Literacy Development, Higher Education, and the Achievement Gap

This chapter will explore the challenges of students entering college who have gaps in their literacy development. Historical events within education that have led to some of these skills set gaps will be reviewed. Additionally, causes and current remedies to help students as they try to navigate higher education while needing additional support with their literacy skills will be discussed. Finally, the issue of how colleges are forced to react to students who do not have the skills to compete with the expected academic rigor and steps needed to help both high school educators and professors remedy these instructional challenges will be reviewed.

PEDAGOGICAL PRACTICES ADOPTED BY TEACHERS WHEN TEACHING LEARNERS TAKING ENGLISH AS FIRST ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE IN LIFE SCIENCES CLASSROOMS

This study examined pedagogical practices adopted by teachers when teaching learners taking English as First Additional Language in Life Sciences classrooms. The inquiry adopted a generic qualitative design located within the interpretivist paradigm and involved purposively selected Life Sciences teachers and grade 10 learners from South African township schools as participants. Qualitative data was collected through semi-structured interviews and classroom observations. The empirical investigation is underpinned by the Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP) as the underlying theoretical framework. The study uncovered a myriad of instructional challenges facing Life Sciences teachers and learners associated with the use of English as a medium of instruction while it is taken as a First Additional Language by the learners. In particular, the terminology used in Life Sciences as a key knowledge domain posed fundamental instructional challenges in relation to meaningful development of enhanced learners’ conceptual understanding of scientific phenomena. Theoretical implications for meaningful science teaching and learning are discussed.

Find, Organize, Analyze, Critique

This chapter outlines frameworks, principles, and practices that can be helpful in teaching students how to “review the literature” as part of course assignments, capstone papers, theses, dissertations, or other similar writing experiences. Common student concerns and struggles are considered, along with other instructional challenges that are inherent in the teaching of diverse students who are researching and writing about diverse topics. This chapter also includes practical suggestions as to how instructors can support and scaffold students' literature review efforts in ways that align with the frameworks, principles, and practices discussed in this chapter.