Module 5 Reflection: Change to Action

American College of Education

LIT5343 Implementing Literacy in Context

Dr. Margie Aker

May 15th, 2022

When learning new content, it is important as an educator to reflect and review what was

taught. The purpose of this paper is to reflect on what was learned through implementing literacy

in context. Literacy skills are life long skills that students need to be able to apply in all areas of

their school career and in everyday life. In order to do that, it is important for students to apply

the learned literacy skills across multiple disciplinary areas. When they do this, it allows students

to increase their skill abilities as they are applying what they have learned. When assessing

students' ability to connect literacy skills across content areas, it is important for students to

understand why they are learning the skill and how they can transfer their knowledge. Brown

(2020) states that “Concept-based literacy surpasses facts and skills because it includes a focus

on the transfer of the essential conceptual understandings of a discipline” (p. 40).

It is important for teachers to give students the opportunities to apply their new skills

throughout various content areas. This then gives teachers the opportunity to see how the

students are applying their skills. Teachers can assess if students need further instruction on

various skills, or if they are ready to learn more. Brown (2020) states that “Inductive learning

experiences allow students to be engaged in the construction of meaning through the exploration of

rich text examples across genres” (p. 41). Therefore, the role of the teacher is important to give our

students ample amounts of opportunities.

One area that allows students to retain new information best is when they are able to

make genuine connections. According to McClanahan and Nottingham (2019), “retention and

transfer are enhanced when connections are formed between mental images” (p. 39). This allows

students to relate new information to things they are already aware of and have knowledge of.

Kostons and Werf (2015) state that “People’s prior knowledge about a topic of a passage
influences what they remember” (p. 265). When they connect the things, it allows them a point

where they can think back on to help them understand new material.

An effective form of evaluation is for teachers to complete formative assessments.

Formative assessments should be used to help teachers form their instruction. Martin et al.

(2022) states that “Formative assessment and related processes continue to prove to be a

high-leverage instructional practice that has potential to support all learners” (p. 417). When

using formative assessment, it can look different depending upon the subject being taught, or the

teacher’s personal preference. Some examples can include “observations of students, student

interviews or informal question-answer activities, admit slips or exit slips, journals, classroom

discussions, and short written assignments” (Martin et al., 2022, p. 418).

Formative assessments give teachers an idea on how well their students are performing.

As mentioned before, teachers will use these formative assessments to guide their instruction.

Based on the evidence collected during the formative assessment, it allows the teacher to know if

the skill needs to be retaught, reviewed, or if a new skill can be introduced. It is important for

teachers to choose meaningful assessments for their students to display their skills.

Since students can be diverse learners, it is important that teachers acquire a broad range

of teaching strategies. Chauvin and Theodore (2015), state that literacy strategies are “an

approach to reading instruction that helps students understand information” (p. 1). One strategy

that works extremely well for one student, may not be the best for another student. Just like

students, teachers are lifelong learners. It is important for teachers to continue to learn best

practices. One teaching strategy is to have clear expectations and objectives for students. When

students are aware of what is expected of them, they are more likely to strive to ensure they are

meeting those objectives.

continue to learn from one another. Ricci et al. (2017) states, “Collaboration may be defined as

an umbrella term encompassing a variety of interactions between professionals with distinct

expertise and mutual goals, with these individuals participating equally and actively in joint

endeavors” (p. 688). Based on the previous assignment completed for this class, it was important

for the survey to be completed by several educators. When looking at the results of the survey, it

was good to notice what strategies teachers were using more than others. With how often some

strategies were being used, it was evident which strategies were more effective than others.

Along with teachers being able to collaborate with their colleagues, it is also important

for students to collaborate with their peers as well. When students are able to collaborate with

each other, it allows for them to share their learning. They can also learn from each other when

having discussions. It also can be eye opening for some students to learn from their peers instead

of their teachers. Clark (2019) states that “Peer collaboration has become one of the accepted and

highly studied instructional strategies that occur daily within elementary public-school settings”

(p. 2). Therefore, it should be incorporated when appropriate to increase students’ literacy skills.

The importance of implementing a wide variety of literacy strategies is important for a

students’ success. In order to assess to ensure that those strategies are effective with their

students, it is important to continually assess the students’ skills through formative assessments.

These formative assessments will be used to guide the teacher’s instruction. By giving the

students the opportunity to showcase their literacy skills throughout several content areas will

allow students the ability to hone in on their skills and begin to master them. When teachers

reflect and review their own teaching, it allows for more effective instruction in the long run.
 References

Brown, T. (2020). WHO IS DOING THE THINKING? Moving beyond skills to conceptual

understanding and transfer. Literacy Today (2411-7862), 38(1), 40–41.

Chauvin, R., & Theodore, K. (2015, Spring). Teaching Content-Area Literacy and Disciplinary

Literacy. SEDL Insights, 3(1), 1-10.

Clark, N. (2019). Implementing Peer Collaboration Strategies: A Case Study of Rural Title I

Elementary School Teachers https://doi.org/10.17615/6wht-f037

Kostons, D., & Werf, G. (2015, January 1). The effects of activating prior topic and

metacognitive knowledge on text comprehension scores. BRITISH JOURNAL OF

EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY, 85(3), 264–275.

Martin, C. L., Mraz, M., & Polly, D. (2022). Examining Elementary School Teachers’

Perceptions of and Use of Formative Assessment in Mathematics. International

Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 14(3), 417–425.

McClanahan, B. J., & Nottingham, M. (2019). A Suite of Strategies for Navigating Graphic

Novels: A Dual Coding Approach. Reading Teacher, 73(1), 39–50.

Ricci, L. A., Zetlin, A., & Osipova, A. V. (2017). Preservice special educators’ perceptions of

collaboration and co-teaching during university fieldwork: implications for personnel

preparation. Teacher Development, 21(5), 687–703.