"For this post I would like you
to create a 1-2 page information literacy guide for a learner population of
your choice (elementary, secondary, adult learners). Identify the key topics
and sub-topics that you feel would be important to include in this guide. Post
this guide on your blog and submit it as a Word file in this module (Assignment
Section). I would limit the guide to 3-5 pages and choose the information that
you think is the most important for the given reader/user/educator or
learner."
Information
Literacy Guide
I am
developing my information literacy guide for adolescent learners. I didn’t get too specific because I was trying
to stay within the 1- 2 page information range.
I reviewed several different guides from schools in which some of the
guides were 80 pages long. I decided to
mainly use the recommendation guide from the Department of Education as my
primary source. From this information I
developed four key topics I believe should be the framework for my literacy
guide. Those are:
I. Common
Language Instruction
II. New
Literacies Instruction
III. New
Media Instruction
IV.
Evaluation
I. Common
Language Instruction. The Internet along with new media is creating new
terminology associated with its use.
Netspeak “a type of language displaying features that are unique to the
Internet, and encountered in all the above situations, arising out of its
character as a medium which is electronic, global, and interactive” (Crystal, 2004, p. 18). In order to successfully execute your content
literacy objective all students must understand the vocabulary
instruction. “By giving students
explicit instruction in vocabulary, teachers help them learn the meaning of new
words and strengthen their independent skills of constructing the meaning of
text” (U.S. Department of Education, 2008, p.
11).
II. New
Literacies Instruction. Technology has
changed the way traditional literacies practices are viewed as it relates to
learning. Computers, the Internet, and
multimedia has changed how we operate in our daily lives. Out of this revolution, new literacies
strategies and theories are being researched and developed. In order to successfully execute learning
objectives; teachers must develop strategies to ensure learners are
comprehending electronic text. I view
this as the same when comprehending printed text.
III. New
Media Instruction. There are hundred s
of media platforms available to share information on. Since there is no single source list of media
platforms that are required to be used by educators, creating a discussion
allows learners to share their recommendations about new media they have
personal experiences and knowledge of.
“In effective discussions students have the opportunity to have
sustained exchanges with the teacher or other students, present and defend
individual interpretations and points of view, use text content, background
knowledge, and reasoning to support interpretations and conclusions, and listen
to the points of view and reasoned arguments of others participating in the
discussion” (U.S. Department of Education, 2008,
p. 21).
IV.
Evaluation. Just like in a traditional
education environment, there has to be mechanisms in place to gauge if your
students are learning the material being taught. As a teacher, we “should provide a supportive
environment that views mistakes as growth opportunities, encourages
self-determination, and provides informational feedback” (U.S. Department of Education, 2008).
References:
Crystal, D. (2004). Language and the
Internet. Retrieved from
https://moodle.esc.edu/pluginfile.php/1266359/mod_page/content/11/david-crystal.pdf
Franklin County Schools. (2007). Literacy
Guide. Retrieved from Franklin County Schools:
http://www.franklin.kyschools.us/Downloads/CCSSO-Content%20Area%20Literacy%20Guide.pdf
U.S. Department of Education. (2008). Improving
Adolescent Literacy: Effective Classroom and Intervention Practices.
Retrieved from
http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/pdf/practice_guides/adlit_pg_082608.pdf
Literacy Guide
Information
(reference)
Recommendation
1. Provide explicit vocabulary instruction
Teachers
should provide students with explicit vocabulary instruction both as part of
reading and language arts classes and as part of content-area classes such
as science and social studies. By giving students explicit instruction in
vocabulary, teachers help them learn the meaning of new words and strengthen
their independent skills of constructing the meaning of text.
1.
Dedicate a portion of the regular classroom lesson to explicit vocabulary
instruction.
2.
Use repeated exposure to new words in multiple oral and written contexts and
allow sufficient
practice
sessions.
3.
Give sufficient opportunities to use new vocabulary in a variety of contexts
through activities such as discussion, writing, and extended reading.
4.
Provide students with strategies to make them independent vocabulary learners.
Recommendation
2. Provide direct and explicit comprehension strategy instruction
Teachers
should provide adolescents with direct and explicit instruction in comprehension
strategies to improve students’ reading comprehension. Comprehension
strategies are routines and procedures that readers use to help them make
sense of texts. These strategies include, but are not limited to, summarizing,
asking and answering questions, paraphrasing, and finding the main idea. Comprehension
strategy instruction can also include specific teacher activities that have
been demonstrated to improve students’ comprehension of texts. Asking
students questions and using graphic organizers are examples of such
strategies. Direct and explicit teaching involves a teacher modeling and
providing explanations of the specific strategies students are learning, giving
guided practice and feedback on the use of the strategies, and promoting
independent practice to apply the strategies.23 An important part of
comprehension strategy instruction is the active participation of students
in the comprehension process. In addition, explicit instruction involves
providing a sufficient amount of support, or scaffolding, to students as
they learn the strategies to ensure success.
1.
Select carefully the text to use when first beginning to teach
2. Show
students how to apply the strategies they are learning to different texts, not
just to one text a given strategy.
3. Ensure
that the text is appropriate for the reading level of students.
4. Use
direct and explicit instruction for teaching students how to use comprehension
strategies.
5. Provide
the appropriate amount of guided practice depending on the difficulty level of
the
strategies
that the students are learning.
6. When
teaching comprehension strategies, make sure students understand that the goal
is to
understand
the content of the text.
Recommendation
3. Provide opportunities for extended discussion of text meaning and
interpretation.
Teachers
should provide opportunities for students to engage in high-quality discussions
of the
meaning
and interpretation of texts in various content areas as one important way to
improve their reading comprehension. These discussions can occur in whole
classroom groups or in small student groups under the general guidance of
the teacher. Discussions that are particularly effective in promoting
students’ comprehension of complex text are those that focus on building a
deeper understanding of the author’s meaning or critically analyzing and
perhaps challenging the author’s conclusions through reasoning or applying
personal experiences and knowledge. In effective discussions students have
the opportunity to have sustained exchanges with the teacher or other students,
present and defend individual interpretations and points of view, use text
content, background knowledge, and reasoning to support interpretations
and conclusions, and listen to the points of view and reasoned arguments
of others participating in the discussion.
1.
Carefully prepare for the discussion.
2. Ask
follow-up questions that help provide continuity and extend the discussion.
3. Provide
a task, or a discussion format, that students can follow when they discuss
texts together in small groups.
4. Develop
and practice the use of a specific “discussion protocol.”
Recommendation
4. Increase student motivation and engagement in literacy learning
To foster
improvement in adolescent literacy, teachers should use strategies to enhance
students’
motivation
to read and engagement in the learning process. Teachers should help students
build
confidence
in their ability to comprehend and learn from content-area texts. They should
provide a supportive environment that views mistakes as growth
opportunities, encourages self-determination, and provides informational
feedback about the usefulness of reading strategies and how the strategies
can be modified to fit various tasks. Teachers should also make literacy
experiences more relevant to students’ interests, everyday life, or
important current events.
1.
Establish meaningful and engaging content learning goals around the essential
ideas of a
discipline
as well as the specific learning processes students use to access those ideas.
2. Provide
a positive learning environment that promotes students’ autonomy in learning.
3. Make
literacy experiences more relevant to students’ interests, everyday life, or important
current events.
4. Build
in certain instructional conditions, such as student goal setting,
self-directed learning, and collaborative learning, to increase reading
engagement and conceptual learning for students.
Full Literacy
Guide Reference
