LITERACY+FORUM+DISCUSSION

8/5/09 The idea of this page is to stimulate discussion around literacy in Chemistry (and Science) from what we heard from Ken Kilpin's talk at the contact course. David is right we probably all have a reasonable understanding of the problem now but what are the solutions. So here is my challenge to you: What is a "literacy solutions goal" that you would be prepared to commit to try while on your next teaching section? Kathriona 11/5 As Ken said, the notes that students have are teacher notes not their own. I think that if students were allowed to make their own notes, it would be very time consuming. Also, students at the lower classes will not be experienced enough to make short, yet clear and concise notes. They will not be able to differentiate what is important from what is not. This could be done with the senior classes, especially at revision time. My literacy goal for my next TE will be to build up a word bank with definitions and words (scientific and non-scientific) that are frequently used in that particular unit. I might start off by getting students to give me their definitions (based on their prior knowledge) of a term and then fine tune it to the scientifically correct (acceptable) definition. The word bank would also include the singular and plural forms of a particualr word. I used this in my mircoorganism lesson in my first TE - (e.g. fungus/fungi; hypha/hyphae etc.) Rahini 11/5 Kathriona here again. If we want students to make sense of the world for themselves and own their learning then they need to learn how to make notes on what they are learning and put it in their own frame of reference not the teachers. I believe this needs to be taught in all subjects and should start in primary school. It could start as just a very small sample of note taking which you will actually need to teach them how to do on at least 2-3 occasions in different contexts. It does take time but the long term benefits are worth it. If we expect senior students to do note taking it needs to be taught somewhere I don't believe they pick it up by osmosis! I like your literacy goal Rahini-scientific words are important-to know the meaning of, how you would use them in context in a suitable sentence and also how to say them! However it would also be useful for students to create their own definitions of words once they have understood them and how they are used. Have a look for a resource in schools called the "Interactive Guide to the Language of Science" by Paul Johnson-its a thin black book printed in NZ in the mid 1990's. from memory our school sceince dept was given numerous copies for free when it first came out so there are bound to be copis in most science libraries or even in the school library. 15/5 I'd definately like to work with students on how to read a textbook and get the relevant information from it, but I suspect this is something that may take time to master. Perhaps my goal is to not just present notes, but to help students make their own. Rahine's idea of a glossary of terms is good too. Emma