Literature Review #3

Thinking about Social Justice Issues in Literacy

Short, K. (2009). Critically Reading the Word and World:Building Intercultural

Understanding through Literature, Bookbird, 47 (2), 1-10.

REFLECTION:

Short’s article explains a curriculum framework for intercultural understanding that has four parts. The four parts include personal cultural identities, cross cultural studies, integration of international perspectives, and, inquiries on global issues. The focus in the article is to encourage critical literacy in teachers’ pedagogy, and in students’ learning. Short begins with the personal. The author is always looking for ways to teach students how to go deeper into the meaning of the themes that define their lives. The use of international critical literature provides “both a mirror and a window for children as they look out on ways of viewing the world and reflect back on themselves in a new light” (Short, 2009). Short gives examples and insight into implementing the four parts of her curriculum framework. Throughout the framework, there are many opportunities to look at multicultural perspectives. There were examples of pictures books and young adult novels that addressed social justice issues, including the rights of the individual to a discussion of human rights. Throughout their critical reading, the students discussed the strategies that characters used “to take action on some of the issues they identified in their own school context” (Short, 2009). In Short’s conclusion, she discusses the importance of helping children to think critically in every aspect of their lives. This is an applicable framework for the “development of intercultural understanding through literature” (Short, 2009).

Vitali. (2014). Teaching with Stories as the Content and Context for Learning. In: University of New

Mexico

REFLECTION:

The UNM faculty member that I would like to introduce is Dr. Frances Vitali. Dr. Vitali, or Dr. V to me, is guiding me through the last year of my masters in TEELP. The TEELP masters is Teacher Education, Education Leadership and Policy with a heavy emphasis on being a teacher practitioner. The assigned literature in our EDUC 513 class, “The Process of Reflection & Inquiry”, aligns well with the readings from Dr. Sung’s LLSS 500 class “Issues in Language Literacy and Sociocultural Studies”. The de los Rios article, “Picturing Ethnic Studies: Photovoice and Youth Literacies of Social Action” (Module 4) discusses the “literacy pedagogy of Photovoice” which is a visual literacy that encourages students to engage in literacy and make connections to social issues. This project gives students a chance to tell their stories. Dr. Vitali’s teacher practitioner article focuses on the efficacy of storytelling as a tool for learning and sharing multiple literacies.

Dr. Frances Vitali, PhD is an instructor with UNM’s College of Education. Dr. Vitali is a site coordinator, and, clinical supervisor, as well as being an instructor, in Farmington, NM. She published the article “Navajo cybersovereignty: Digital Dine weaving the World Wide Web into an oral Culture”. In 2010, she presented “Learning beside your Students with Digital Portfolios” for the Innovations in Leadership and Learning Conference. Dr. Vitali is also active in the Bisti Writing Project which is part of the National Writing Project. I participated in the Bisti Writing Project, and found like-minded teachers wanting to practice, discuss, and share the importance of writing in our worlds. Dr. Vitali was my instructor for “Teaching Reading and Writing in the Content Field”. This class reinforced the importance, and validity of writing across the curriculum. I spent over half of my career in elementary and I had to integrate content with writing. I was working with second and third graders who did an excellent job. Something happens when students get to middle school. Back to Dr. V. Her research interests include “storytelling in education, teacher education, practitioner research, social justice, critical pedagogy”. Dr. V is a role model for me. She always has something positive to say about those people lucky enough to spend time with her. Dr. V is an excellent listener. Our cohort has spent a great deal of time discussing our practitioner research ideas. Dr. Vitali listens and provides critical feedback in regards to our practitioner research.

Dr. Vitali’s article, “Teaching with Stories as the Content and Context for Learning” is about using students’ family’s stories. Vitali states that “students seeking out their own family stories validated their own sense of belonging and self-identity”. The study had another thread which was that the coaches were preservice undergraduate teacher candidates. “Preservice teacher candidates connect theory from their methods courses with the practice of coaching in the classroom where students’ family stories become the content and context for writing and reading.” Vitali (date) p.33.