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LITERACIES APPROACHES AT LINCOLN

Assignment 1



Mark Smith

Student Number: s254336

ETL411 Teaching the Curriculum 1/Integrating Literacy -1
st
Semester

Charles Darwin University










































LITERACIES APPROACHES AT LINCOLN
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Throughout human history, the purpose of literacy has undergone
transformation; Kalantzis and Cope (2012, pp.32-33) identify three distinct
periods of literacy. The first two are defined by the development of signs,
verbal language and written language. Our students however, are learners in
what Kalantzis and Cope (2012) coin the third globalisation. Humans are
bearing witness to an ever-increasing and rapid change in communication
technologies, coupled with increasing complex relationships, the pressure of
diminishing resources, and an increasing knowledge base of mass
information. Thus, it is vital for institutions of learning to prepare and position
tomorrows decision makers with the necessary tools to be active critical
problem solvers. It is through a critical literacy approach that these skills can
be addressed, while also exploring questions of equality and power
relationships.
Education provides opportunity, as in the words of the former Secretary
General to the United Nations, Kofi Anan (UNESCO, 2012) It provides a
means for people to reach their full potential. Many discussions today
surround equity and equality in education, and literacy is at the core of these
discussions. Kalantzis and Cope distinguish between the two saying, Equity
occurs when students are given equal educational opportunities, while
equality occurs when education increases social equality because the
conditions of learning make it possible for students to avail themselves of its
opportunity (2012, p.48). If we as educators wish to witness equality, we
must provide the necessary skills to all students, no matter the social division.
We must place an emphasis on democratic values within the classroom so
that equality is practiced by our leaders of tomorrow, making them agents of
change and social transformation.
As educators, it is vital that our approach to literacy meets the
demands of society today and actively prepares todays learners to be
tomorrows decision makers and leaders in an environment of ever-changing
technology. Additionally, our literacy approach must demonstrate equality, as
to provide all who access education every chance to achieve their potential,
and to be inspired by democratic virtues. Our literacy approach must facilitate
an active critiquing while we produce and consume meaning, determine
whose meanings count and whose are dismissed, who speaks and who is
LITERACIES APPROACHES AT LINCOLN


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silenced, and who benefits and who is disadvantaged (Jank, 2012, p.159,). By
doing so we are fulfilling our role as literacy educators.

Literacy practices of a bygone era no longer meet the needs of
learners today. Dramatic changes to our understanding and ways of
communicating have occurred over the past fifty years through the rise of
digital media. Digital media is arguably the most culturally and globally
significant technology of the new century (Reinking & Carter, 2007, p.141).
As practitioners of literacy, we must exploit digital technologies to transform
literacy instruction, preparing students for the literacy of the future (Reinking
& Carter, 2007, p.145). In this way, the rise of digital media has broadened
the purpose of literacy.
The two drivers of change in literacy are multilingualism; the everyday
experience of people negotiating different ways in which they use language to
communicate, and multimodality; the variety of different ways to transmit oral,
audio, visual and gestural meanings by technologies (Kalantzis & Cope, 2012,
pp.43-44). Literacy is no longer in the singular, but rather in the plural to take
into account the multidimensional nature of creating meaning from our world
(Kalantzis & Cope, 2012, p.49). As educators, we have to rise to the
challenge to meet the demands of this dynamic era of knowledge creation,
and prepare students with the skills to discern, discriminate and disseminate
information wisely, when faced with the ever-increasing bombardment of
images and overload of mass information.

Part (ii)
How can we meet the educational demands to prepare students for the
future? I have approached this question through the lens of an international
school teacher, and after much research, reading, and reasoning, the critical
literacy approach can be the only course adopted within this context. Critical
literacy is a theoretical and practical attitude toward texts and the social
world, and a commitment to the use of textual practices for social analysis and
transformation (Luke, 2000, p.454). Critical literacy challenges students to
LITERACIES APPROACHES AT LINCOLN
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not only understand and read the texts around them, but to analyse the
social and cultural influences and perspectives as well. While this is essential
in all classes, it has particular relevance within an international school setting.
Focusing on the content of literacy knowledge row in Table 1, it is
evident there is a strong relationship between critical literacy and LCS. As
LCS is an International Baccalaureate (IB) school, it uses the Primary Years
Programme (PYP) as it pedagogical foundation for learning. The programme
uses real world issues as purposeful learning engagements (International
Baccalaureate, 2009, p.53). In Table 1, Kalantzis and Cope (2012, p.160)
outline that the didactic approach supports the acquisition of formal rules of
grammar and to use set texts (books) as means to learn, which contrasts with
the exploratory nature of the PYP. Additionally, closer examinations of the
authentic and functional approaches reveal that both fail to explore issues and
topics required from the PYP. In comparison, the critical literacy approach
advocates learning to be a critical orientation of the world, learning about
differences in language and power; learning about popular culture and new
media (Kalantzis & Cope, 2012, p.160). By using a critical orientation to
literacy, students are learning at a deep contextual level and it is aligned with
IBs desired tools as a basis for learning.
LCS students are affluent, mobile and technologically savvy; they are
connected and have access to a range of communication devices. The school
aims to use experiences with technology that promote continued learning,
enhance communication, and foster innovation in practice (Lincoln
Community School, 2012). Table 1 highlights the correlation between the use
of technology and digital media and critical literacy. Critical literacy not only
accepts the use of technology in the classroom, but also actively encourages
it. Reinking and Carter state an unrelenting shift toward digital forms and
processes in every aspect of our daily lives creates and defines digital
literacies and, consequently, establishes the clear need to incorporate digital
literacies into schools (2007, p.143).



LITERACIES APPROACHES AT LINCOLN


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Table 1: Comparison of the Four Pedagogical Approaches/ Paradigms of
Literacies and Literacies at Lincoln Community School.
Source: Kalantzis and Cope (2012, p.160) and Lincoln Community School
(2012).




Didactic

Authentic Functional Critical The Context-LCS
CONTENT of
literacy
knowledge
Learning the
formal rules; the
one correct path
and proper way to
write; reading
what texts really
say; appreciating
the literary
cannon
Relevant,
authentic,
realistic,
meaning
expressed in
reading and
writing
Learning the
genres of
school success
and social
power
Learning a critical
orientation to the
world, learning
about differences
in language and
power; learning
about popular
culture and new
media
Developing skills of
students to be effective
language users. Topics
covered in class are
current and important
issues, Digital media is
encouraged to be used
within the class
ORGANISATI
ON of
literacy
curriculum
Students follows
the teacher
follows syllabus
textbook
Process
pedagogy;
integrated
units; teacher
planned unit of
work; natural
growth
Reading genre
models;
writing of own
content with
the genre
frameworks
Supporting
learner agency;
focus on purpose
of meaning-
making
Integrated curriculum,
desired understanding of
current issues and
different perspectives, and
to take action
Learners
DOING
literacy
Copying,
repetition,
memorization of
conventions and
rules; getting the
right answer
Active
learning;
immersion in
reading and
writing
experiences;
inquiry
pedagogy
Expert-
designed,
teacher-
introduced
scaffolds and
functional
grammar,
student
independently
construction
Engagement with
real world issues;
experiences of
active citizenship;
creating texts that
engage with the
world
Using the IBs Primary
Years Programmes Unit of
Inquiries as a basis for
curriculum choices.
Students create texts,
based upon exploring
ways to take action on
finds out through
inquiries.
SOCIAL
RELATIONSHI
PS of literacy
learning
Authoritative
knowledge of
objective facts;
authoritarianism
teacher
Self
realization,
learner centred
pedagogy, the
values of the
expressive
individual
Learning to
mean in a
social
environment
and
educational
context where
mastery of a
particular
genre is valued
Using literacies to
take control over
the conditions of
ones life; being
an adept meaning
maker in the new
media
New technologies,
connect student body.
Highly mobile and
affluent. Most students
speak more than one
language. Teacher is seen
as a facilitator of
knowledge.
LITERACIES APPROACHES AT LINCOLN
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Learners should play an active role in the creation of their knowledge.
As Table 1 indicates, even though there is close alignment between the
authentic approach and LCS inquiry approach to learning, the correlation to
the critical approach is even stronger. The International Baccalaureate PYP
aims for students to take action (2009, p.113) when students explore topics
of inequities in power relationships, perspectives of marginalized people, and
current environmental and social issues. This approach allies well with the
critical literacy approach and its democratic qualities.

When the PYP is compared with the didactic and functional
approaches, there is little correlation. The didactic approach stipulates a rigid
process of learning, following textbooks and a set curriculum. Likewise, the
functional approach is rigid in its nature, as learning is confined to set genres
exploring issues determined by the educator (Kalantzis & Cope, 2012, p.160).
Once again within the schools context, the critical approach is seen as the
only approach to meet the demands and needs of the school.

In regards to learners doing literacy the didactic approach supports
the memorization of rules and working towards the correct answer. The
authentic approach supports immersion within the curriculum, and in the
functional approach students learning is supported and scaffolded in the as
the educator determines the curriculum (Kalantzis & Cope, 2012, p.160). The
critical approach moves beyond these three other approaches, as it is seeks
relevance by connecting with learners by exploring real world issues and
events. Beck states teaching critical literacy requires that the teacher
highlight controversial, provocative issues in student-centred discussions that
encourage students to reflect on their own experiences and to make changes
in themselves and the world around them (2005, p.399). With regard to the
context, LCS students come from a privileged position within society, and by
undertaking a critical approach to literacy they will explore the differences in
power and relationships. Students will act upon their findings, and become
agents of change, especially within a third world context where there is a gulf
that divides the haves and have-nots and where democratic values are not as
well established.

LITERACIES APPROACHES AT LINCOLN


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When exploring the social relationship of literacy learning, critical
literacy once again provides the strongest choice in regards to the learners at
LCS. To produce positive results within a school context, one of the most
important contributing factors of success is a positive student-teacher
relationship. Briefly Kalantzis and Cope (2012, p.160) states the didactic
approach supports an authoritarian approach to literacy, the teacher is the
master of knowledge and the student is the learner of what the teacher wishes
for the student to learn. In comparison, in the student-centred authentic
approach the teacher guides the students, with no real exploration of issues
and topics of power. The differing power relationship between teacher and
student is evident in the functional approach, as the teacher develops the
curriculum and learning engagements, hence the teacher is viewed as the
knowledge holder. Hall (Fisher, 2008, p.20) describes a critical literacy
classroom as teachers and pupils work together to see how texts construct
their worlds, cultures and communities. There is a building of partnership in
learning, where the teacher and student learn from each other. The old
relationship boundary of past educational practices is blurred with the critical
literacy approach.
Luke and Elkin claim that these are new times (Sandretto, 2012, p.43)
in which cultural, economic, social and technological change creates a
demand for people who are multi-literate. The critical literacy approach
evolves with the dynamic nature of changing technology. The goal of this
approach is the development of responsible citizens, able to confront social
inequities in their many forms and take action against injustices (Beck, 2005,
p.399).
It is clear that critical literacy provides an avenue for teachers and
institutions to prepare the next generation for future challenges. This
approach aligns with the LCSs philosophy. Literacy is multidimensional and
multimodal and it provides the basis to explore relevant topics to be
discussed. Not to undertake the critical literacy approach would be a
disservice to students, as it clearly prepares students for the unknown
challenges of tomorrow within the context of learning today.
LITERACIES APPROACHES AT LINCOLN
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References:


Beck, A. S. (2005). A place for critical literacy. Journal of Adolescent & Adult
Literacy, 48(5), 392-400. Retrieved from
http://www.jstor.org/stable/40013804

Fisher, A. (2008). Teaching comprehension and critical literacy: investigating
guided reading in three primary classrooms. Literacy, 42(1), 19-28.
doi:10.1111/j.1467-9345.2008.00477.x

International Baccalaureate. (2009). Making the pyp happen: A curriculum
framework for international primary education. (Revised Edition ed.,
pp. 1-63). Cardiff: International Baccalaureate Organization.

Janks, H. (2012). The importance of critical literacy. English Teaching:
Practice and Critique, 11(1), 150-163. Retrieved from
http://education.waikato.ac.nz/research/files/etpc/files/2012v11n1dial1.pdf

Kalantzis, M., & Cope, B. (2012). Literacies. (1 ed.). Cambridge UK:
Cambridge University Press.

Lincoln Community School (2012). Lincoln Community School. Retrieved from
April 6, 2012, from http://www.lincoln.edu.gh

Luke, A. (2000). Critical literacy in Australia: A matter of context and
standpoint. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy , 43(5), 448-461.
Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/40017081

Reinking, D., & Carter, A. (2007). Accommodating digital literacies within
conceptions of literacy instruction for a new century. In B. Guzzett
(Ed.), Literacy for the new millennium: Childhood Literacy. Praeger
Perspectives (Vol. 2, pp. 139-155). Greenwood Publishing Group.

Sandretto, S. (2012). Planting seeds with critical literacy. English in Aotearoa,
78(Oct 2012), 42-49. Retrieved from
http://search.informit.com.au.ezproxy.cdu.edu.au/documentSummary;d
n=984984368390317;res=IELHSS> ISSN: 0113-7867

UNESCO (2012). Literacy and Adult Education | United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization. Retrieved April 6, 2012, from
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/cairo/education/literacy-and-adult-
education/

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