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The King’s School Literacy Project Professional Development
Sonya Harper Dean of Studies (Years 7-8) English Teacher
The development of young men who are global thought leaders necessitates a whole school approach to literacy that is focused on meaning-making. That is, perspectives of literacy must recognise the different literacies required to make sense of the 21st-century world. To this end, literacy must be seen as cross-disciplinary.
Despite research showing that teachers of all subjects must see themselves as teachers of literacy, an authentic shift to this position within schools is required. This authentic shift, whereby teachers in all subjects confidently, competently, and transparently integrate literacy strategies into every lesson, is the goal. Achieving such a goal, however, requires a multifaceted and multi-staged approach to ensure all stakeholders, most importantly, the teachers and students, feel supported and confident in the adoption of literacy to improve results in the classroom and external examinations, and to develop the critical thinking, reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills students need to navigate the broader world.
Framed by De Bono’s thinking hats, the Term 3 Professional Development Literacy Workshop provided an important step in the development of the King’s School Literacy Project. It was an opportunity for staff to share the literacy strategies they currently use and the literacy areas they feel need greater attention across the School. This also proved valuable in gauging the interest from staff regarding the implementation of a school-wide literacy strategy.
A key follow-up to the PD Day was a presentation on the literacy needs of the School, given at the Heads of Department meeting. With reference to the instructional paradox: “By the time adolescent students are being challenged by disciplinary texts, literacy instruction often has evaporated altogether or has degenerated into a reiteration of general reading strategies most likely to benefit only the lowest functioning students” (Shanahan et al., 2008, p.45), the presentation looked at the need to target high-level disciplinary literacy skills.
The next steps for the project include:
1) A staged approach working with departments, starting with the Thought
Leadership cluster (History, English,
Languages and Biblical Studies). This will include:
a. subject-specific literacy PD,
b. creation of subject-specific resources,
c. creation of resources targeting the interdisciplinary literacy skills across the cluster, and
d. creation of literacy specific Canvas modules that outline how to teach the key literacy skills needed for success in each Senior School course. This approach is meant to both help upskill current TKS staff and establish the literacy teaching expectations for new staff to TKS.
2) Creating a culture of collaboration and learning in relation to teaching literacy across the school with a particular focus on team-teaching and observations of expert literacy teachers in each subject.
3) Formal and informal data tracking to see how the implementation of specific literacy strategies have impacted student results.
