Content area literacy is the ability to use reading and writing to acquire new content in a given discipline. Disciplinary literacy, on the other hand, is the ability to read, write, speak, listen, and think in a given content area. Disciplinary literacy is critical to ensure that graduating students are prepared for college, career, and civic life.
Content area literacy uses strategies such as setting goals, pre-reading, monitoring comprehension, activating prior knowledge, asking questions, making predictions, re-reading, summarizing, and making inferences. In science classes, teachers can use tools such as KWL chart, which speeds learning and mastery of the content.
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Disciplinary literacy, on the other hand, uses various strategies to assist the student master content in a specific discipline. It relies on the strategies that include mapping, posing questions, and deconstructing text structures, among others. In science classes, the student might write lab reports or business proposals in business classes (Townsend, 2014). In history or social studies classes, writing a journal or even an article analyzing a culture can help students gain an in-depth understanding of the discipline.
Despite the importance of the content area and disciplinary literacy strategies in helping students learn better and master content, some teachers have not adopted this mode of teaching. The main reason for the failure to adopt is a lack of understanding of what the teaching methodology entails. Also, current teaching methods for students training to be teachers do not give sufficient emphasis on the method (Moje, 2015). Therefore, with the right plan, guidance, and follow-up, it is possible to train teachers to embrace the method. The following five-point plan is suggested.
First, provide content instruction that emphasizes critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity. The changing nature of work requires students to gain skills suitable for the 21st century. Therefore, teachers are not just required to teach content, but also teach them how to think and learn how to learn. For some subjects, learning should take a recursive approach where teachers take learners through specific skills to gain mastery. Unlike math, where students have to build on what they learned previously, literacy skills take a recursive approach (Shanahan & Shanahan, 2014). For instance, students can learn critical thinking in various subjects, so the process is ongoing and often nonlinear. For teachers, they can learn how to teach using this model by observing demonstrations, learning the metacognitive process,
Secondly, teachers should learn how to design an authentic, real world experiences and assessment in their classrooms. Under this plan, it is vital for teachers to know that learners have an authentic purpose and audience. Thus, teachers should respond to those needs. The teacher should also adopt a flexible learning process as well as facilitate learning by guiding students towards learning that is interesting.
Teachers should commit to the conceptual framework of learning by doing. Students learn best in an engaging environment. Therefore, teachers have a significant role to play in creating such an engaging learning conducive for learning. A learning environment is often engaging when it is student-centered as opposed to teacher-centered (Fang, 2014). For this plan, teachers need to master the teaching pedagogy that places the student at the center. Teachers can master this method via coaching, scaffolding, walk-throughs, and other strategies.
Teachers should provide students with the opportunity to use inquiry, habits of practice, and academic language. Students need to learn foundational elements of literacy, and they include comprehension, vocabulary, phonics, fluency, etc. With those necessary skills, they can thrive in inquiry-based learning classrooms (Lesley, 2013). Given the right environment to conduct their inquiry, they master content and subject disciplines better.
Finally, teachers should implement job-embedded professional development and collaboration. The modern world is more demanding, and that calls for job-embedded learning and not just theory. Learners should understand the relevance of their early learning.
In conclusion, a collaborative plan for teachers to master content area and disciplinary literacy has to include the five points. The most important aspect is training teachers in those areas and then evaluating them continuously. The goal of the follow-up plan is to ensure that teachers include those areas in their teaching.
References
Fang, Z. (2014). Preparing Content Area Teachers for Disciplinary Literacy Instruction. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 57 (6), 444-448. doi:10.1002/jaal.269
Lesley, M. K. (2013). Policy, Pedagogy, and Research: Three Issues Affecting Content Area Literacy Courses for Secondary-Level Teacher Candidates. Literacy Research and Instruction, 53 (1), 50-71. doi:10.1080/19388071.2013.826761
Moje, E. B. (2015). Doing and Teaching Disciplinary Literacy with Adolescent Learners: A Social and Cultural Enterprise. Harvard Educational Review, 85 (2), 254-278. doi:10.17763/0017-8055.85.2.254
Shanahan, C., & Shanahan, T. (2014). The Implications of Disciplinary Literacy. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 57 (8), 628-631. doi:10.1002/jaal.297
Townsend, D. (2014). Whos Using the Language? Supporting Middle School Students With Content Area Academic Language. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 58 (5), 376-387. doi:10.1002/jaal.374
Annotated bibliography
Fang, Z. (2014). Preparing Content Area Teachers for Disciplinary Literacy Instruction. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 57 (6), 444-448. doi:10.1002/jaal.269
The article argues that the current movement from generic literacy strategies to discipline-specific language practices makes sense. Due to the demands of the job environment, it is essential for the student to master literacy areas. However, currently, few teacher educators (CTEs) or literacy teacher educators (LTEs) have a mastery of disciplinary content and the disciplinary habits of the mind.
Emerging research has identified the need for imparting students with the ability to engage in social, meiotic, and cognitive practices. To achieve that objective, content area and disciplinary literacy are critical. However, colleges do not train aspiring teachers well in those areas. What is evident is that there is a need to reorient teaching towards 21st-century thinking and learning.
The practical application of the findings of the article is there is a need to refocus on teacher training. If teachers are not well grounded in disciplinary content and the disciplinary habits of the mind, they are unlikely to guide the student towards the mastery of content area and disciplinary literacy. The solution, therefore, lies with making teacher-training courses more rigorous to ensure they gain the necessary pedagogical skills.
Lesley, M. K. (2013). Policy, Pedagogy, and Research: Three Issues Affecting Content Area Literacy Courses for Secondary-Level Teacher Candidates. Literacy Research and Instruction, 53 (1), 50-71. doi:10.1080/19388071.2013.826761
The article notes increasing cases of remediation rates for in colleges. The implications are that teaching adolescents in America is at a critical juncture. In light of the problem, few states have policies that require secondary level candidates to complete literacy education coursework. Despite the presence of literacy education in courses, more needs to be done to prepare teachers to educate effectively.
Content area literacy pedagogy is critical in teacher education. Nevertheless, the current training methods do not place sufficient emphasis on that issue. Greater emphasis is needed on content area literacy, preparing candidates well in disciplinary literacy, and overcoming barriers towards the adoption of the content and disciplinary literacy. One of the biggest challenges is the failure to understand the need for change given the high remediation rates.
The findings of the article suggest that there is a need for change in teacher training programs. Content and disciplinary literacy should be mandatory in colleges. Next, for existing educators, continuous education can equip them with the required skills. Finally, a plan for overcoming challenges is critical. For every new development, the problems are, but the journey towards the content and disciplinary literacy is too remarkable to abandon.
Moje, E. B. (2015). Doing and Teaching Disciplinary Literacy with Adolescent Learners: A Social and Cultural Enterprise. Harvard Educational Review, 85 (2), 254-278. doi:10.17763/0017-8055.85.2.254
In this article, the author identifies disciplinary literacy as the most important aspect of learning. However, she notes, for teachers, the focus has always met standards, and that alienates true learning. According to her, the most important aspect of learning is training students to learn engagingly, elicit or engineer critical thinking, examine the evidence, and reflectively evaluate the learning process itself.
Learning has changed. The best approach to make learning match the emerging needs is to adopt inquiry-based learning as the article suggests. Typically, the youths have to navigate complex literacy contexts. To cope, learning itself has to include elements such as social interaction, purpose, value, imagination, affect, and other factors that define the literacy context that defines the modern world.
This article implies that learning has to move away from traditional centered pedagogical models. New models have to include inquiry-based learning, where students are learning actively. The student is the center of learning and not the teacher. Under such a model, learning is engaging and interesting for the students as it is discovery based. The role of the teacher is more like that of a guide.
Shanahan, C., & Shanahan, T. (2014). The Implications of Disciplinary Literacy. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 57 (8), 628-631. doi:10.1002/jaal.297
The article notes that middle and high schools are shifting their attention to disciplinary literacy. Part of the reason for the shift is that disciplinary literacy is required under common core state standards. However, even in states outs the common core, they are shifting to the model as well. Disciplinary literacy is engaging, and students might find it interesting. However, resistance to this model among teachers is still high.
This article makes a strong case for disciplinary literacy. Middle and high school require a new learning model to achieve success in school. The model is engaging and allows students to master content in a way that is good for long-life learning. However, the biggest challenge is resistance from teachers. While the model has clear benefits, it requires the teacher to plan and take more time to prepare lessons.
Based on what the article says, the adoption of disciplinary literacy is not a choice but mandatory. The new model is superior to existing pedagogy. However, it is not so different from other models that emphasize the student.
Townsend, D. (2014). Whos Using the Language? Supporting Middle School Students with Content Area Academic Language. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 58 (5), 376-387. doi:10.1002/jaal.374
The article notes that education in the United States is undergoing massive changes. Most states are currently struggling to implement the common core state standards. This new model emphasizes on text complexity and informational texts. However, the new emphasis has brought a new challenge, which is teachers are finding themselves teachers of content and language. The solution is content area literacy; hence, the establishment of Developing Content Area Academic Language (DCAAL).
The findings of the project show that when teachers have the skills necessary to adopt content literacy, they can guide their students. Also, they can exploit scaffolding opportunities and translate them to concrete learning outcomes. Students also perform better in content areas such as spelling, comprehension, literacy, etc.
The findings of the project demonstrate the value of the content area literacy. Amidst the changes taking place in the education sector, content and disciplinary literacy are critical to arm students with critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Also, the new model engages learners, empowering them to address literacy context they have to contend with their learning.
Research question:
"What literacy and instructional strategies will work in my classroom to help my students develop these essential skills?"
