Legitimate Literacy Instruction in the Virtual School

In the traditional school, within the past decade or so, literacy instruction has become a consistent focus of teaching and school improvement plans. In large part this is because of the accountability standards implemented by the No Child Left Behind Act and school grading systems determined largely by scores on state-derived reading assessment tests, such as the FCAT in Florida (where I live). Unfortunately, many schools, teachers and trainers missell this as "reading" and not "literacy," which it should be. As a result, many core curriculum and elective teachers say things like "I didn't sign up to be a reading coach or a reading teacher. Why should I have to do this?" Regardless, within Florida, at all grade levels most teachers are being encouraged, more like pressured, to work toward a reading endorsement add-on to their certification within the next year or two. While this presents an extra responsibility for already-busy teachers, it has helped to deliver more training to teachers regarding the theoretical underpinnings of literacy and usable teaching strategies to improve literacy instruction regardless of their content area.

In the virtual school Senior English "classroom," this kind of theory-based literacy instruction is apparent. Reviewing the course I find "reading" strategies like PAS (Preview the text, Access background knowledge, and Set a purpose). Specifically, this is used with the reading of Shakespeare's Hamlet. Before the students ever read the actual text. they have assignments that requires them to frame their thinking and develop a metalanguage for engaging the text. For example, the students must first do an assignment called "Keys to Understanding Drama," that reviews all of the terms associated with the reading of plays (such as soliloquy, tragedy and motif), as well as the structure of the five-act play. From there the students take on an activity that asks them to choose a scenario/prompt that outlines the perspective and motivation of various characters in Hamlet. They then must choose one of the five prompts and write a "well-developed" paragraph about it and submit the assignment to their teacher. It is after doing these assignments that the students actually begin reading the play. During the reading, students are given assignments that address issues such as the difficulty of Shakespeare's Elizabethan-era language that further frames their thinking and aids in comprehension.
According to my host teacher, this is all intentional and of the curriculum is based on sound literacy learning theories. However, I believe that because this literacy instruction and the overall course content is being delivered digitally, it is more engaging and authentic for the students than what they might encounter in the traditional classroom.

According to an article by Learning First Alliance (2000) at Adlit.org (a site centered around adolescent literacy), students' "comprehension is enhanced when teachers make sure students understand what they are reading by asking questions and encouraging student questions and discussions." It further states that, "effective instruction will help the reader actively relate his or her own knowledge or experience to the ideas written in the text, and then remember the ideas that he or she has come to understand." This is the idea of a lot of the emerging literacy instruction in the traditional school and what is found in the virtual school course I am observing. But, again, when students are using technology to study text, there is a built-in engagement factor that often can't be matched by the technology-free traditional classroom. According to Alltech, an organization that promotes the use of technology for individual achievement (see alltech-tsi.org), "the use of technology alone cannot promote students' literacy skills," however, goes on to say that "when technology is combined with research-based reading and writing instructional strategies, powerful outcomes are achieved." Alltech posits that: "When implemented effectively, literacy technologies can motivate students, promote positive attitudes toward learning, provide individualized and learner-controlled instruction, facilitate positive social behavior, and support active learning experiences." This would certainly seem to ring true with my experiences so far with the virtual school English class that I've been observing, especially in how the course curriculum is set-up with its resources, scaffolding and pacing. Additionally, because the work is being done on computers students either are supporting or developing their ICT (information and computer technology) literacies, a necessity for successfully completing the course.

References:

Alltech (2007). Technology for all (May 2007). Alltech-tsi.org. Accessed April 13, 2008 from http://www.alltech-tsi.org/news/2007_05.html

Learning First Alliance. (2000). 9 components for effective, research-supported reading instruction. Adlit.org. Accessed April 13, 2008 from http://www.adlit.org/article/50