “Feeling like a different kind of smart”: Twitter as digital literacy mediates learning for urban youth and literacy specialist candidates. School-University Partnerships, 11(1), 36–45.

Jones, K. (2022, February 22). AHHHH @aprilbakerbell in the house!! … #literacies [Tweet]. Twitter.

Keating, A. & Anzaldúa, G. (2015). Light in the dark/Luz en lo oscuro: Rewriting identity, spirituality, reality. Duke University Press.

Kinloch, V. (2007). Youth representations of community, art, and struggle in Harlem (NYC). New Directions for Adult & Continuing Education, 116, 37–50.

Larson, S. (2017, November 7). Welcome to a world with 280-character tweets. https://money.cnn.com/2017/11/07/technology/twitter-280-character-limit/index.html

Loomis, S. (2018). #Twitter: A pedagogical tool in the high school classroom. Journal of Language and Literacy Education, 14(1), 1–10.

Martin, C. (2021). Reflecting on the journey towards identity and belonging during professional doctoral study. Journal of Transforming Professional Practice.

Matamoros-Fernández, A., & Farkas, J. (2021). Racism, hate speech, and social media: A systematic review and critique. Television & New Media, 22(2), 205–224. https://doi.org/10.1177/1527476420982230

Muhammad, G. (2020). Cultivating genius: An equity framework for culturally and historically responsive literacy. Scholastic.

Oviatt, R. (2022, January 25). A3: More creative insubordination in our #literacies work, please! I am deeply engaged w/how to make visible and accessible how [Tweet]. Twitter.

Perry, J. A. (2012). To Ed.D. or not to Ed.D.? Phi Delta Kappan, 94(1), 41–44. https://doi.org/10.1177/003172171209400108

Rabalais, C. B. (2022, January 25). A4: I think taking up subversive strategies can mean going against the skill drill type of teaching that many institutions [Tweet]. Twitter.

Reddy, P., Sharma, B. & Chaudhary, K. (2020). Digital literacy: A review of literature. International Journal of Technoethics, 11(2), 65–94.

Risser, H. S. (2013). Virtual induction: A novice teacher’s use of Twitter to form an informal mentoring network. Teaching and Teacher Education, 35(1), 25–33.

Roberts, C. M. (2010). The dissertation journey: A practical and comprehensive guide to planning, writing, and defending your dissertation. Corwin Press.

Schmid, J. (2019). Autoethnography: Locating the self as standpoint in post-apartheid South Africa. In Laher, S., Flynn, A., Kramer, S. (Eds.), Transforming research methods in the sciences: Case studies in Africa. (pp. 265-279). Wits University Press.

Smagorinsky, P. (2013). What does Vygotsky provide for 21st century language arts teachers? Language Arts, 90(3), 192–204.

Smagorinsky, P. (2024). Teaching writing. In Goodwyn, A. (Eds.), L. S. Vygotsky and English in education and the language arts. (pp. 219-237). Routledge.

Smith, P. [@PatriannSmith]. (2022, February 22). A1: My heart is full today. I got to FaceTime with my daughter who’s thousands of miles away about her [Tweet]. Twitter.

Smith, P. [@PatriannSmith]. (2022, February 22). A2: By illustrating how race, language and immigration intersect to influence the languaging of Black youth in border-crossing [Tweet]. Twitter.

Smith, P. [@PatriannSmith]. (2022, February 22). A2: Pat Edwards, Kisha Bryan, April Baker-Bell, Jamila Lysicott, Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz, Gholdy Muhammad, Detra Price-Dennis, Allison Skerrett, Cheryl McClean [Tweet]. Twitter.

Vanderburg, R. (2006). Reviewing research on teaching and writing based on Vygotsky’s theories: What we can learn. Reading and Writing Quarterly, 22(4), 375–393.

Vannucci, A, Flannery, K. M., Ohannessian C. M. (2017). Social media use and anxiety in emerging adults. Journal of Affective Disorders, 207, 163–166.

Vygotsky, L. S. (1980). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press.

Vygotsky, L. S. (1934). Thinking and speech. MIT Press.

Warschauer, M., & Tate, T. (2018). Digital divides and social inclusion. In Mills, K. A., Stornaiuolo, A., Smith, A., & Zacher Pandya, J., Handbook of writing, literacies, and education in digital cultures (pp. 63-75). Routledge.

Wellington, D. [@writinglit]. (2022, February 22). For tonight’s #literacies convo, we will use a Q1, Q2…format for questions. Please use A1, A2 format for answers [Tweet]. Twitter.

Wellington, D. [@writinglit]. (2022, January 25). Hello! Thank you for coming tonight! #literacies [Tweet]. Twitter.

Wellington, D. [@writinglit]. (2022, January 25). What are the subversive tool that we engaged in our classroom careers that could be recalled, remembered, and repurposed for our #literacies work in the academe? [Tweet]. Twitter.

Willis, A. I., Thompson McMillon, G. & Smith, P. (2022). Affirming Black students’ lives and literacies: Bearing witness. Teachers College Press.

Yarris, L. M., Chan, T. M., Gottlieb, M., & Miller Juve, A. (2019). Finding your people in the digital age: Virtual communities of practice to promote education scholarship. Journal of Graduate Medical Education, 11(1), 1–5.

Downloads

Published

2024-10-31

How to Cite

Rabalais, C. B., Aleo, T., & Wellington, D. (2024). More Knowledgeable Other(s): Sensemaking and Networking in Digital Ad-Hocracies. Impacting Education: Journal on Transforming Professional Practice, 9(4), 9–17. https://doi.org/10.5195/ie.2024.413

Issue

Vol. 9 No. 4 (2024): Regular Issue

Section

Research Manuscripts

License

Copyright (c) 2024 Caroline B. Rabalais, Trevor Aleo, Dianne Wellington

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. The Author retains copyright in the Work, where the term “Work” shall include all digital objects that may result in subsequent electronic publication or distribution.
  2. Upon acceptance of the Work, the author shall grant to the Publisher the right of first publication of the Work.
  3. The Author shall grant to the Publisher and its agents the nonexclusive perpetual right and license to publish, archive, and make accessible the Work in whole or in part in all forms of media now or hereafter known under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License or its equivalent, which, for the avoidance of doubt, allows others to copy, distribute, and transmit the Work under the following conditions:
    1. Attribution—other users must attribute the Work in the manner specified by the author as indicated on the journal Web site;
    with the understanding that the above condition can be waived with permission from the Author and that where the Work or any of its elements is in the public domain under applicable law, that status is in no way affected by the license.
  4. The Author is able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the nonexclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the Work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), as long as there is provided in the document an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  5. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post online a prepublication manuscript (but not the Publisher’s final formatted PDF version of the Work) in institutional repositories or on their Websites prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work. Any such posting made before acceptance and publication of the Work shall be updated upon publication to include a reference to the Publisher-assigned DOI (Digital Object Identifier) and a link to the online abstract for the final published Work in the Journal.
  6. Upon Publisher’s request, the Author agrees to furnish promptly to Publisher, at the Author’s own expense, written evidence of the permissions, licenses, and consents for use of third-party material included within the Work, except as determined by Publisher to be covered by the principles of Fair Use.
  7. The Author represents and warrants that:
    1. the Work is the Author’s original work;
    2. the Author has not transferred, and will not transfer, exclusive rights in the Work to any third party;
    3. the Work is not pending review or under consideration by another publisher;
    4. the Work has not previously been published;
    5. the Work contains no misrepresentation or infringement of the Work or property of other authors or third parties; and
    6. the Work contains no libel, invasion of privacy, or other unlawful matter.
  8. The Author agrees to indemnify and hold Publisher harmless from Author’s breach of the representations and warranties contained in Paragraph 6 above, as well as any claim or proceeding relating to Publisher’s use and publication of any content contained in the Work, including third-party content.

Revised 7/16/2018. Revision Description: Removed outdated link.