Literacy in the technology
classroom
Aaron Wilson
In-service/Pre-service Technology
Education Hui
Wednesday 25 May, 2011
Literacy Levers
Subject
Literacy
NZ Curriculum
 Each learning area has its own
language. As students discover how to
use them, they find they are able to think
in different ways, access new areas of
knowledge, and see their world from new
perspectives
(NZC, p.16)
Inquiry focus
 “Since any teaching strategy works
differently in different contexts for
different students, effective pedagogy
requires that teachers inquire into the
impact of their teaching on their
students.”
(NZC, p.35)
Shanahan & Shanahan (2008)
English language learners
learn best when:
 They are provided with meaningful,
high challenge/high support tasks;
 Language learning is amplified
rather than simplified;
 They are engaged in long term
projects that help them connect
their funds of knowledge with
newly acquired concepts and
language over time.
Based on Walqui 2003
Students in a particular
class begin the year
with lower reading
comprehension than
their peers in another
class
So, the gaps in reading
comprehension between
the two groups get even
bigger
In response, their teachers
give them fewer
opportunities to read, and
when they do, the texts are
simplified
Therefore, they get less
exposure to rich and
authentic texts than their
peers
Scaffolding
Scaffolding is placed
around the outside of a
new building to allow
builders access to the
emerging structure as
it rises from the
ground. Once the
building is able to
support itself, the
builder removes the
scaffolding.
- Jennifer Hammond
Reading and writing float on a
sea of talk
(Britton,1993)
Subject-specific literacy
demands in technology include:
 Subject and context specialised
vocabulary
 Reading unique text types e.g. technical
manuals
 Writing unique text types e.g. briefs
 Writing research questions
 Note-taking
 Analysing/annotating attributes of other
technological solutions
Literacy in technology is
about knowing how
technology texts “work”
Literate technologists….
 See texts as technological outcomes
 Understand the purposes of the
stakeholders (readers & writers of that
text)
 Analyse the attributes of existing texts
(reading) to inform the design of your own
(writing)
 Understand the brief that the teacherclient gives the student-technologist to
inform their reading or writing solution.
Iconic Te Rewa Rewa Bridge
Reading and writing texts in
technology






Audience & Purpose
Ideas
Background knowledge
Vocabulary
Organisation
Sentence level features
Audience and purpose
 Why would a technology teacher want
his/her students to read this text?
Ideas
 What are the main ideas you want
students to take from this text?
Background knowledge
 What prior knowledge will be important to
activate?
 What prior knowledge might get in the
way of the reading purpose?
 What gaps in prior knowledge might
disrupt meaning-making?
Vocabulary Jumble
iconic
pedestrian
capacity
utility
span
‘bridge structures’
sacred
single-span
‘socio-cultural considerations’
‘fitness for purpose’
‘design elements’
‘material selection’ ‘performance specification’
‘outline how’
evocative
prioritisation
‘strengthening functions’ extension client
brief “go like a dream” truss “won the bid”
environmental
MIPENZ
ribs explain
‘culturally significant’ justify
tangata whenua
‘cable stay’
harmonious
yielding
usurping
‘concrete abutments’
fabrication ‘reinforcing steel’
‘elastomeric bearing pads’
Three types of vocabulary
 Tier 2 vocabulary (high literate general
use) e.g. usurp, tangata whenua
 Specialised subject vocabulary e.g.
stakeholder, brief
 General academic vocabulary e.g.
explain, analyse
Traffic Light Activity
Green: all words you are very confident you
know the meaning of
Orange: words you have seen before but
are a little unsure about their meaning
Red: words that are completely new to you
A vocabulary learning sequence
 Inquiry to identify existing knowledge and
needs
 Explicit instruction
 Repeated opportunities to practice –
both receptive and productive
 Metacognition e.g.
– Memory strategies
– Word-solving strategies
 Inquiry into effectiveness of teaching
sequence, and planning next steps.
Word-solving strategies
 Context clues
 Morphology (roots, prefixes, suffixes)
Text Organisation
1. Te Rewa Rewa structured overview
2. Topic sentences
3. Graphic organisers to support notetaking
Needed
for:
Examples
carbohydrates
Food
for
energy
Needed
for:
proteins
Examples
Come from
Come from
Needed
for:
lipids
Examples
Come from
Types of Food for Energy
Food group
Carbohydrates
Proteins
Lipids
Come
from:
Needed
for:
Examples
of:
Summarising in your own words
 Jot down 20 important words from the
article
 Now choose the 6 MOST important
words
 Now use those six words to sum up the
article in a couple of sentences
Sentence-level features
Implied links
 Challenges WCE faced began with
timing the purchase of the steel during a
time when international prices were
soaring. WDC took a risk and bought the
arch, toe and heel tubes before the
design detail was completed.
 What is the relationship between the first
& second sentence?
 Ingenious engineering provided the
solution. To launch it across the river the
bridge was winched up, supported on the
cleaned carriages of two old excavators,
then three cranes lifted it onto the
abutments.
 What is the relationship between the first
& second sentence?
Nominalisation
1. The brief stipulated that there be no
contamination or disturbance of the river
vs
2. The brief stipulated that the engineers
could not disturb or contaminate the river
What makes Sentence 1 more difficult than
Sentence 2?
Nominalisation
1. Every element has a strengthening
function, including the handrails.
vs
2. Every element makes the bridge
stronger. The hand rails are not just there
to make the bridge safer and to look
better –they have another function which
is to strengthen the bridge.
What makes Sentence 1 more difficult than
Sentence 2?
More nominalisations
Technical
Everyday language
language
Fabrication
Design
considerations
Asymmetrical
structure
Low-lying
terrain
Sentence completion
 After seeds have formed, they are
usually scattered, far from where they
were produced. _______________ is
called seed dispersal.
 After seeds have formed, they are
usually scattered, far from where they
were produced. This process of
scattering is called seed dispersal.
Sentence completion
 The handrails make the bridge stronger.
Every other element also has a similar
____________________ .
 The bridge designers consulted many
different people in the community.
_________________ took many months
to complete.
Summarising in your own words
 Jot down 20 important words from the
article
 Now choose the 6 MOST important
words
 Now use those six words to sum up the
article in a couple of sentences
Paraphrasing
 Have students translate technical
language into everyday language and
vice versa.
Translate into scientific
language
 The makers of the bridge had to ask lots
of people what kind of bridge they
wanted in their town.
 Heaps of different people worked
together to plan and build a bridge.
 Not only is the bridge really strong, it
looks cool too.
Translate into everyday
language
 The arches spring from two concrete
abutments and one end moves on
elastomeric bearing pads.
 Fitzroy Engineering was well placed to
fabricate the superstructure.