Kukner, Jennifer Mitton

Orr, Anne Murray

English

University of New Brunswick: Centre for Digital Scholarship Journals

pre-service teAchers’ development of literAcy prActices in science, mAth, And sociAl studiesJennifer Mitton KüknerAnne Murray OrrEarly in the Literacy in the Content Areas course in the last semester of  a two-year Bachelor of  Education program, Keegan (a pseudonym), a teacher candidate in the secondary social studies stream, stated he did not see literacy as his responsibility in high school social studies courses, as he had “just too much curriculum content to cover.”  A number of  other teacher candidates jumped into the conversation and agreed they could not be expected to add literacy to the mandated outcomes for their students in math, science, and other subject areas. The meaning of  the term literacy has evolved to encompass its importance in subject areas outside of  language arts. Many high school students struggle to read textbooks and other course materials and to write successfully in content area courses, such as math, science, and social studies. The more students read, the more proficient they become; they also strengthen their content knowledge as they read (Atwell, 2007; Gallagher & Ntelioglou, 2011).  These are persuasive reasons for an increased focus on literacy in content areas in high school classrooms. Like Keegan, many teacher candidates remember literacy as a focus of  their language arts classes in high school and not as a part of  other subject areas (Kane, 2011). Currently in Atlantic Canada, math, science, and social studies teachers are being asked to more fully incorporate literacy strategies into their teaching.  Therefore, there is a gap between what teacher candidates know through their high school experiences and the current expectation that literacy should be incorporated into subject areas. This is one of  the primary reasons for the Bachelor of  Education course on Literacy in the Content Areas at this small Maritime university.This course emphasizes writing to learn1 and public writing2 teaching strategies (Daniels, Zemelman, & Steineke, 2007) that can be used in science, math and social studies, such as writing breaks during lessons and multi genre projects.  It also focuses on reading comprehension and critical thinking skills through activities like think-alouds and process checks. The purpose of  the course is to provide teacher candidates with 1 Writing to learn strategies refers to brief writing activities that focus on learning subject matter.2 Public writing projects are substantial pieces such as essays and term papers. AntistAsis 33many ways to create an instructional environment that nurtures literacy and learning in subject areas (Alvermann et al, 2011). A typical two-hour class in this course would involve teacher candidates in opportunities to practice some of  the strategies they have read about and discussed, such as: making brochures about different kinds of  cells for a biology lesson; drawing sketches or maps about their understandings of  democracy in social studies; and a math lesson where students are given roles as different types of  fractions (e.g., improper, simplified, or equivalent fractions) and other numbers (e.g., whole, mixed, or multiple sets of  numbers) and asked to write a party invitation, a petition, or a riddle to another student who is in a different role. Experiencing a variety of  ways to use literacy strategies to deepen understanding of  concepts particular to subject areas enables teacher candidates to imagine using these kind of  strategies in their teaching.At the end of  the Literacy in the Content Areas course, Keegan noted, “Upon arrival into the program my teaching focus was covering content. I failed to consider the significance of  literacy. My understanding of  teaching has grown. While it is important to cover curriculum outcomes, it can be done so that literacy is a significant focus.” Keegan’s comment highlights the value of  cross-disciplinary literacy teaching (Lee, Penfield, & Buxton, 2011) practices for early career teachers. We plan to follow a number of  teacher candidates with the goal of  determining implications for teacher education programs in supporting teacher candidates and new teachers as they develop their knowledge, skills, and attitudes as teachers of  literacy in content areas.ReferencesAlvermann, D. E., Rezak, A. T., Mallozzi, C. A., Boatright, M.D., & Jackson, D.F. (2011).  Reflective practice in an online literacy course: Lessons learned from attempts to fuse reading and science instruction. Teachers College Record, 113 (1), 27–56.Atwell, N. (2007). The reading zone: How to help kids become skilled, passionate, habitual, critical readers.  New York: Scholastic. Cochran-Smith, M., McQuillan, P. Mitchell, K., Gahlsdorf  Terrell, D., Barnatt, J. D’Souza, L., Jong, C., Shakman, K., Lam, K., & Gleeson, A. (2012). A longitudinal study of  teaching practice and early career decisions: A cautionary tale. American Educational Research Journal. 1–37. DOI: 10.3102/0002831211431006. Daniels, H., Zemelman, S., & Steineke, N. (2007). Content-Area Writing: Every Teacher’s Guide. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. 34 AntistAsisGallagher, K. & Ntelioglou, B. (2011). Which new literacies? Dialogue and performance in youth writing.  Journal of  Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 54 (5), 322-330. Kane, S. (2011). Literacy & Learning in the Content Areas (3rd edition). Scottsdale, Arizona: Holcomb Hathaway, Publishers. Lee, O., Penfield, R.D. & Buxton, C.A. (2011).  Relationship between “form” and “content” in science writing among English language learners. Teachers College Record, 113 (7), 1401–1434.BiographiesJennifer Mitton Kükner is an Assistant Professor at St. Francis Xavier University. Her research includes a longitudinal study of  early career teachers’ use of  literacy strategies in their math, science and social studies teaching, classroom-based assessment practices, and service learning.Anne Murray Orr is an Associate Professor at St. Francis Xavier University. Her research interests include literacy in the content areas, benefits of  Aboriginal language immersion, and 21st century learning.

Pre-Service Teachers' Development Of Literacy Practices In Science, Math and Social Studies

https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/antistasis/article/download/19594/21126

Pre-Service Teachers' Development Of Literacy Practices In Science, Math and Social Studies

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

University of New Brunswick: Centre for Digital Scholarship Journals