Researching New Media & New Literacies

For my final project, I will research the Personal Digital Inquiry framework to argue that elementary music classrooms provide unique affordances to the framework that a traditional classroom does not offer. I will focus on the process of music composition and how students can leverage various compositional tools to show their expertise and engage with their communities. I have chosen to focus my research on PDI because I was particularly moved by the findings of Jon Wargo, who wrote an inspirational story in the article Sounding the Garden: Voicing a Problem: Mobilizing Critical Literacy through Personal Digital Inquiry with Young Children. Wargo tells the story of a young boy who uses sonorous artwork to mobilize his community around the climate change crisis. This inspirational example of the PDI Framework drew my attention to the various affordances of sound and music that students can leverage within an elementary music class to mobilize their communities, as this student managed to do. 

I focused my research on the background information of Personal Digital Inquiry to understand how it can be effectively incorporated into a classroom. I also spent time researching various tools and strategies to optimize the composition process within a music classroom.

Annotated Bibliography

Wargo, John (2022). Gendered Genius Hour: Tracing Young Children’s Uptake of Expert across the Nexus of Personal Digital Inquiry. Research in the Teaching of English, 56(3), pp. 275-300.

Wargo presents qualitative data to assess the development of “expertise” in the context of Personal Digital Inquiry. Specifically, Wargo focuses his research on how students of different gender identities portray their expertise on their chosen topics. The research methods are outlined, qualitative data is presented, and Wargo presents his overarching findings. This article is indispensable for understanding the various ways in which students communicate their expertise on their chosen topics.

Coiro, J., Castek, J., & Quinn, D. (2016). Personal Inquiry and Online Research: Connecting Learners in Ways That Matter. The Reading Teacher, 69(5), pp.483-492.

This article highlights the four stages of Personal Digital Inquiry and theorizes how each stage makes learning truly meaningful for students. Coiro et. al provide examples of what each stage can look from from both a student and teacher perspective. They also provide guidance on scaffolding inquiry for students who are beginning to approach the PDI framework. This article would prove a valuable resource for any teacher wondering how PDI can enact change in their classroom or how they can begin to implement the framework.

Brownell, C. & Wargo, J. (2021). Writing to Transform: Promoting Personal Digital Inquiry through cultivating Critical Literacy. Literacy Today, 39(2), p. 60.

Brownell & Wargo crafted a brief yet effective outline for incorporating a framework of Personal Digital Inquiry in a classroom. The article begins with a description of the topic two elementary students brought before their teacher. The authors then show the journey through all five stages of PDI the students and their teacher undertook to address their topic. While the authors did not list their methods for collecting the observations to support their outline, the article serves as a reader-friendly example of how teachers can begin to approach the framework of Personal Digital Inquiry.

Partti, H., Weber, J., & Rolle, C. (2021). Learning a skill, or learning to learn? Supporting teachers’ professional development in music education technology. Journal of Music, Technology, and Education, 14(2-3), pp.123-139.

Partti et. al examined the European Future Songwriting Project to make the case for providing music educators the appropriate resources and training to leverage music technology tools in their classrooms. The authors emphasize data retrieved from interviews in which teachers describe how they do and could optimize technological tools for inquiry and composition. While this article is primarily focused on advocating for professional development and funding on behalf of music educators, the data included from the authors’ analysis of the Future Songwriting Project provides strong examples for leveraging the affordances of music technology that could be introduced within a PDI framework.

Devaney, Kirsty (2019). ‘Waiting for the wow factor’: Perspectives on computer technology in classroom composing. Journal of Music, Technology, and Education, 12(2), pp. 121-139.

Devaney outlines the various possibilities and tensions that come with introducing music technology tools in a classroom. She clearly outlines her research method, provides sampling, and exquisitely communicates her qualitative findings to support the affordances and challenges of a selected few compositional tools. Her anecdotal findings, which mostly come from student interviews, provide effective examples of how music technology presents certain affordances to inquiry-based learning that other kinds of tools do not provide.