[Canceled] Normalizing Excellence: A Call to Awareness for Advancing, Black Families’ and Youth’s Digital and STEAM Literacies

Abstract: This keynote serves as a call for awareness to understand and normalize the exceptional digital and STEAM literacy practices within Black families and youth. Dr. Lewis Ellison emphasizes the importance of acknowledging and respecting their racial, cultural, and social identities in these spaces. Through her research, she sheds light on the intersections of digital and STEAM literacies among Black families and youth that are crucial when considering their digital literacy learning and proficiencies. By centering Black families’ and youth’s experiences and practices in home and community settings, we can advance teacher education and foster discussions aimed at normalizing digital and STEAM literacies within these communities.

Bio: Dr. Tisha Lewis Ellison is an Associate Professor within the Department of Language and Literacy Education at the University of Georgia. Her scholarly pursuits center on investigating the intersections among family literacy, multimodality, and digital, as well as STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) literacy practices within Black and Latina/é families and adolescents. Dr. Lewis Ellison has been honored with several prestigious awards. Notably, she has received the Divergent Award for Excellence in Literacy in the Digital Age Research from the Initiative for Literacy in a Digital Age, the National Academy of Education/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship, and the Early Career Achievement and J. Michael Parker awards from the Literacy Research Association. Additionally, she was the recipient of the Promising Researcher Award from the National Council of Teachers of English. Dr. Lewis Ellison’s work has been featured in selected reputable peer-reviewed journals: Reading Research Quarterly, Research in the Teaching of English, Journal of Literacy Research, Written Communication, The Reading Teacher, Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, Urban Education, and Journal of Education. Dr. Lewis Ellison’s scholarly endeavors serve as a catalyst for advancing the understanding and narratives about families’ digital and STEAM literacies across race, gender, and class within home and community settings, while carrying significant implications for informing educational policies and practices.