As educators, it is especially important that we are aware of the different frameworks for literacy teaching, and I’ll briefly examine each of these listed below in relation to my own experiences and in relation to functional, critical, cultural, and personal literacy views and also the Literacy Learning Triptych:
• Systemic Functional Linguistics
• Critical Literacy
• IT & Literacy Teaching
Systemic Function Linguistics
According to Christie & Misson (1998), systemic function linguistics involves the view that we make language choices in terms of register, tone, and mode, depending on the context. In the classroom, this has relevance to specific KLAs. For example, the mode and register are entirely different in a science class context from a creative and critical English class context. The implication for us as educators is that we must make explicit links between subject content and subject literacies (Santoro, 2004).
Through my acquired literacy in the English KLA by Year Seven, I was able to perform adequately in writing tasks, but I constantly struggled in Design and Technology and Science because my explicit learning was insufficient and I had little to no experience in these KLAs.
We can also say that systemic function linguistics presents a functional view of literacies, encouraging empowerment via literacy and teaching it as essential for success in our every day lives (Anstey & Bull, 2004). Furthermore, considering the Literacy Learning Triptych, it relates to learning of semiotic systems.
In classrooms, I certainly remember lessons delivered in this framework emphasised in English, when discussing context, composing texts for specific audiences, and so forth. Texts are composed in specific ways for specific audiences and specific purposes.
Critical Literacy
This framework emphasises individual empowerment through decoding the ideological underpinnings of texts, as opposed to the systemic functions of texts (Christie & Misson, 1998). I can remember entire worlds opening before me when we began critically examining ancient historical sources for evidence of bias, propaganda, and prejudice. A lesson geared in this way is prime evidence of a lesson delivered critical literacy framework. Moreover, learning explicitly about the purpose and techniques of marketing and advertising in English is another example from my educational experiences.
To critically analyse a text via critical literacies, we must be aware of context and have cultural literacy of that context (Christie & Misson, 1998), and this may be sourced from personal literacies, also. For instance, when studying a Simpson’s episode in Year 11 for an English humour unit, I had additional personal knowledge from my experiences on the episode and I also had cultural knowledge of the satirical content.
Critical Literacy also represents the learning about aspect of the Literacy Learning Triptych because both the framework and this aspect of the Triptych “investigate the social, cultural, economic, ideological, and political aspects of various semiotic systems and literacies” (Anstey & Bull, 2004).
IT and Literacy
While we have already touched briefly on this, we can certainly say IT can be employed to teach semiotics with a multiliteracies approach (see the hyperlinks, highlighting, images, texts, and so forth on this blog). With IT we can incorporate personal, cultural, critical, and functional literacies, and also it can be used to teach from every aspect of the Literacy Learning Triptych.
We might use it in a classroom in the form of a webquest, or a research assignment, or simply a PowerPoint presentation to aid our direct instruction. We may also find it a convenient resource for teaching visual literacies. See the article below for a justification of teaching using online comics for visual literacy:
Visual Literacy: To comics or not to comics?
• Systemic Functional Linguistics
• Critical Literacy
• IT & Literacy Teaching
Systemic Function Linguistics
According to Christie & Misson (1998), systemic function linguistics involves the view that we make language choices in terms of register, tone, and mode, depending on the context. In the classroom, this has relevance to specific KLAs. For example, the mode and register are entirely different in a science class context from a creative and critical English class context. The implication for us as educators is that we must make explicit links between subject content and subject literacies (Santoro, 2004).
Through my acquired literacy in the English KLA by Year Seven, I was able to perform adequately in writing tasks, but I constantly struggled in Design and Technology and Science because my explicit learning was insufficient and I had little to no experience in these KLAs.
We can also say that systemic function linguistics presents a functional view of literacies, encouraging empowerment via literacy and teaching it as essential for success in our every day lives (Anstey & Bull, 2004). Furthermore, considering the Literacy Learning Triptych, it relates to learning of semiotic systems.
In classrooms, I certainly remember lessons delivered in this framework emphasised in English, when discussing context, composing texts for specific audiences, and so forth. Texts are composed in specific ways for specific audiences and specific purposes.
Critical Literacy
This framework emphasises individual empowerment through decoding the ideological underpinnings of texts, as opposed to the systemic functions of texts (Christie & Misson, 1998). I can remember entire worlds opening before me when we began critically examining ancient historical sources for evidence of bias, propaganda, and prejudice. A lesson geared in this way is prime evidence of a lesson delivered critical literacy framework. Moreover, learning explicitly about the purpose and techniques of marketing and advertising in English is another example from my educational experiences.
To critically analyse a text via critical literacies, we must be aware of context and have cultural literacy of that context (Christie & Misson, 1998), and this may be sourced from personal literacies, also. For instance, when studying a Simpson’s episode in Year 11 for an English humour unit, I had additional personal knowledge from my experiences on the episode and I also had cultural knowledge of the satirical content.
Critical Literacy also represents the learning about aspect of the Literacy Learning Triptych because both the framework and this aspect of the Triptych “investigate the social, cultural, economic, ideological, and political aspects of various semiotic systems and literacies” (Anstey & Bull, 2004).
IT and Literacy
While we have already touched briefly on this, we can certainly say IT can be employed to teach semiotics with a multiliteracies approach (see the hyperlinks, highlighting, images, texts, and so forth on this blog). With IT we can incorporate personal, cultural, critical, and functional literacies, and also it can be used to teach from every aspect of the Literacy Learning Triptych.
We might use it in a classroom in the form of a webquest, or a research assignment, or simply a PowerPoint presentation to aid our direct instruction. We may also find it a convenient resource for teaching visual literacies. See the article below for a justification of teaching using online comics for visual literacy:
Visual Literacy: To comics or not to comics?
No comments:
Post a Comment