Powerfully Literate Students
A powerfully literate student will “engage in a wide range of print, media and electronic texts to enhance critical understandings of language and the world around them” (STELLA, 2002). A powerfully literate student will analyse texts, examine what is being said and reflect and develop a rich and deep understanding of the topic or issue. Powerfully literate students are life-long learners. They go beyond reading the texts by applying their knowledge in real life situations and contributing to the world as global citizens.
How can we make our students become powerfully literate?
The Standards for Teacher of English Language and Literacy in Australia (STELLA) emphasises that teachers must know how students become ‘Powerfully Literate’. STELLA (2002) states teachers must have understanding of, 'how our students learn to assist them to reach that next step and become, not only literate, but powerfully so!’ STELLA (2002) further postulates that teachers must draw from a rich repertoire of teaching strategies and adapt their teaching according to students’ needs. Teachers need to know how students learn to be powerfully literate by recognising the impact of different literacy teaching methodologies on different groups of students. With that in mind, teaching must take place in classrooms where there is interaction between the students and teachers to support individual learning. Without interaction learning cannot take place, hence teachers must provide engaging texts and experiences that children can connect to (Dooley, 2007, p.48). An effective teacher recognises the skills and knowledge each student brings to the classroom and integrates this into their learning. Most importantly, effective teachers reflect on their teaching pedagogy continuously and assess how they can develop powerfully literate students.
Learning environment
The constructivist view of learning mentions the need for teachers to create classroom environments for students to learn successfully through active involvement (McInerny & McInerney, 2010). This means teachers should set high expectations for student learning and create a safe and supportive learning environment. STELLA (2002) mentions that highly effective teachers are knowledgeable about the subject they teach, have good understanding of how students learn and are aware of their strengths and weaknesses. These teachers establish where students’ levels are in their learning. They then direct their teaching to students’ needs and readiness. Finally, highly effective teachers provide continuous feedback to learning by monitoring individual student’s progress and supporting their further learning.
Integration of the curriculum
The Australian Curriculum emphasises the integration of literacy with basic curriculum and digital information. The Australian National Curriculum also highlights the need for teachers and students to explore various avenues by using technology, developing confidence by gaining information and enhancing their skills by engaging socially. The Australian National English Curriculum shows the dynamic nature of our society and the need to act together with the global community. ACARA (2012) emphasises enabling students to learn, adapt, create, interpret, and communicate effectively by using information available in many forms fluently and critically. The literacy general capability suggests creating opportunities for students to interpret and create spoken, print, visual and multimodal texts for various purposes.
Identify student group
Richards (2001) sees students as individuals, with unique backgrounds, and with a set of individual needs - needs for motivation, relevance, challenge, sense of achievement and engagement. Dooley’s (2004) study suggests the need to consider the development of literacy skills for lower socio-economic, aboriginal and disadvantaged students and to improve upon them. Therefore, as educators, we must identify who our students are and look at their literacy capabilities to teach them to minimize the crisis of literacy, for literacy, and of literacy in society.