My personal understanding of literacy has been shaped over the course of my life by several different influences. Writing this blog has caused me to reflect on and reassess what the term ‘literacy’ means to me and how I can use this valuable knowledge when implementing my own teaching practices. Christie and Mission (1998), argue that until very recently, the custom in educational theory and discussion was to talk of the teaching of two separate elements: ‘reading’ and writing’, rather than the teaching of ‘literacy’. The definition of the term literacy has developed and gained several other dimensions over the course of time. The Queensland School Curriculum Council’s Position Paper on Literacy (2001), provides a comprehensive yet concise definition of literacy stating that:
‘Literacy is the ability to read and use written information and to write appropriately in a range of contexts. It also involves the integration of speaking, listening and viewing and critical thinking with reading and writing that includes cultural knowledge which enables a speaker, writer or reader to recognise and use language appropriate to different social situations’.
Working from this definition of literacy, I am able to reflect on my past experiences with literacy both in terms of my personal learning experiences and teaching others. I have decided to blog three separate autobiographical sketches to demonstrate how my literacy skills were developed and enhanced over time with the final one depicting how I view literacy when teaching someone to read. Each autobiographical sketch is from a different stage of my life so far, providing glimpses of different developmental stages.
What I find fascinating about my own literacy development, is the different levels of understanding I gained with age and experience. At first, literacy seemed very one-dimensional but as I was exposed to more literacy based experiences, my perspective and understanding was significantly broadened. To accompany my blog, I have decided to draw parallels between my autobiographical sketches and the ‘Literacy Learning Triptych’ in order to better articulate my literacy development (Antsey and Bull, 2004). The first sketch depicts the first level of the triptych which is ‘Learning of’ semiotic systems and literacies. This sketch depicts functional literacy where I learn the ‘how to of literacy’ through reading, spelling and comprehension (Antsey and Bull, 2004). The other two levels of the triptych are demonstrated in the later sketch.
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| One of the first books I remember reading as a child |
I remember when I was six years old and in Year One, my teacher would take the whole class to the library to choose our book for the week. At that stage we were only looking at picture books but I remember the thought process that want into selecting that particular book for the week; if it had bright colours or animals on it then it was a winner. Once I had actually selected the book and read it to my parents each night, I remember focusing all my energy and concentration on just getting the words right. Each individual word was a challenge let alone stringing the whole sentence together and making sense of these sentences was the last thing on my mind! The way in which I learnt the word was through rote learning and rehearsal (Snowman, et al, 2009). I would read it over and over again until I was able to pronounce and spell it correctly. Only after those two steps were completed, did I actually attempt to understand the meaning of the word.
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| Cultural significane of Shakespeare's plays |
I then fast forward to ten years later when I am in my Year Eleven and focusing on the Area of Study, ‘Journeys’, studying the Shakespeare play, 'Othello'. My Year Eleven, Advanced English teacher, takes us to the library and asks us to sit down in front of an easel with a giant picture book perched on its lip. From there she begins to read to a captivated audience of Year Eleven girls. However, at the end of the reading, instead of asking what words we didn’t understand, our teacher asks us ‘what concepts of journeys do you see depicted in this text’? Answers such as: journeys can be the key to intellectual growth, journeys can force you out of your comfort zone or journeys can be a vehicle of transformation and enlightenment are provided. This later sketch demonstrates the other two levels of the triptych where I was ‘Learning through’ and ‘Learning about’ semiotic systems and literacies (Antsey and Bull, 2004). With age and the progression through my schooling years, I was exposed to various texts to analyse in terms of their purpose and context in order to create greater meaning. I learnt of the role of culture and context in this particular book but was then able to take it one step further to employ critical literacy where I discovered the hidden power and meaning of the texts I was engaging with.
These autobiographical sketches depicting my literacy development demonstrates the obvious growth and change over time as I grew older and progressed through my schooling years. Furthermore, it highlights the theories of Piaget and Vygotsky concerning cognitive development which is defined as a gradual increase in the sophistication of mental processes (Snowman, et al, 2009). While cognitive development covers a broad spectrum of overall development, literacy is one of the main aspects that can be further explored working from the foundations of these theories.
Piaget believed that knowledge construction and cognitive development emerged with age and that the learning of knowledge is not a copy of reality but a process of transforming information into ways which can be understood, thus understanding the construction of newly acquired knowledge (Piaget, 1964). Reflecting back upon my autobiographical sketch, I can recognise how Piaget’s theory relates to language development in that as I grew older, I gained the ability to transform the information I learnt into ways that I personally understood and was then able to turn that information into fresh knowledge. This demonstrates the fourth and final stage of Piaget’s cognitive development of formal operational where I was able to deal with abstractions, form hypotheses and solve problems systematically (Snowman, et al, 2009). From the time I was six years old to when I was sixteen, my sophistication of language and my ability to interpret, analyse and synthesise texts had increased dramatically. However, it all started with just trying to pronounce one word in a picture book.
Furthermore, my literacy development isn’t only reflective of Piaget’s theory but also of Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory where interaction with others in terms of language and play, influence the process and speed of cognitive development (Vygotsky, 1978). I believe Vygotsky’s theory is relevant to my personal experiences as I have identified several social influences such as my parents, teachers and friends who have significantly contributed to my literacy development. Even from the smallest things such as my parents including me in conversations at the dinner table with their friends or role playing with my friends. These types of social interactions played a major role in my language and overall literacy development.
My autobiographical sketch demonstrates how my literacy development has stemmed from humble beginnings such as learning to read, to constructing my own understanding and knowledge in order to communicate complex ideas and continue on a journey of lifelong learning.The movement from functional to critical literacy has given me the ability to ‘read the word and the world’ (Friere and Macedo, 1987). Therefore, I have been able to create meaning from various texts and synthesise this knowledge to form coherent arguments and ideas that have been the basis of my academic endeavours.
If we fast forward another four years, I find myself now teaching a young child to read and observing how she is going through the same struggles I did during this period of my literacy development. While teaching her to read, I have used Vygotsky’s theory of the ‘zone of proximal development’ where I have set her tasks that are slightly aimed ahead of what she can do at the present time. Consequently, it has helped to pull her along and master things that she can’t do learn on her own (Vygotsky, 1978). I am aware that as she grows older and progresses through her schooling years, these foundational lessons and information will morph into critical literacy and she too will have a greater understanding of herself and the world around her. 