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EDM5010 Assignment 1 Task 2 KITTO
8
Australian Literacy Educators' Association (ALEA)
Presented by
Amanda Kitto
u1091574
ALEA
The Australian Literacy Educators' Association [ALEA] is an independent professional association "dedicated to literacy and English language learning from early childhood through all stages of schooling and tertiary education contexts.” (Australian Literacy Educators’ Association [ALEA] , 2018)
“ALEA recognises the critical role literacy plays in learning and communicating in all curriculum areas, and for effective participation in society.” (ALEA, 2018)
What is literacy?
Fellowes & Oakley articulate that “Literacy encompasses the knowledge and skills students need to access, understand, analyse and evaluate information, make meaning, express thoughts and emotions, present ideas and opinions, interact with others and participate in activities at school and in their lives beyond school” (Fellowes & Oakley, 2014, p.3).
In short, literacy branches across many subjects, and in different forms, assisting us to understand, make connections and interact with the world around us.
What is literacy?
What does ALEA offer?
What does ALEA offer?
- Membership which provides professional development for teachers through publications, conferences, and networking.
- Research grants for inquiries focusing on literacy education.
- An Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mentoring Program for teachers focusing on improving outcomes.
- Book reviews.
- Public Resources, including articles, learning modules and posters.
(ALEA, 2018).
Let them talk, play and do, and they will read!
(Heyson, 2012)
Talk + Play + Do = Read
Within the Public Resources (Play), there is a vast amount of valuable reading material for Early Childhood Educators.
This presentation will consider a range of theoretical perspectives and strategies to engage all students, including non Standard Australian English [SAE] speaking students in literacy learning.
The resource used was “Let them talk, play and do … and they will read” (Heyson, 2012).
Heyson's Context
Heyson works with students from the indigenous Warruwi School in the Northern Territory, situated on a remote island located in Western Arnhem land, approximately 350 km east of Darwin. The school has an enrolment of approximately 140 students from Prep to Year 10.
The Warruwi community is small with about 400 people living on the island. It is a multicultural indigenous community, with many languages being spoken (in Heyson's class there are 13), however Mawng is considered the main local language spoken on the island. There is very little SAE [Standard Australian English] spoken at home, hence school is the main venue for English to be modelled and used.
Heyson's
Context
(Heyson, 2012)
Socio-Cultural
Students participate in daily play based sessions in a culturally safe learning environment. Importantly these link to their cultural practices rom their home environment which is advantageous to their learning (Fellowes & Oakley, 2014). During this socio-cultural approach Heyson explains that students initially use their own language where they construct an understanding of their world in their community (Heyson, 2012).
Through modelling and collaboration they begin to develop SAE literacy as they communicate with their educators and peers (Heyson, 2012).
By authentic engagement and utilising approaches that link to students’ cultural capital explained by Bourdieu (as cited in Seely Flint et al., 2014, p.17) and adapting those to align with the curriculum, students can use their prior knowledge to experience and connect their world to the classroom.
Socio-Cultural
Constructivism
The Vygotsky view of constructivism is evident where the learning is interpersonal, socially interactive, and contextual relevant, constructing knowledge from prior knowledge and linking to new knowledge (Donovan, 2018). This links closely with Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development [ZPD] where the students are supported and scaffolded throughout their socio-cultural learning with constructivist guidance from the educators (Seely Flint et al., 2014).
Socio-cultural and constructivist guidance it evident in both oral and written literacy sessions and importantly as the students transfer from the oral literacy to the written literacy activities. As suggested by Dewey (as cited in Seely Flint et al., 2014), students are encouraged to contribute to the curriculum through their interests and discoveries. Sessions connect their interests with the curriculum.
Constructivism
Evidence based learning
Evidence based learning
Play based learning has long been known as a successful interactive way of learning. Evidence of the learning experiences offered are inclusive of all children and are culturally appropriate (Belonging, Being and Becoming, 2009).
Shipley asserted that research and evidence support the role of play in children’s development and learning across cultures (as cited in Barblett, 2012).
As teachers use these techniques they gather their own evidence of this learning improving literacy and involvement of their students and continue to develop these interactive lessons and suggest them to their peers.
Cambourne’s Conditions
Seven Conditions of Literacy Learning
- Immersion
- Demonstration
- Expectations
- Responsibility
- Approximations
- Employment
- Feedback
Cambourne’s Conditions
(Fellowes & Oakley, 2014)
The following 4 conditions resonated with my learnings of play based activities.
Immersion
Students are surrounded by authentic uses of oral language in their homes and communities (Seely Flint et al., 2014) and encouraged to role play in a familiar environment.
They may use their own language initially but hear the SAE language being used in meaningful ways and are supported to practice the language (Heyson, 2012).
Immersion
Demonstration
Demonstration
Learning is facilitated as they observe and participate in literacy filled demonstration and discourse (Wing Jan, 2015). Play based learning provides the opportunity to experience literacy in the real world. As children hear how language modelled, how to communicate and how to share feelings and thoughts, they learn to be literate.
Employment
Employment
Students have the opportunity immerse themselves in a literacy filled environment. Children participate in making sense of their environment. The students are motivated and engaged in the learning because it is interesting and related to their experiences (Wing Jan, 2015).
The learning extends to further activities that allow the students to transfer their role play, oral language and discourse into other literacy practices such as drawings and various written forms.
Feedback
Feedback
Students receive feedback and guidance throughout their learning experience. It is important this is timely, relevant and appropriate (Wing Jan, 2015).
The teaching team actively support and engage with the students through the process to cater for their learning needs (Heyson, 2012).
Play based
Play Based Examples
Play based lessons were developed by teachers integrating curriculum into a socio-cultural format (Heyson, 2012). This ensured the learning was aligned to the curriculum, but able to be experienced by the students in a socio-cultural environment.
Importantly students develop a sense of belonging (Heyson, 2012). When the environment feels safe, students become more confident to explore and learn (Belonging, Being and Becoming, 2009). This allowed the students to create, discover, guide and adapt their play to construct knowledge about the world from their interests and experiences (Danniels & Pyle, 2018).
Throughout these sessions they develop their oral language and social skills. They are encouraged to be creative and constructive with the freedom to make choices.
How it works
Through daily sessions of play Heyson's students develop oral language and social skills. They experience a sense of belonging and responsibility (Heyson, 2012).
Students have the opportunity to be creative and the freedom to choose activities (Heyson, 2012).
How it works
Cooking Sessions
Students use literacy to role play in cooking sessions, aligning curriculum areas of literacy, maths, and science (Heyson, 2012).
This role play allows the students to use literacy within an experience they may have prior knowledge with at home and can express it in a socio-cultural way.
Cooking Sessions
Health Clinic
Another role play mentioned was the improvisation of a Health Clinic, integrating curriculum and conversation, and encouraging oral literacy.
In this socio-cultural setting students can play different roles and experience the scenario from differing viewpoints.
Health Clinic
Do, Talk, Record
Interaction through play provides a motivating context for oral and written literacy (Van Hoorn, 2015).
Following the play based, literacy filled learning and extensive discourse the students are encouraged to record their learnings in a variety of ways (Heyson, 2012).
Heyson (2012) promotes a "Do, Talk, Record" approach (an established ESL methodology). Creating opportunities for students to talk, play and do, offers a foundation to build and extend into the world of written language (Heyson, 2012). At the Warruwi School the literacy journey continues with activities to further extend their literacy and understanding in visual and written modes and also connects to the home environment.
Some of the ways the Warruwi School achieves this are:
Do, Talk, Record
Wall Stories
Wall Stories are created collaboratively by students after their play based activities, recorded on butcher’s paper, cut up and illustrated (Heyson, 2012).
After they are reconstructed they are displayed on the wall. Selected illustrations from the wall story are photographed, inserted into a digital version of the story and printed as a class book.
The students have ownership of the story and are invested in the creation of their final product, resulting in pride and confidence.
Wall Stories
Benefits
Benefits
The advantage of this literacy activity is students work together, and interact to make connections and meaning from their oral literacy to link to written literacy.
The use of SAE within both the oral and written literacy is valuable practice for the students and supported by the teaching staff.
Word Cards
Matching word cards with pictures, transcribed from the oral literacy experience are used to play transformational games (Heyson, 2012).
This provides students with exposure and practice with the literacy in an engaging format.
Word cards
'Reader Style' books
The 'reader style' books were an extremely creative way of transferring their oral literacy to written literacy form. Photos are taken of the students within their role play and of places around the community. Repetitive and simple SAE texts are added to these photos to create ‘reader style’ books.
Being the "star" in the books excites and engages the students and means that the context is relevant (Heyson, 2012). Students are able to access meaning through the format of written language. This written format is published and sent home which encourages parental and community involvement. Community support is strong for students to be literate in both their first language and in SAE (Heyson, 2012).
"Reader Style" books
Sentence Strips
Sentence strips can be formed from the play based learnings. This helps create meaning from events and transfers the oral language to the written word.
These can be introduced in a variety of ways either by writing down words of things that were in their role playing and building the sentence around them, or the student repeating a sentence from the play to be scribed.
Sentence strips can be cut up and rearranged to make the sentence, or full sentences can be put in order to show they understand the sequence of events.
Sentence strips
Pedagogical Position
As a graduate teacher this professional resource aligned with my pedagogical views of the importance of role play interactions supporting the use of oral language in early years literacy learning (Fellowes & Oakley, 2014). My understanding and belief in the benefits of play were reinforced with the imaginative and diverse conversation, promoting curiosity, thinking and questioning, and the collaboration of ideas in written and visual formats to further extend the literacy learning. Play based learning can be guided and scaffolded to align to the curriculum and encourage the student's curiosity. As the children feel a sense of belonging, they are able to develop and understanding of themselves and immerse themselves in the literacy opportunities afforded to them (Belonging, Being and Becoming, 2009).
Professional Learning
Professional Learning
Oral Literacy
Professional Learning
Oral Literacy
Although aware that play based learning was valuable in the classroom, the creative ideas and role plays inspired me to incorporate authentic play based learning within my lesson planning.
These can be designed to align not only with the curriculum but also the interests of the students to allow for more motivated, genuine and creative play (Heyson, 2012). Students can be encouraged to lead the direction of the play based learning.
Professional Learning
Written Literacy
Professional Learning
Written Literacy
Transferring the oral literacy into visual and written literacy was a beneficial learning opportunity for me. This was approached in varied and creative ways that provoked my thoughts to create oral to written literacy activities.
Students invested creatively and deeply within their oral literacy experience and made authentic connections and deeper meanings to their learning.
The illustrative and written literacy examples will be stored away in my tool kit to engage my students in ways to use their oral literacy to develop their written literacy. Written language was lacking in the community and Heyson fostered this with the students making their own book bags to take between school and home (Heyson, 2012).
Pedagogical sharing
Pedagogical sharing
Teachers looking for strategies to develop oral literacy and transferring the experience into written literacy would benefit from investigating opportunities of authentic curriculum directed play based learning to encourage and support oral interaction and incidental learning.
Further to the play based learning the suggestions of extending the oral literacy to written literacy will be a valuable resource for you and empower you to develop more ways for this to transpire within your lessons.
It is important to remember as teachers we can use a broader application of these strategies within many lessons to support literacy learning throughout the spectrum of subjects and share our findings with each other.
Something to think about
How do you feel about Heyson's theory of
"Let them talk, play, and do... and they will read"?
Something to think about
Are your pedagogies aligned with the theoretical perspectives of talk, play and do? What do you do now in your classroom to encourage and promote learning in this way? Are there any aspects of Heyson's strategies that you feel you could incorporate into your pedagogy?
How would you plan for inclusion and differentiate to increase student engagement? On reflection, how could improve your pedagogy?
References
Australian Literacy Educator’s Association. (2018). Retrieved April, 2018, from https://www.alea.edu.au/
Barblett, L. (2012). Why play-based learning? Retrieved from http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/nqsplp/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Why_play_based_learning.pdf
Danniels, E. & Pyle, A. (2018). Play based learning: Defining play based learning. Retrieved from http://www.child-encyclopedia.com/sites/default/files/dossiers-complets/en/play-based-learning.pdf#
Continued...
References cont.
References
Donovan, J. (2018). EDM5003 Spiral curriculum and constructivism: Course notes. Toowoomba, Australia: University of Southern Queensland.
The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia. (2009). Belonging, being & becoming. Retrieved from http://files.acecqa.gov.au/files/National-Quality-Framework-Resources-Kit/belonging_being_and_becoming_the_early_years_learning_framework_for_australia.pdf
Fellowes, J. & Oakley, G. (2014). Language, literacy and early childhood education (2nd ed.). South Melbourne, VIC: Oxford University Press.
Continued...
References cont.
References
Heyson, S. (2012). Let them talk, play and do … and they will read! Practically Primary, 17 (1), 37-39. Retrieved from https://www.alea.edu.au/documents/item/1037
Seely Flint, A., Kitson, L., Lowe, K., & Shaw, K. (2014). Literacy in Australia: Pedagogies for engagement. Milton, Qld: John Wiley & Son.
Van Hoorn, J., Nourot, P. M., Scales, B., & Alward, K. R. (2015). Play at the center of the curriculum (6th ed., pp. 206-234). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson.
Wing Jan, L. (2015). Literacy, language and learning. In Write ways (4th ed., pp. 3-22). South Melbourne, Vic.: Oxford University Press