WHAT IS GOOD LITERACY

INSTRUCTION?

WHAT IS GOOD LITERACY

INSTRUCTION?

Patricia A. AlexanderUniversity of Maryland

Patricia A. AlexanderUniversity of Maryland

Expanding Discussion to

Issues of Learning and

Academic Development

Expanding Discussion to

Issues of Learning and

Academic Development

GOOD LITERACY INSTRUCTION IS ABOUT STUDENT

LEARNING

GOOD LITERACY INSTRUCTION IS ABOUT STUDENT

LEARNING

ACHIEVEMENT = LEARNINGACHIEVEMENT = LEARNING• In the current test-driven climate, it

is easy to confuse performance on high-stakes, standardized tests with learning

• The type of instruction that may result in higher test performance for schools or classrooms can be detrimental to deep-seated or long-term learning

• Thus, achievement, as measured only by test scores, does not equate to learning

GOOD LITERACY INSTRUCTION

FOSTERS ACADEMIC

DEVELOPMENT

GOOD LITERACY INSTRUCTION

FOSTERS ACADEMIC

DEVELOPMENT

What is Academic Development?

What is Academic Development?

Academic Development …

… the systematic changes that occur as a result of

formal education

• The path to academic development in literacy requires continuing attention to students’ domain knowledge, interests, and their strategic processing

• No student can achieve competence in any academic domain without the strategies and skills to comprehend both traditional and nontraditional texts

THE MODEL OF DOMAIN LEARNING

(MDL) DEPICTS ACADEMIC

DEVELOPMENT

THE MODEL OF DOMAIN LEARNING

(MDL) DEPICTS ACADEMIC

DEVELOPMENT

STAGES OF DOMAIN LEARNINGSTAGES OF DOMAIN LEARNING

Acclimation Competence ProficiencyEarly Middle Late

COMPONENTS OF THE MDL

COMPONENTS OF THE MDL

•Subject-Matter Knowledge

•Learner Interest

•Strategic Processing

SUBJECT-MATTER KNOWLEDGE

SUBJECT-MATTER KNOWLEDGE

• All knowledge that an individual has relative to a specific domain of study or a topic drawn from that domain.

• Types of Subject-Matter Knowledge– Domain Knowledge

•Breadth of knowledge– Topic Knowledge

•Depth of knowledge

LEARNER INTERESTLEARNER INTEREST• Interest is the energizing of

learners’ underlying needs or desires

• Individual or Personal Interest– Long-term investment or deep-

seated involvement in a given pursuit, subject, or topic

• Situational Interest– Temporary arousal or attention

that is triggered by conditions within the immediate context

STRATEGIC PROCESSINGSTRATEGIC PROCESSING• General cognitive or

metacognitive/self-regulatory processes purposely invoked

• Two Types– Surface-Level Strategies

•Initial understanding•Includes rereading or omitting unfamiliar words

– Deep-processing Strategies•Personalizing or transforming the message

•Includes comparison to prior learning or questioning the author

STAGES OF DOMAIN LEARNINGSTAGES OF DOMAIN LEARNING

Acclimation Competence ProficiencyEarly Middle Late

TK

DK

D-PS

II

S-LS

SI

Surface-Level Strategies S-LS

Deep-Processing Strategies D-PS

Situational Interest SI

Individual Interest II

Domain Knowledge DK

Topic Knowledge TK

WHEN IT COMES TO DOMAIN LEARNING, LEARNING TO READ AND READING TO

LEARN ARE INSEPARABLE

WHEN IT COMES TO DOMAIN LEARNING, LEARNING TO READ AND READING TO

LEARN ARE INSEPARABLE

…and their instruction should

be likewise!!

MENTIONING = TEACHINGMENTIONING = TEACHING• Mentioning refers to the

superficial treatment of essential content and strategies (Durkin 1978)

• The high-stakes curricula of current public education may promote mentioning over teaching

• Mentioning literacy components in domain instruction does not constitute effective literacy instruction

• It is time to return to meaningful literacy teaching embedded within the instruction of other academic domains