Collaboration as Action Research:
The Development of Genre-Based
Literacy Programs
Keynote for ALL Professional Development Day
ANU June 2010
David Rose
Linguistics & Education, University of Sydney
Indigenous tertiary students
Writing assessed using text analysis, with 11 criteria (0-9 for each criterion)
Average gain 30 points = junior secondary to matriculation/Yr 1
‘Closing the gap’
2008 NSW results: top and bottom student cohorts
averaged across all classes, Years K-9
45
40
A
growth = 21%
(B to A)
35
B
30
25
C
20
growth = 74%
(E to C)
15
10
5
E
0
gap = 83%
gap = 47%
Generations of genre based pedagogies
2000s reading across
the curriculum
Reading to Learn
1990s writing across the
secondary curriculum
Write it Right
1980s writing in the
primary school
Writing Project
Generation 1: writing in the primary school
Teaching-learning cycle (from Rothery 1994)
significant life events – autobiographical recount
histories
stages in a life – biographical recount
staged in time
stages in history
recounting - historical recount
explaining - historical account
sequence of events – sequential
multiple causes for one outcome – factorial
informing
explanations
causes & effects
multiple outcomes from one cause – consequential
multiple outcomes from one cause - conditional
one type of thing – descriptive
reports
describing things
different types of things - classifying
parts of wholes - compositional
simple
how to do an activity - procedure
conditional
complex
technical
prospective
proposing
rules/regulations
what to do and not to do – protocol
laws/legislation
strategic plan
procedural
educational activity – experiment/observation report
retrospective
recounting
industrial activity – technical note
academic activity – research article
institutional activity – case study
commercial
legal
medical
social
supporting one point of view – exposition
hortatory
analytical
arguments
persuading
simple
discussing two or more points of view - discussion
complex
evaluating a text or product – review
evaluating
literary
interpreting message – interpretation
challenging message – critical response
text
responses
appreciating
single text
multiple
critiquing an academic text – critical review
academic
interpreting multiple texts – literature review
Working with Discourse
Chapter 1 Interpreting social discourse
Chapter 2 APPRAISAL - negotiating attitudes
Chapter 3 IDEATION - construing experience
Chapter 4 CONJUNCTION - connecting
events
Chapter 5 IDENTIFICATION – tracking
participants
Chapter 6 PERIODICITY – information flow
The reading and writing task
Complexity of the language task
Integrated approach
Generations of scaffolding reading pedagogies
2000s reading across
the curriculum
Reading to Learn
1990s reading stories in
middle/upper primary
Accelerated Literacy
1980s reading stories in
early primary
Reading Recovery
Theoretical foundations
Pedagogic
discourse
Social learning
theory
- Bernstein
- Vygotsky
Reading to
Learn
Educational
linguistics
- Halliday & Martin
Pedagogic genre
pedagogic activities:
doing/ studying
pedagogic relations:
success/failure,
inclusion/exclusion
instructional field:
knowledge & skills
pedagogic
modalities:
spoken, written
visual, manual
projecting
Pedagogic activity: scaffolding learning cycles
Scales of activity
Curriculum programs
Lesson activities
Classroom interactions
Scaffolding lesson cycles: degrees of support
Providing three levels of support in lectures:
Level 1 Course programming
Level 2 Lecture activities
Level 3 Teacher-student interactions
1 Curriculum unit
from Core Science 1
2 Lesson unit
3 Detailed Reading
Rewriting from Notes
References
Most of these papers and reports can be downloaded at www.readingtolearn.com.au
Carbines, R., Wyatt, T. & Robb, L. 2005. Evaluation of the Years 7-10 English Aboriginal Support Pilot Project, Final Report.
Sydney: Office of the NSW Board of Studies http://ab-ed.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/go/english-literacy-710/evaluation-of-the-project
Christie, F. (1993) Curriculum Genres: planning for effective teaching. In Cope, B. & Kalantzis, M. (eds.) The Powers of
Literacy: a genre approach to teaching writing. London: Falmer, 154-78
Culican, S. (2006) Learning to Read: Reading to Learn, A Middle Years Literacy Intervention Research Project, Final Report
2003-4. Catholic Education Office: Melbourne. http://www.cecv.melb.catholic.edu.au/Research and Seminar Papers
Koop, C. and Rose, D. (2008) Reading to Learn in Murdi Paaki: changing outcomes for Indigenous students. Literacy
Learning: the Middle Years 16:1. 41-6
McRae, D., Ainsworth, G., Cumming, J., Hughes, P., Mackay, T. Price, K., Rowland, M., Warhurst, J., Woods, D. and Zbar, V.
(2000). What has Worked, and Will Again: the IESIP Strategic Results Projects. Canberra: Australian Curriculum Studies
Association, 24-26 www.acsa.edu.au (current 2009)
Martin, J.R. (2006). Metadiscourse: Designing Interaction in Genre-based Literacy Programs, in R. Whittaker, M. O'Donnell
and A. McCabe (eds) Language and Literacy: Functional Approaches. London: Continuum, 95-122.
Martin, J.R. & Rose, D. (2005). Designing literacy pedagogy: scaffolding asymmetries. In R. Hasan, C.M.I.M. Matthiessen and
J. Webster (eds.) Continuing Discourse on Language. London: Equinox, 251-280
Martin, J.R. & Rose, D. (2007a). Working with Discourse: meaning beyond the clause. London: Continuum (1st edition 2003)
Martin, J. R. & Rose, D. (2007b). Interacting with Text: the Role of Dialogue in Learning to Read and Write, Foreign
Languages in China. 4 (5): 66-80
Martin, J.R. & Rose, D. (2008). Genre Relations: Mapping Culture. London: Equinox
Rose, D. (1999) ‘Culture, Competence and Schooling: Approaches to Literacy Teaching in Indigenous School Education’, in F.
Christie (ed.) Pedagogy and the Shaping of Consciousness: Linguistic and Social Processes. London: Cassell. pp217- 245
Rose, D. (2004). Sequencing and Pacing of the Hidden Curriculum: how Indigenous children are left out of the chain. In J.
Muller, A. Morais & B. Davies (eds.) Reading Bernstein, Researching Bernstein. London: RoutledgeFalmer, 91-107
Rose, D. (2005). Democratising the Classroom: a Literacy Pedagogy for the New Generation. Journal of Education, 37:127164 www.ukzn.ac.za/joe/joe_issues.htm (current 2009)
Rose, D. (2006a). Scaffolding the English curriculum for Indigenous secondary students: Final Report for NSW 7-10 English
Syllabus, Aboriginal Support Pilot Project. Sydney: Office of the Board of Studies http://abed.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/go/english-literacy-7-10/evaluation-of-the-project
Rose, D. (2006b) Literacy and equality. A. Simpson (ed.) Proceedings of Future Directions in Literacy Conference. University
of Sydney 2006, 188-203 http://www.proflearn.edsw.usyd.edu.au/resources/2006_papers.shtml
Rose, D. (2006c). Reading genre: a new wave of analysis. Linguistics and the Human Sciences 2(2),185–204
Rose, D. (2007). A reading based model of schooling. Pesquisas em Discurso Pedagógico, 4: 2, 2007
http://www.maxwell.lambda.ele.puc-rio.br
Rose, D. (2008). Writing as linguistic mastery: the development of genre-based literacy pedagogy. Myhill, D., D. Beard, M.
Nystrand & J. Riley Handbook of Writing Development. London: Sage, 2008, 151-166
Rose, D. and Acevedo, C. (2006) ‘Closing the Gap and Accelerating Learning in the Middle Years of Schooling’, Australian
Journal of Language and Literacy. 14(2): 32-45 www.alea.edu.au/llmy0606.htm
Rose, D., Gray, B. & Cowey, W. (1999). Scaffolding Reading and Writing for Indigenous Children in School. In P. Wignell (ed.)
Double Power: English literacy and Indigenous education. Melbourne: National Language & Literacy Institute of Australia
(NLLIA), 23-60
Rose, D., Lui-Chivizhe, L., McKnight, A. and Smith, A. (2004) ‘Scaffolding Academic Reading and Writing at the Koori Centre’
Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 30th Anniversary Edition, 41-9 www.atsis.uq.edu.au/ajie,
Rose, D., Rose, M., Farrington, S and Page, S. (2008) Scaffolding Literacy for Indigenous Health Sciences Students. Journal of
English for Academic Purposes 7 (3), 166-180