Essay on Critical Literacy and Pedagogy

For the purpose of this assignment I will consider how I have already started to develop as a ‘Critical Practitioner’. By this statement I would put forward how I am being ‘open minded’, use a ‘reflective approach’ that takes account of ‘different perspectives, experiences and assumptions’ (Glaister cited in the reader pg 8). I will discuss how my practice has developed and has been influenced by K315 course materials such as Barnett’s three domains of critical practice, action, reflexivity and analysis (Barnett

Critical reading involves digging deeper into the author’s creation, and being able to understand it on different levels. Throughout the book, we are given tips on how to solely concentrate on reading without getting distracted. With writing and reading together, you can judge the essay you are reading more accurately. The sample essay by Nancy Mairs, shows different examples on

Classrooms are different today from those of previous generations, they have become communities of learners where students assume more responsibility for learning. As opposed to a place where the teacher is in charge the modern class room there is often a hum of students, talking about books they are reading and working together in small groups using digital as well as print text. The students are more culturally and linguistically diverse, many have English as a second language (ESL). This Critical- reflective essay will explore using the four resource model developed by Luke and Freebody, focusing on; how young children learn to read, the four roles within the resources model are Code breaker, text user, text participant and text analyst. This essay will also articulate the understanding of the three phases of reading and writing development. Phase one, experimental reading and writing. Phase two, early reading and writing and phase three, transitional reading and writing. This understanding will then be applied to an early years setting including and application of strategies for cultural differences.

The Critical Language Scholarship presents both an academic and cultural challenge I strongly desire to take-on. My academic

Critical pedagogy is a philosophy that aims to foster more than just dialogue between the educators and students. It encourages “exploration, to help students move through the process of discovery by talking with them, asking questions and generally keeping up the momentum of exploration” (Elmborg, 2002, p. 458). This then effectively resolves the issue of a stagnant pedagogy, one that does not keep up with the times and needs of the students. Additionally, critical pedagogy serves to place some, or perhaps a lot of autonomy on the students’ part, attributing the means to the realization potential to them as well as the educators. As such, the only way for the educator to come to a better understanding of their students’, as well as their own

In the essay “The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society” is written by Jonathan Kozol, published in “Reading for writers” in NY. 2013. The author Kozol is a nonfiction writer, educator and social activist. In the essay, he writes about illiteracy occur in American society, illiterates who cannot read are getting trouble with many issues in their life. He is successful in affecting readers by using rhetorical throughout his essay. Kozol has also shown his talented skill of writing with logos, ethos and pathos. With logos, he is well-developed on the core of his argument, talented in appeal to readers’ emotion with pathos, and impressing readers to believe in his reliable with ethos.

You and I live in a world were modernism is reaching new heights every day. One day that touchscreen phone is considered new, and then next week it’s old news. These two stories that I am going to compare are about the role of technology, science and how it affects me and you. Based on how it uses new technology and modern science A Sound of Thunder is a better sci-fiction story.

Ahmed (2011) cautions that the “critical” in CWS means one must be vigilantly aware that when trying to unlearn privilege in a culture shaped by privilege, of one’s own positionality and power, in a field meant to disrupt both. Critical thinking means “to think with complexity, to go below the surface and explore multiple dimensions and nuances” (Sensoy & DiAngelo, 2014, p.1) and in CWS, the critical thinking includes a deeply self-reflexive examination, understanding and vigilance of one’s own whiteness and privilege as Ahmed advises.

The understanding of the literacy for the reader is important so they become aware of the relationship between language and power. The reader must be able to evaluate what they had read and reflect on what they’ve learned from it. As for the awareness of the rhetorical situation for the the composer of the writing is important as well so they are able to to write in a manner that is unique to them and is also an effective way of conveying their message to their audience.

Some literacy issues are becoming more and more prevalent in recent times. In the day and age we live in; we have access to the newest data and notions regarding literacy in the current education

Postcolonial critiques of literary works are often accomplished by reading and interpreting the work with a specific theme in mind or a ‘lens’. By allowing oneself to use a ‘lens’ when reading specific works, it allows the reader to interpret the effects of the themes and the changes throughout the writings. The goal of the critical lens is to seek to understand the behavior of characters or the society ("Post Colonialism," 2016). A few of the most popular themes used to view literary works are identity, oppression and power; applying this ‘lens’ can give the reader a different perspective and experience while reading the writings.

In today’s current school systems, the question of whether or not schools are correctly teaching students the right curriculum is coming up for debate. In the Article,"Teaching Critical Thinking by Marcia Clemmitt, she goes into extensive research of the U.S. Department of Education’s crisis of standardized testing. Most learning activities include standardized testing which lacks many students to express creative and critical thinking. Critical thinking is defined as the examination and evaluation of ideas, events and arguments in their contexts which introduces students to interrogate assumptions and identifying biases (Clemmitt)Pure critical thinking involves investigating a text more than just memorizing, but to apply theirself in other ways of techniques, meaning schools should stimulate more analytical methods of teaching. This would not only free students from a sheltered test culture,but will allow students to think in a deeper,more passionate way than before.

Critical pedagogy, influenced by Paulo Freire and Michael Apple, sees students become participants in their learning, where topics are relatable and relevant to their lives. Critical literacy refers to the use of text and other communication to challenge the rules governing the societal norms of everyday life (Luke, 2012, p.5). Asking students to interrogate a text and question the use of language, allows them to form a critical observation about what the author wants the readers to know, for example, when studying Australian First Contact, allowing students to draw conclusions about the treatment of Indigenous people from a text which glosses over the details, ensures students look at the topic from multiple angles and apply their sociocultural knowledge to the discussion. The introduction of multimodal tools into literacy teaching, acknowledges that a

Literacy pedagogies have a developing and complex history in education, intertwined with social and cultural change and evolution. Each change has paved a new path for more significant approaches and strategies, which cater to diverse learners allowing them to create meaning and communicate more effectively. These literacy pedagogies brought out by the changes in education have both strengths and weaknesses. As such, educators need to explore and understand the four knowledge processes portrayed by Kalantzis, Cope, Chan and Dalley-Trim; didactic, authentic, functional, and critical literacy approach (2016), to be able to consider how they can influence teaching and learning so they are able to make informed decisions with regards to their students’ literacy learning. Teaching is becoming increasingly complex; this is particularly evident in the area of literacy. This paper will explore the four literacy pedagogies, their limitations and their strengths, and how they have impacted literacy learning within the Australian educational context.

According to (Critical literacy practices, 2011) “critical reading” is a type of literacy practice that is learning practice in which students analyze and critique language and power relationships within written texts. Many college freshmen are not prepared for critical reading, yet a lot of higher education organizations and levels do not require individual critical reading courses. Even though critical reading is an often-cited neutral topic in some different colleges structured reading courses. In many different colleges, at times, there is little to no research that exists that may also describe how composition instructors teach critical reading strategies. No matter the subject or the age of the reader. An overall reading goal for critical readers includes reading an article to comprehend information based on what was stated within the text. While readers read to gain understanding from the text, the readers also use additional information at times such as factual ideas, prior knowledge, and also context clues to understand the difficult text. There are many ways to become a “critical reader” which includes different types of reading strategies.