Week (13) Post

"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

The full guide can be found at: http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/pdf/practice_guides/adlit_pg_082608.pdf