While disciplinary literacy is essential to student success, often postsecondary educators expect students to be able to read critically using “advanced reading strategies and interpretive approaches” to interpret the text “without [the instructor] explicitly teaching them how to do so” (Eckert, 2008, p. 111). One solution is to teach using a theoretical lens to expand students’ ability to analyze and respond to texts (p. 113). Also important to enhancing students’ literacy skills is connecting secondary and postsecondary reading strategies to create a bridge of sorts between the tasks and skills required of each level of education (Flippo, 2011).

Questions

So, how can we approach infusing disciplinary literacy instruction into our already packed class schedules? First, we need to admit that content coverage is not the same as learning. We can cover the content in our class, but are students actually learning and retaining that information? Furthermore, can they do anything with it? If the goal is learning, how are we helping students reach that goal?

There are a few questions we can ask ourselves to prepare to teach our students disciplinary literacy (Gabriel, 2023):

1. What’s the purpose of the text, and who’s the audience?
2. What texts are included in the lesson?
3. What are students using the text to do?
4. Who is in the discipline?
5. What is the disciplinary community using the text to do?

Ultimately, the goal of literacy is the same as the goal of individual disciplines: “finding, sharing, and constructing meaning” (Gabriel). It is integral to our teaching and students’ authentic and meaningful learning. The importance is not disciplinary literacy for its own sake, but rather increasing disciplinary literacy so students can actually do something with it. It gives students the tools they need to “read, write, talk, and do the authentic work of the discipline” (Gabriel).

Practical Strategies

How can we turn disciplinary literacy into teaching and learning action? While they can be helpful, generalizable strategies like graphic organizers, may not be enough in some disciplines. Dr. Kathleen Cullen of Utica University (2016) offers the following tips for teaching disciplinary literacy in different disciplines:

Mathematics

• Explain the importance of chapter titles and section headings
• Model reading and interpreting every feature of a mathematical text (e.g., charts, graphs, symbols, equations, questions, exercises)
• Build in examples and repetitive practice for transferring learning to new problems; encourage re-reading of examples to improve comprehension
• In digital texts, demonstrate how to display figures and companion explanations digitally (e.g., split screen, dual monitors, etc.)

History

• Explain the importance of context and authorship in historical texts and reading through historical and contemporary lenses
• Model reading and interpreting every feature of a historical text (e.g., text, charts, figures, photographs)
• Build in opportunities to examine authorial and reader attitudes, culture, biases, political convictions, and religious beliefs
• Demonstrate how to read the same text from different perspectives

Science

• Explain the importance of chapter titles and section headings
• Model reading and interpreting every feature of a scientific text (e.g., sentences, paragraphs, nominalized terms, classification charts, graphs, symbols)
• Build in practice alternating strategies for reading different parts of a science text (i.e., moving between a paragraph to a graphic and then back to another paragraph)
• Demonstrate how to switch between and interpret different scientific “texts,” such as a textbook, lab packet, microscope, and cadaver

The ultimate goal of disciplinary literacy instruction is to involve students in authentic learning. The emphasis is on teaching students how to apply content knowledge and skills within a specific discipline, emphasizing practical, real-world application as opposed to mere memorization. The approach recognizes that texts in different disciplines serve distinct purposes and audiences and have specific conventions. Thus, disciplinary literacy provides opportunities for students to cultivate multiple literacies. In essence, it goes beyond imparting subject-specific knowledge to include comprehensive literacy skills (Gabriel, 2023).

References: 

Cullen, K. A. (2016). Disciplinary literacy. In Munger, K.A. (Ed), Steps to success: Crossing the bridge between literacy research and practice. Open SUNY. https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-hccc-childrenslit/chapter/disciplinary-literacy/ 

Eckert, L. S. (2008/2014).  Bridging the pedagogical gap: Intersections between literary and reading theories in secondary and postsecondary literacy instruction.  In Armstrong, S. L., Stahl, N. A., & Boylan, H. R. (Eds.). Teaching developmental reading: Historical, theoretical, and practical background readings (2nd ed.) (pp. 81-93). Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s. (Reprinted from Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 52(2), pp. 110-118).

Flippo, R. F. (2011/2014). Transcending the divide: Where college and secondary reading and study research coincide. In Armstrong, S. L., Stahl, N. A., & Boylan, H. R. (Eds.). Teaching developmental reading: Historical, theoretical, and practical background readings (2nd ed.) (pp. 94-103). Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s. (Reprinted from Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 54(6), pp. p396-401).

Gabriel, R. (2023). Disciplinary literacy means doing the discipline. Teachers College Press, 81(4). Retrieved from https://www.ascd.org/el/articles/disciplinary-literacy-means-doing-the-discipline