Final Reflection

As I reflect back on my time in this class, I am very thankful to see a difference in what I knew then versus now. When I first started this course, I knew what literacy was, but not disciplinary literacy. If I had tried to guess what it was, I could have maybe gotten away with a very basic definition. But now, after this course, I know what disciplinary literacy looks like in a classroom and can advocate for it. It is very important that we are teaching our students disciplinary literacy. We must teach them to think like they are apart of the discourse, and that they can be professionals in their discourse. Professionals and experts "think in specific ways about their fields. As professionals, they understand information within their disciplines" (Wolsey). There is a specific way to think if you are a scientist, mathematician, English scholar, etc. It is important we teach our students the jargon and practices of the people in these disciplines so they can be better prepared as they encounter them inside and outside the classroom. Experts often expand their work and thinking "through the books and articles they write, the scores they compose, the inventions they create, and the problems they solve" (Wolsey). If we can get our students to start this process now, it will be an easier process of learning and understanding for them. While our jobs as teachers is to teach content to our students, I think most would argue it is about so much more than that. We get to teach content, but also teach our students how to be life long learners, and active, engaged members of society. If we help them become knowledgeable in a wide variety of disciplines, we are better preparing them for whatever comes their way. I am glad that this semester I was able to deepen my knowledge of disciplinary literacy, try new mediums, and learn new skills that I look forward to bringing into my own classroom.

 

 

Wolsey, Thomas DeVere, and Diane Lapp. Literacy in the Disciplines: a Teachers Guide for Grades 5-12. The Guilford Press, 2017.