Managing a Balanced Approach to Literacy: Part Two

In the previous entry, I suggested that different pedagogical approaches distinguished a skills-based perspective from a usage-based one. Both are required for teaching and learning. In the earlier entry, I alluded to the difference, but I didn't elaborate on this observation.

To recap, a skill-based approach emphasises the ongoing development of language skills, such as phonemic awareness, spelling, sentence construction, reading fluency, vocabulary development and basic comprehension. As a schema, this approach imagines a learner as progressing in a linear development of increasing sophistication. In such a perspective, a teacher is vigilant in monitoring the increasing competency of the learner and the teacher hopes to see his or her student acquire and demonstrate a robust knowledge of language.

On the other hand, a usage-based approach emphasises use, for want of better term. The teacher seeks to present the learner with regular, rich opportunities to read and write in a range of ways, each of which helps the learner to read and write meaningfully.  In such an approach, language knowledge is only one piece of the puzzle. The learner must also assess the situation or text, be guided in reading/writing to suit the situation or text, and develop certain intentions and expectations to guide purpose and comprehension. As a schema, this approach imagines a learner developing a repertoire of writing experiences and a library of his or her reading history. This approach is governed by the age-old saying, "we are what we read?" 

Why do I suggest that there is something of a paradigm shift? Dr Neil Anderson describes one (skill-based) as intensive instruction and the other (usage-based) as extensive instruction. A skill-based approach requires a teacher to be diligent, focused on detail, encouraging, exact and skilled at monitoring and assessing. A usage-based approach requires a teacher who understands the importance of authentic, meaningful literacy; knows how to model and monitor the processes of reading and writing; knows how to establish opportunities so that activities are transformed to memorable events; and can reflect on what students should be able to read and write and why.

A usage-based approach would declare, "my students have learned to Tweet. They not only write Tweets, but they are aware of what can be achieved through the use of social media." Meanwhile, a skills-based approach might be skeptical and wonder whether the Twitter skills are contributing to the students language knowledge, which - then - can be tapped into for further development. The usage-based approach may place too great an emphasis on particular forms of communication (but not as aware of the needs for the students to develop general linguistic abilities). At the same time, the skills-based approach needs to be aware of the ways to foster linguistic development through authentic practices.

Similarly, I recently observed a series of writing workshops with fifteen enthusiastic Year 5/6 students. The facilitators of the workshops were definitely deploying a usage-based approach as they conjured a group environment in which students were announcing lines of poetry across the room for the creation of individual and group compositions. Amongst the energy, a student called for my attention and asked. "How do you spell 'splendid'?" I quickly assisted, but I was left to wonder,  'what if I was not called upon? Would that splendid line of poetry exist?' The above example reminds me of the reading experience. How many times have I witnessed exciting reading possibilities stopped in their tracks as the learner struggles to decode the text. 

"A script you can read fluently works on you differently from one that you can write; but not decipher easily. You lock up your thought up in this as though in a casket." (Wittgenstein, Culture & Value)

Learners need both skills and opportunities. There is more yet to explore, but that must wait until another day.

 

More to come ... 

 

Managing a Balanced Approach to Literacy: Part One

There is a concept in physics known as the Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle. It holds that one can know the velocity of a particle and the position of a particle, but one cannot know both at the same time. In other words, one can know the exact velocity of a particle at a given time but not its exact position at that time. Similarly, one can know the exact position of a particle at a given time but not its exact velocity at that particular moment. 

I am proposing that there is a similar phenomenon - at least, metaphorically - that occurs in the circles of literacy pedagogy, which I will refer to as (drum roll, please) the Parallel Dimensions of Literacy. It holds that a teacher can foster a 'skills-based' literacy pedagogy and a teacher can establish a 'usage-based' literacy pedagogy, however, the teacher cannot use the same theoretical position to describe the two approaches to teaching. One must shift the paradigm as one moves between a focus on form to a focus on meaning. 

I am not suggesting that teachers must be one or the other. In truth, both approaches are required, and the best teachers at all levels are those who are equally equipped to develop and monitor core skills whilst providing rich opportunities for students to read, write, speak and learn in authentic, meaningful contexts. 

One can advocate for a skills approach which adheres to a deep knowledge of linguistic structures and focuses on structure development but which suffers from a decontextualised explanation of meaning that does not adequately address how conventional and cultural forms of meaning affect development. On the other hand, one can establish a rich environment in which learners explore (in reading) and express (in writing) knowledge and social activity, but the pedagogy can be seen to gloss over specific developments in phonology, orthography, morphology, syntax and grammar.

The diagram below (presented by Dr Neil Anderson) labels this contrast as Intensive versus Extensive Literacy Instruction.

 

A Model for Balanced Reading Instruction (Dr. Neil Anderson)

Equity in Access to 'Quality' Education for Students in Remote Communities

One can regularly find glaring differences between the have's and have-not's, particularly when structural factors in society serve to perpetuate the differing outcomes for members of the community. I say this in reflection to a specific place and to specific people. It is a place to which I travel often, and the observations made here are observations which I have made previously. Yet I have never quite conceptualised it in writing in the way that I am attempting to do now. I am writing about a place in the centre of Australia. For those who are curious, it is not Alice Springs. It is a sizeable town for the Northern Territory. Many forms of life are lived. Some with material comforts. Many without. There is a deep Aboriginal history in the region as well as a more recent non-Aboriginal presence.

To be more specific, I find myself at the local primary school in the town. Like many schools, the yard at recess is a space of chaos, screams, chattering and climbing. The school population is diverse, which is reflected by the students of Anglo, Asian, and Aboriginal backgrounds. Buildings are colourful as are the classrooms. Inside a particular classroom, I see the divide between those who live in literacy and technology-rich environments and those whose access to books is severely limited outside of school. Those from literacy-rich homes benefit from experiences that are consistent with the content and ways of learning to be found in the typical Australian classroom. The types of investigations and the routines of learning are consistent between school and home contexts. Successful students learn the rules, acquire the knowledge, perform the tasks, and imagine future school success. And these students are able to do so with a fair amount of stability and support from family in the home, who often have a strong understanding of what is occurring in the classroom. The fact that some students come to school better placed to succeed is something well documented. The fact that the school curriculum can inadvertently benefit the culture and experiences of certain students over others is also demonstrated by the work of Pierre Bourdieu and Jean-Claude Passeron (1990).

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Supporting the child's literacy development and exploration

I am profoundly struck by a persistent image in my mind that - for me - both clarifies and reflects the challenges of learning to read and write. It is an image of a child moving from skill to skill, actively and with resilience. At times, there are spurts of growth. At other times, it can be hard going. It is an image in which the accumulation of carefully scaffolded experiences turns the child into a reader and a writer. It is an image in which there is significant care taken so that the learner is apprenticed into new practices and the learner is able to reach closure on old skills so as to build new ones. It is an image in which the child encounters new words and propositions, and the child can actively manipulate, refine and process the knowledge encoded in our words.

It is a precarious image. At any stage, the learning can become befuddling and the learner will be unable to progress. It is a progressive image. It is one in which the learner gains a control of the fundamentals, is initiated into different practices with language, and learns to use such learning actively and independently. It is important that the learner engages in the literacy, gradually comes to see the point, and works deliberately and meaningfully with suitable time spent thinking about the content, contexts and form of messages. The learner is encouraged to visualise, notice patterns and think critically.

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A Perspective on the Development of Language & Literacy

 The following is a republication of the website's front page as a blog entry. As a blog entry, the discussion presents a synthesis of the author's thoughts on Wittgenstein, language, literacy and learning …. 

“Working in philosophy - like work in architecture in many respects - is really more a working on oneself. On one’s interpretations. On one’s way of seeing things.” — Wittgenstein, Culture & Value

With the above quote in mind, it seemed fitting to establish an online space dedicated to  "Wittgensteinian" commentary on language, literacy and learning. What then is commentary that is particularly Wittgensteinian? It is commentary that is in the spirit of the philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein. However, for many (most) visitors, that description may not be particularly helpful at all.

Wittgensteinian commentary emphasises a becoming-ness,  for want of a better term.  We become speakers of language. Webecome readers and writers. We become parties in conversations. We become participants and practitioners. We become knowers and connectors. We become members of communities. We become  these things given that we have access to the right conditions and opportunities.

 

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When we read, we are brought into a wonderful tradition

When we read, we are brought into a wonderful tradition that involves both a cognitive and social transformation.

When we gain knowledge, we are brought into an understanding that is eye-opening and illuminating.

Both suggest a disposition to persevere with establishing the habits of mind that will open the individual to discovery.

There is something meditative in the ritual of reading and learning. One must become open to the act and open to the imagination that will serve to transform the way in which one sees the world.

Bit by bit the curious mind seethes with the urgency to accumulate the command for skills and the thirst for knowledge.

The Difference Between Making Sense & Meaning

I have always found it significant that Wittgenstein distinguished between a proposition's sense and its meaning, which is why a sentence can be nonsense (or rather senseless) and be quite meaningful at the same time. An example of such a proposition would be "God is good." Whilst I may not be able to derive a tangible sense from that statement, I can imagine how the statement can be shown to be significant in a form of life, particularly in how and where it is uttered. The opposite is also possible. (NOTE: for the purposes of this entry, I will use the terms sentence and proposition interchangeably.)

To start with, something that makes sense is something that one can imagine clearly or that is perceptible (or simulated) via the senses once the proposition has been decoded and projected. As an aside, a proposition that makes sense does not need to be true. Instead, it must be open to the possibility of being true or false (of being the case or not the case). Consider the sentences of a riveting adventure novel. A world full of characters and events can unfold before the (mind's) eye. And the story can be entertaining, yet maybe not "meaningfully" to all readers.

Consequently, a proposition is meaningful to an individual if it happens to be significant to that individual, which amount to saying, "a statement is meaningful because someone finds it meaningful." That is not quite adequate, so we must go further. I can find a proposition meaningful because it strikes me in such a way, or I know what to do with it, or it plays a part in a practice in my life.

In other words, I sit down and read the proposition and it resonates with me. I find it meaningful. It not only makes sense.

Consider four people who are reading a car magazine article about a new engine modification technique. One person cannot make sense or meaning of the article because the person has little experience with the content. The person can read, but that's not enough here. Another person can make good sense of the article but doesn't draw too much meaning from it, since he has no real need to modify a car at present. The third person finds the article both sensical and meaningful, since he sought out the article since the technique resolves an issue that he must resolve. He reads intently and critically to make sense and to test this understanding in practice. The fourth person is a person who would find the article meaningful if he could make sense of it. In other words, the individual's literacy skills are the limiting factor.

What - then - is the significance about all this chatter? It relates to one learning to read. We must encourage readers to engage with both sense and meaning. We want students to think, "can I make sense of this?" And "now that it makes sense, what can I draw out from it? What has happened and what is significant about this fact?" "How should one interpret this or respond to it?"

We must respect the significance of both steps. It is possible to draw hasty judgements from superficial comprehension as it is possible to get the picture but miss the point.

The Learning Tree (Part One): an exploration of development

1. Every drop of water feeds the emerging plant.

2. To sustain a plant, it requires regular water, plenty of sun, and the right nutrients.

3. Pollute the soil, sour the growth and mutate the plant.

4. Even with the best soil and regular watering, the plant cannot thrive without sunlight.

5. A garden - though made of natural things - is shaped (or cultivated). We shouldn't forget that its order is not reflected in the natural world, though the natural world may be its inspiration.

6. There are those malicious souls who find no harm in pulling up a plant by its roots.

7. Whilst a general rule of thumb pertains to the needs of a plant, this does not mean we shouldn't be sensitive to the unique needs of individual species and their habitats. 

8. Different plants have different growth requirements (e.g. different soils, growth rates, flowering and fruiting, and levels of sun)

9. A good weeding of the garden is well worth the effort.

10. When the tree grows it branches outward, extends upward, and feeds its base, it invests in its future.

+ There are no quick fixes. Time and care are the realities. And the careful hand of the gardener is vigilant to protect its cherubs from the pests and weather that loom and swirl.

The Pursuit of Knowledge - for a Clear View

Wittgenstein emphasised that thinking is subject of the will, and that philosophy is a tool to avoid bewitchment. It is important to emphasise the significance of knowledge as a core dimension on this website. 

When people speak about language, literacy, numeracy and even learning, they tend to focus on skills and processes and competences, which do not necessarily engage with the content of understanding the world.  

In my opinion, Wittgenstein was constantly grappling with the question of understanding the world, from the opening lines of the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus  ('the world is all that is the case") to the preoccupation with world pictures in On Certainty. He often asked his readers to investigate "what is the case" or "what is the state of affairs".

Therefore, I want to reinforce the sheer challenge that a learner is presented with when he or she must take the time to imagine, synthesise and build a picture of what really is going on in the investigation of any phenomena placed in the path.

Exploring the significance and conditions of practices

In the beginning was the deed, or so one could at least speculate that it was. Wittgenstein spent a considerable amount of time reflecting upon the various practices that we (human being) engage in to live through both our communal and individual forms of living.

Practices could involve such meaningful acts as prayer or meals or pilgrimage or fasting or the daly routine of reading a bedtime story to a child. Our practices are what give shape to our life, and they are often what we can hold strongly to or feel that we have lost. Language - then - is not a primary concept. Instead, the languages we speak and write go to serve those very practices, which are significant in the way we live, believe and collaborate.

Please explore the notes on the concept of practice. They seek to answer questions like,

  • "what makes a practice a practice?" or "what makes it meaningful?
  • "how do we come to adopt a practice into the shape of our lives?", "who introduces it to us and showed us the way?"
  • "how much influence do social and material conditions play in the uptake and maintenance of a practice?" and
  • "what would it be like to enter a practice as an outsider?" "what challenges would be confronted?" and "why face the challenges at all?"

If I can hit the nail on the head, I would say that actions do not much make sense on their own. They only make sense as actual moves in a form of life or as preparatory ones.

Each of the links below take you to a different set of notes on the topic.