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Prof. Development: Off the Shelf
Professional Development: Off the Shelf
Jennifer Morris
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Digitally Supported Disciplinary Literacy for Diverse K-5 Classrooms is written by Jamie Colwell, Amy Hutchison, and Lindsay Woodward. It is written for K-5 elementary teachers who are wanting to support their diverse classroom of students with digital disciplinary literacy practices alongside more traditional types of reading. Prospective teachers, reading specialists, and administrators may also benefit from this book. With the focus on teaching virtually due to the pandemic, digital reading skills are needed now more than ever. The purpose of this book, as stated by the authors, is to provide a response to the struggles teachers face when planning for Disciplinary Literacy (DL). These authors also understand what real-world classrooms look like and tie in traditional literacy practices for those students who are still learning how to read, as opposed to solely reading for knowledge.
The main components of this well-written and organized book include tools that teachers need to support DL. Readers will find an extensive examination of what DL looks like in each subject area, practical approaches to implementation in each subject area, as well as tips for instructional planning. The authors align the disciplinary skills to the most commonly used standards, Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for English Language Arts and Mathematics, Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), and C3 National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) standards.
The first of the eleven chapters begins with what constitutes Disciplinary Literacy, the challenges of teaching disciplinary literacy, as well as goals for successful implementation at the K-5th grade level, how digital tools can support current research suggestions, and how DL differs from Content-Area Literacy which is more generalized, cross-curricular reading strategies used at the Elementary and Secondary levels, and follows the, “...every teacher a teacher of
reading” philosophy (Shanahan et. al, 2008). Nevertheless, they have identified four Core Disciplinary Practices that are seemingly similar and can be applied to the different disciplines. The Core Disciplinary Practices include recognizing and comprehending multiple types of text, analyzing text, using academic disciplinary specific vocabulary, and communication of argument and understandings.
The authors have even developed their own framework–PEDDL, (Planning Elementary Digitally Supported Disciplinary Literacy). This framework supplies teachers with questions for what they want to accomplish with their students surrounding DL, with traditional and digital supports provided in Chapter Two. PEDDL consists of six phases which seems overwhelming at first glance. However, the authors are adamant about teachers taking things one phase at a time until they are more comfortable with this framework for planning. It’s important to keep in mind that teachers can decide in which subject area they would like to begin their DL journey with students as they navigate the PEDDL framework. The phases of the framework include the identification of appropriate DL practices, framing DL, selecting multimodal texts, tools for assessment, supporting DL digitally, and reflection to meet the needs of all learners.
The next eight chapters decipher what DL looks like in the different subject areas, as well as offering practical approaches for each implementation in each subject area. The chapters that examine DL in English Language Arts, Mathematics, Social Studies, and Science explain who the experts are and what kinds of digital tools they use in their real-world capacities. The practical approaches presented in each chapter related to each individual discipline provide tables that outline current instructional considerations teachers make, as well as disciplinary extensions that can be planned for in classrooms based on the phases of the PEDDL framework.
The authors provide excellent support for teachers wanting to implement these practices but are transparent in their admission that integrating digital tools into classroom practices can be challenging. In a constantly evolving technological society, teachers need to take into consideration the shifts in what literacy means, as well as what is considered as text. This is important when we consider reading texts and creating texts for communication of knowledge and ideas. A lot of time is spent discussing the different types of multimodal texts that can be used for the different disciplines. One facet that should be truly appreciated by teachers is that the suggestions for implementation do not require teachers to reinvent the wheel when it comes to curriculum materials. The PEDDL Framework is meant to serve as guiding questions to instructional materials that are already in place. It encourages teachers to be reflective of what they want their students to know as 21st Century citizens.
Many great planning techniques, background knowledge, and ideas for digital tools come from this book; there is no question about that. However, there are some drawbacks, such as the explicit focus on skills needed for college and working as an expert in the given fields. Even at
the elementary level, students begin to understand their interests and have a general idea of what they want to do “when they grow up.” This book doesn’t provide a context for those students who will likely enter a trade, or other career path that doesn’t involve college. However, one could argue that productive citizens of society need to be able to analyze and think critically about multimodal modes of communication in any field.
Another drawback about this book could be considered from a pre-service teacher point of view. The authors state that for diverse learners’ needs, teachers need to consider the individual needs in their own classrooms. For that reason the authors suggest providing texts that come from different perspectives, and finding texts that can be differentiated for struggling readers as well. From a pre-service teacher point of view, this may very well seem like a daunting task because they have not had the experience of being completely in charge of their own classroom. However, the focus on implementation of DL in small chunks should be encouraging for pre-service teachers and make the tasks more manageable.
Overall, I would highly recommend this book for teachers wanting to incorporate digitally supported practices for reading and communication in the various disciplines. Having this book in today’s technologically focused world to teach our students with digitally supported, culturally responsive techniques is extremely beneficial for K-5 classroom teachers, reading specialists, and pre-service teachers.
References
Colwell, J., Hutchison, A., Woodward, L., & Bean, T. (2020). Digitally supported disciplinary literacy for diverse K-5 classrooms. Teachers College Press.
Shanahan, T., & Shanahan, C. (2008). Teaching disciplinary literacy to adolescents: Rethinking content-area literacy. Harvard Educational Review, 78(1), 40–59. h
Jennifer L. Morris is an adjunct instructor at the Jeannine Rainbolt College of Education, University of Oklahoma. She can be reached at jennifer.l.morris-1@ou.edu
