The links below lead to my "Own The Word" graphic organizers:
Cultural Deficit
Cultural Capital
Literacy is a recursive process, which means it is fostered and developed consistently throughout one's life. If a student receives poor instruction and has literacy problems at a young age, they will have difficulty all throughout their schooling until the problem is remedied, because literacy permeates every other facet of learning. While assessments such as tests have been a heavily relied upon resource for pinpointing reading problems, tests cannot capture "the full complexity of literacy." Tests are good for showing improvement over time, but even then the skills being assessed are only a small part of the whole.
None of the myths in the article particularly surprised me. Most of the "realities" were things I had either already known or could've realized on my own. For example, many people do not see the connection between literacy and other content areas, particularly math. As someone who has completed all of the math courses required for my B.S. degree in mathematics, I can tell you that the two don't just share common ground - they are intimately connected. Grammar shares structural patterns with formulas in math, and a student can hardly draw a parallelogram without understanding the definition of "parallel." I believe that a student's ability to grasp mathematical content is directly proportional to how well they understand the definitions of the terms involved. Consider also mathematical proof, which in later classes evolves into more text than numbers; the proof must be sound both mathematically and grammatically to be correct. For many of my upper level courses in math, prior to exams I would study just the definitions. I made the connection early on that the key to applying a math concept lies in its definition. If you can define it, then you can use it to solve a problem.
One type of literacy that I find is either: 1) encouraged too heavily or 2) totally disregarded , is calculator use. Students shouldn't rely on calculators in place of basic math, but they sure can come in handy when you are multiplying strings of five digit numbers, or dividing rational numbers. If a student doesn't have the literacy skills to look at a calculator and know that "^" is the button to press to raise a number to a power, or that"/" stands for "divide", or that the pi symbol stands for "pi" - then the purpose of the calculator is defeated. Sure, a kid who doesn't understand how to quickly type in "2^10" could just multiply two by itself ten times and get the correct answer - but this makes it easier to make an error and doing so is tedious. If calculator literacy is disregarded, a child's standardized test scores could suffer. Instead of using the resource to quickly complete a timed test, they would be taking the long way around everything, and the calculator would be no more effective than a sheet of scrap paper to them. They could spend more time stressing out about working the calculator than solving the problems.
Engaging students with real-world literacy practices is crucial. Incorporating extracurricular literacy practices can range from allowing the students to choose their own reading material for a project, to working out a lengthy physics problem that has a real-world connection to them. One of my college instructors assigned me a "group" (from abstract algebra) and had me write a formal paper, using proper grammar, on all that I could figure out about the group. He guided my work by assigning specific questions about the group, which allowed me to broaden my scope and really dig deep into the details. After the dust settled, I had written eleven pages, and had learned more about math than I had in a long time. I saw it as a discovery process that incorporated reading and writing. It was a really awesome experience.
Teachers can also encourage literacy that promotes cultural variety. I remember for my Food Preparation class in high school, my teacher assigned a research that included a paper, presentation, and a food specific from the culture I was assigned. By the time I had finished, I felt I had a much more authentic experience with that culture than I had with any similar project prior.
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Sources:
Bolima, D. (n.d.). Contexts for understanding: Educational learning theories. Retrieved from http://staff.washington.edu/saki/strategies/101/new_page_5.htm
The National Council of Teachers of English, (2007).Adolescent literacy. Retrieved from National Council of Teachers of English website: http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Positions/Chron0907ResearchBrief.pdf
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