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last.updated 9.30.09

Modern Literacy Education

Purpose

Just as there many theories about what literacy is, there are, understandably many theories as of how to teach literacy. Of course, literacy education is context dependent. Today we will examine the teaching of reading and writing in different contexts and discuss their applicability to the teaching we will do/ will be doing in English Studies.

Review Presentations

Laura and Erin will present on their pedagogical tools.

Discussion – Literacy Education in Context (like English Studies)

This week we read how literacy is addressed in different contexts related–in various degrees–to the academy. We will discuss the following:

• What questions do you have about this selection?
• What are their respective arguments? What are they pushing against?
• What is Gee's definition of literacy? How do you think Dewey would respond to it? Wysocki and Johnson-Eilola? What does his approach to literacy buy those of us teaching in English Studies? How does it limit our work?
• According to Bartholomae, what does it mean to "invent the university"? In addition to "inventing the university," how do we specifically help students to "invent English Studies"?
• As English Studies instructors, how can we use lower-division English Studies requirements, like the composition course or the literature survey, to help prepare students like Eliza for the future literacy practices of their majors? Conversely, what can we learn from Haas' study that can shape the ways we design upper-division English Studies courses?
• How are Tardy and Matsuda defining voice? How does this differ from the commonplaces about voice? How does this shape how we teach both the reception and production of voice in our English Studies classes?

Activity: Praxis

Praxis, as we have discussed, is theory informing practice and practice informing theory. This means that to develop an implementation of praxis you have to think about how you will use the scholarship to inform your own teaching practices and how you will make your own contribution to the field.

You will work in the following groups to articulate a process for getting from pedagogical theory to practice. If someone asked you how you used the scholarship in the field to inform the design of your pedagogy, how would you respond? Think about the steps that you would take after reading the scholarship.

Use Google documents and GChat to collaborate. For those groups who are more visual, you can draw in this program by going to Insert > Drawing.

At the end of thirty minutes each group will share their processes with the rest of the class.