IL 3013

Critical Readings in Language, Literacy, and Culture: Part II

Spring 2016

Course Instructor / Class meetings on campus
Linda Kucan
5113 WWPH
/ Room X WWPH
1:00-5:00
January 9 February 6
March 5 April 2

“If it were possible to define generally the mission of education, one could say that its fundamental purpose is to ensure that all students benefit from learning in ways that allow them to participate fully in public, community, and economic life. Literacy pedagogy is expected to play a particularly important role in fulfilling this mission.”

New London Group, 1996, p. 60

“As a theory, critical literacy espouses that education can foster social justice by allowing students to recognize how language is affected by and affects social relations.”

(Behrman, 2006, p. 490)

“The essence of both reading and writing instruction is change. Reading a book changes us forever as we return from the worlds we inhabit during our reading journey with new insights about our surroundings and ourselves. … Today, reading, reading instruction, and more broadly conceived notions of literacy and literacy instruction are being defined by change in even more profound ways as new technologies require new literacies to effectively exploit their potentials….”

(Leu, Kinzer, Coiro, and Cammack (2000, p. 1570)

Course Overview

This course is the second of a two-part course sequence that provides opportunities for you to engage in the following important practices of EdD students in the Language, Literacy, and Culture Area of Concentration:

  • the thoughtful and critical reading of important texts related to language, literacy, and culture
  • the thoughtful and critical writing of academic prose related to language, literacy, and culture
  • the identification of a problem of practice that interests you
  • a review of literature related to your problem of practice

Reading

The texts that you will read critically and thoughtfully are listed below. These texts will engage you in addressing these questions:

  • What is literacy?
  • How do the notions of multiliteracies, critical literacy, and new literacies play out in my area of interest?

Writing

The academic writing that you will do includes:

  • Online responses to prompts about the readings
  • Reaction papers to the readings
  • PowerPoint presentation
  • Poster presentation
  • Statement on Problem of Practice
  • Annotated bibliography of articles related to your problem of practice
  • Review of Supporting Scholarship (a literature review related to your problem of practice)

Required Texts

BOOKS

American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American

Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Graff, G., & Birkenstein, C. (2014). “They say/I say”: The moves that matter in academic

writing (3rd ed.). New York: W. W. Norton.

Ravitch, S.M., & Riggan, M. (2012). Reason & rigor: How conceptual frameworks guide

research. Los Angeles: Sage.

ARTICLES/CHAPTERS

Behrman, E.D. (2006). Teaching about language, power, and text: A review of

classroom practices that support critical literacy. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 49(6), 490-498.

Broderick, D. (2014). Collaborative design: Participatory culture meets multiliteracies in

a high school literary arts community. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 58(3), 198-208.

Buss, R. R.,& Zambo, D. (2014). A practical guide for students and faculty in CPED-

influenced programs working on an action research dissertation in practice. Monograph published by the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate.

Comber, B., Thomson, P., & Wells, M. (2001). Critical literacy finds a “place”: Writing

and social action in a low-income Australian grade 2/3 classroom. Elementary School Journal, 101(4), 451-464.

Cope, B., & Kalantzis, M., (2009). “Multiliteracies”: New literacies, new learning.

Pedagogies: An International Journal, 4, 164-195.

Leu, D. J. Jr., Kinzer, C. K., Coiro, J. L., & Cammack, D. W. (2000). Toward a theory of new literacies emerging from the Internet and other information and communication technologies. In R. B. Ruddell & N.J. Unrau (Eds.), Theoretical models and processes of reading (5th ed., pp. 1570-1613). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

Matthewman, S., Blight, A., & Davies, C. (2004). What does multimodality mean for

English? Creative tensions in teaching new texts and new literacies. Education, Communication, and Information, 4(1),153-176.

New London Group (1996). A pedagogy of multiliteracies: Designing social futures.

Harvard Educational Review, 66(1), 60-92.

Tan, J. P., & McWilliam, E. (2009). From literacy to multiliteracies: Diverse learners and

pedagogical practice. Pedagogies: An International Journal, 4, 213-225.

Course Readings

The course readings are organized into foursets.

  • The first setof readings focuses on clearly articulating a problem of practice and launching a review of literature related to that problem of practice.Texts in this set include excerpts from Buss and Zambo (2014) and Ravitch and Riggan (2013) and examples of Statements on Problem of Practice and Review of Supporting Scholarship composed by PITT EdD students.
  • The second set focuses on multiliteracies and includes articles by Broderick (2014), the New London Group (1996), Cope and Kalantzis (2009), Matthewman, Blight, and Davies (2004), and Tam and McWilliam (2009).
  • The third set focuses on new literacies and includes an article by Leu, Kinzer, Coiro, and Cammack (2000).
  • The fourth set focuses on critical literacy and includes articles by Behrman (2006) and Comber, Thomson, and Wells (2001).

Course Assignments

PowerPoint Presentation on Your Problem of Practice: 10 points

You will prepare a 10-slide PowerPoint presentation about your problem of practice.

Statement of Problem of Practice: 15 points

With the advice and approval of your advisor, you will finalize a statement of your problem of practice.

Annotated Bibliography: 10 points

With the advice of your advisor, you will locate at least 10 articles, chapters, and/or books related to your problem of practice. Each entry must conform to APA-6 style.

Review of Supporting Scholarship: 30 points

You will draft a literature review related to your problem of practice and engage in cycles of review and revision.

Online Discussion Forum:10 points

The Course Schedule indicates when you will post to the Online Discussion Board. Specific prompts are provided for each posting

  • Initial Postings: 2 points each/ 6points total
  • Responses to peer posting: 2 points each/4 points total

Poster Presentation: 10 points

You will create a poster about an enactment of new literacies practices.

Reaction Papers: 15 points

As indicated on the Course Schedule, you will compose 3Reaction Papers (worth 5points each). These are 2-3 page double-spaced responses to specific prompts.

NOTE: The Reaction Papers provide an opportunity for you to craft your academic writing skills at the sentence level. You have only 2-3 pages. Every sentence counts.As the course progresses, your Reaction Papers should demonstrate your ability to make use of the moves described in the text by Graff and Birkenstein.

Course Policies

Grading

A+ = 99-100 points A = 94-98 points A- = 90-93 points

B+ = 88-89 pointsB = 84-87 pointsB- = 80-83 points

C+ = 78-79 pointsC = 74-77 pointsC- = 70-73 points

Below 70 = failure

Late assignment policy: The nature and pace of this course requires that you do not fall behind in assignments. If an extension is needed for an assignment, this must be arranged before the due date and will be granted for only the most extenuating of circumstances. Points will be deducted for late assignments.

Revising assignments: If your work on an assignment is graded below 80% you may revise and resubmit it one time. Resubmissions must be submitted within 2 weeks of receiving the graded assignment. The highest grade you can receive on a resubmitted assignment is 80%. NOTE: Assignments due the last two weeks of the course cannot be revised.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Academic integrity is a key component of professionalism. It is expected that all candidates uphold the principles of academic integrity in their work during this course as specified on the University of Pittsburgh Office of the Provost. These guidelines are available for download at:

Students who do not follow these guidelines may be subject to disciplinary action.

GRIEVANCE POLICY

The purpose of grievance procedures is to ensure the rights and responsibilities of faculty and students in their relationships with each other. The rights and responsibilities of faculty and students are described in the University’s Academic Integrity Guidelines at:

SPECIAL LEARNING NEEDS

Ifyou have a disability for which you are or may be requesting an accommodation, you are encouraged to contact both your instructor and Disability Resources and Services, 140 William Pitt Union, (412) 648-7890 [(412) 383-7355 for TTY], as early as possible in the term. DRS will verify your disability and determine reasonable accommodations for this course.

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