In this paper, we describe Me Mapping, present a content analysis of the Me Maps created by newcomer students and their future teachers, share the perspectives of those who created their own Me Maps and those who facilitated their creation, and explore the implications for mainstream classrooms and teacher education.
Me Maps are multimodal artifacts created by newcomer children and youth to document their linguistic profile, important milestones in their lives, multiple identities, experiences at school, academic trajectories and aspirations for the future. Using a series of prompts and the Flipgrid application, the research team collaborated with teachers and NGO staff to support over 100 children and youth (ages 5–19) in creating Me Maps.
Starting in 2019, we integrated these Me Maps into the Supporting English Learners course as a focus for teacher-candidate learning within the Master of Teaching program at the University of Toronto. Engaging candidates with Me Maps is based on Keet et al.'s (2009) notion of mutual vulnerability: teacher candidates opening themselves up in the same ways newcomer students did, to create Me Maps so as to learn with and from newcomers as complete humans, not simply "language learners."
Using Cummins' (2009) Transformative Multiliteracies and Language Literacy Framework as lenses, we examined the Me Maps created by newcomer students and teacher candidates. We also considered the workshop facilitators' and teacher educators' experiences with Me Mapping as a learning strategy.
Flipgrid, the video discussion platform used in workshops proved as a valuable tool that allowed students and teacher candidates to take control of their learning. The use of social media to support learner-focused activity provided motivation for active student engagement. It also helped the teachers/teacher educators who facilitated Me Mapping, to develop a more nuanced understanding of their students and their multiple identities.
In this paper, we will 1) describe the Me Mapping workshop process, 2) present an analysis of the content of the Me Maps created by newcomer students and their future teachers, 3) describe the perspectives of those who created their own Me Maps and those who facilitated their creation, and 4) explore the implications for mainstream classrooms and teacher education.
