Education Commons^™

Preservice Teachers As Document Detectives, Lorna Quinnell, Radha Iyer, Bronwyn Ewing

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Literacy today relies on a readers’ ability to analyse text critically. This case study investigated preservice teachers’ critical analysis of media text containing visuals and representations. In particular, the analysis focused on mathematical factors that impact on readers’ interpretation of diverse visuals.

Data was gathered from the 23 preservice teachers, enrolled in the Graduate Diploma program at one Australian university. They participated in a series of mathematics learning sessions focused on the critical analysis of a selection of media items.

The paper argues that the ability to critically analyse graphs and visuals relies on mathematical knowledge and that the ability …

Beating The Bamboozle: Literacy Pedagogy Design And The Technicality Of Sfl, Erika Matruglio

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper explores the issue of metalanguage and writing instruction in the senior secondary curriculum. It reports on the use of a design based research collaboration between a very experienced teacher of Ancient History and a research team with the aim of improving literacy outcomes for a group of disadvantaged students. The case highlights some of the challenges implicated in this close work between educational linguistic theorists as language specialists and classroom practitioners as subject specialists. In particular, it raises the issue of how to provide already experienced teachers with a metalanguage to express their implicit knowledge about text more …

Can Secondary Teaching Graduates Support Literacy In The Classroom? Evidence From Undergraduate Assignments, Brian R. Moon, Barbara R. Harris, Anne-Maree Hays

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Education policy in Australia and comparable countries requires that all secondary content teachers actively teach the literacy of their learning area and support the literacy development of students in their classes. In this paper we present evidence on the capacity of graduating teachers to meet that obligation. We review assessment data from 393 Initial Teacher Education students who completed a core unit in secondary curriculum literacy prior to graduation. We report that while the majority met the unit requirements, approximately 30% graduated as teachers with marginal or inadequate capacity to teach the literacy of their subject or support student learning …