Michael Faggella-Luby, PhD

Neag School of Education

The End of an Error: Considering Disciplinary Literacy as Lever of

Change in Secondary School Reform

Part of the CRL Learns Series

Michael Faggella-Luby, PhD

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Disciplinary Literacy

Review of policy recommendations for implementation

Revisit literacy related definitions Discipline specific literacy in

• Science• History• English?

Suggested discussion questions

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Components of Instruction that Build Comprehension

1. Background knowledge World Vocabulary Concepts

2. Knowledge of text/discourse structures Narrative/Expository organizational patterns Student awareness and Strategic use

3. Cognitive Strategies Goal-specific (activate pk; text analysis, SQ, paraphrasing, summarizing, visual imagery) Monitoring and repair Packaging

4. Increase motivation/engagement1. Improve self-efficacy via enactive mastery (first glance influence, balance of challenging and independent material,

short-term goals, easy access)• Word Study

Multi-/Polysyllabic words e.g., Gersten et al., 2001; Biancarosa & Snow, 2004; Ehren, 2005; Torgeson et al., 2007; Faggella-Luby & Deshler, 2008; McCabe, 2009

From Deshler, 2009

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Emerging Framework

Shanahan & Shanahan, 2008

From Deshler, 2009

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Meet teachers where they are…

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Recent Review on Adol. Literacy Policy Recs

Faggella-Luby, M., Ware, S., & Capozzoli, A. (2009). Adolescent Literacy—Reviewing adolescent literacy reports: Key components and critical questions. Journal of Literacy Research, 41, 453-475.

A Critical Mission: Making Adolescent Reading an Immediate Priority in SREB States (2009). Academic Literacy Instruction for Adolescents: A Guidance Document from the Center on Instruction

(2007). Assessments to Guide Adolescent Literacy Instruction (2009). Double the Work: Challenges and Solutions to Acquiring Language and Academic Literacy for Adolescent

English Language Learners – A Report to Carnegie Corporation of New York. (2007). Improving Adolescent Literacy: Effective Classroom and Intervention Practices: A Practice Guide (2008). Interventions for Adolescent Struggling Readers: A Meta-analysis with Implications for Practice (2007). Literacy Instruction in the Content Areas: Getting to the Core of Middle and High School Improvement

(2007). Reading Next—A Vision for Action and Research in Middle and High School Literacy: A Report to

Carnegie Corporation of New York (2004). Reading to Achieve: A Governor's Guide to Adolescent Literacy (2005). The Next Chapter: A School Board Guide to Improving Adolescent Literacy (2006). The Secondary Literacy and Intervention Guide: Helping High School Districts Transform into Systems that

Produce Life-Changing Results for all Children (2007).

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Big Idea 1: Instructional Components

Common Threads Related to All Students What: Targeted Instruction

• Essential content and vocabulary• Cognitive strategies and higher-level thinking skills• Improving motivation and engagement

How: No single practice• …so be SMARTER

Assessment• Formative, drive instruction, school-wide plan

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Big Idea 2: Instructional Components

Unique Threads for Specific Populations of Struggling Readers What:

• Continue reinforcing previous core literacy practices in content area courses.

• Provide multiple-tiers of increasingly intense instruction.• Cue students to activate prior knowledge and skills. • Teach content-based language and literacy.

How: Single biggest difference from typical• Explicit, individualized

Assessment• More frequent & individualized, screening & diagnostic

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Big Ideas 3: Infrastructure Components

Developing a Comprehensive and Coordinated State Literacy Plan

Set Appropriate Standards for Adol Reading Achievement

Summative Assessment of Students and Programs Improve Teacher Preparation, Professional

Development, and Ongoing Support

“The quality of an education cannot exceed the quality of its teachers”

(McKinsey, p. 16).

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Discipline Specific Literacy: Improving Comprehension in

Content Area Classes

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The End of an Error…

• E/LA vs. History• POV & Empathy vs.

Objective Truth

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Resources, sort of…

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Science’s Critical Challenge

Help students to change what they believe intuitively, based on prior knowledge or perceived experience, by shifting understanding • e.g., seasons caused by the tilt of the earth, not

the distance from sun Instruction is intended to create informed

consumers and engaged citizens

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History’s Critical Challenge

History is the narrative of a people with bias and context, not just a story.

Historians read to do three things: • Corroborate (find the overlap)• Source (find the bias in documents)• Contextualize (find the context of the writing)* This results in knowledge that is nuanced, even

when prior knowledge is limited!

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Background Knowledge Address intuitive misunderstandings to prevent reader

ignoring, discounting, and compartmentalizing accurate information that is different by• Clarification of background knowledge vs. Activation prior

to reading• Provide explicit contradictions to help shift intuitive beliefs

Address inconsiderate texts• High level vocabulary words and poorly explained concepts• Fail to tie students experience and knowledge to concepts,

impeding inference making• Graphs and charts are often hard to read

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Text/Discourse Structures

Address the scope and life of the field by• Using multiple texts: films, trade books, journal articles,

experiments, lab reports, historical documents…& textbooks• Teach the structure and language-use of these genres explicitly,

including as “speech acts” Observe multiple perspectives and come to objective

evaluation • Step outside of intuitive or personal beliefs• Critically examine personal beliefs in light of others before

forming opinions or evaluations Truth

• Truth ≠ Textbook• Truth is always an approximation

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Cognitive Strategies

Common Science Strategies Students who believe that science has a Truth

that is unchanging:• use shallow strategies to study facts (right and wrong) • Do not engage deeply understand the concepts

Common Science Strategies• Graphic Organizers• Questions related to key points• Text structures (organization of texts—articles,

reports, textbooks, etc.)

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Cognitive Strategies

Common History Strategies Story Grammar for narrative comprehension Prompts & structures to organize expository essays Self-questioning around Big 3 Skill areas

• What biases or predispositions did the author or authors have?

Write evaluations of different perspectives, not summaries of a Truth

Engage in collaborative reasoning by taking and defending a position

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Motivation & Engagement

Motivation is tied to helping the student find • the material interesting, • perceived as useful,

Motivation is most possible when students • have self-efficacy, • are self-regulated learners

Ensure multiple texts are accessible and create desired contradiction

Collaborative reasoning must be taught, roles clarified, and tasks clearly outlined.

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Word Study

Multisyllabic Words Difficult, often content specific syntax Variety of unique semantic constructions

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English/Language Arts

Critical Challenge Developing “High Literacy,” defined as the educational goal of teaching all

students to think, read, and write critically. Common Strategies for successful English classrooms with diverse groups of

students:• Strategies, skills and knowledge are taught in multiple types of lessons• Tests are deconstructed to inform curriculum and instruction • Within curriculum and instruction, connections are made across content and

structure to ensure coherence• Strategies for thinking and performing are emphasized• Generative learning is encouraged• Classrooms are organized to foster collaboration and shared cognition• Reciprocal Teaching: Questioning, Clarifying, Summarizing, Predicting)

(Langer, 2001)

From Deshler, 2009

From Deshler, 2009

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Discussion Questions

How is the notion of Disciplinary Specific Literacy supported or contradicted in the CLC?

How might we think differently about the development and use of embedded strategies or enhancing content instruction?

How will thinking about Disciplinary Specific Literacy impact education for students with disabilities?

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Discussion Questions II How can ELA more clearly define itself and its

role in secondary education? What other content areas should be explored

next? How can we partner with content area experts in

schools and CLAS around disciplinary literacy? How do divergent definitions of adolescent

literacy alter the goals of instruction across disciplines?

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Discussion Questions III

How does the role of special educator fit within the model of Discipline Specific Literacy?

Who will ensure that all teachers (preservice and inservice) are well prepared to deliver provide high quality literacy instruction?

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Contact [email protected]

www.cber.orgwww.education.uconn.edu

Thank You!