Literacy in Encounter

Hi, I’m Lou Pope, Yr 8 Encounter. I started teaching in 2006 and have been lucky to have worked across a variety of contexts in that time, mainly in the Humanities and Wellbeing domains. However, my professional focus has been very much slanted towards the literacy realm since returning to teaching after a ‘mum’ hiatus. Having not come from an English major, I stepped back into the classroom, feeling somewhat the ‘weakest link’ in my teaching team, so I’ve made it a priority to develop my teaching of reading and writing over the last few years. More recently, within the Braemar Community, I’ve been engaging in ‘The Writing Revolution’ and ‘Science of Reading’ programs. This meant that the Literacy PLT really complemented what I was already trying in my own classes.

I really enjoyed the PLT - Kristen Malia did a great job leading and affirming us and I was impressed with the willingness everyone showed to try out different methods in their own classes. Most participants were affirming of the changes they were seeing in student outcomes, however small. From an Encounter perspective, some of the techniques I used that were particularly meaningful were sentence expansion, using appositives and notetaking exercises to enhance comprehension. These, used repetitively, really did enhance student understanding and quality of writing. By the end of it, students would ask how to enhance their own sentences and results. This was uplifting to see. I went into some of the exercises unsure of the benefits, but they were obvious after trying them out. This was affirmed when during an observation I was told ‘They (yr 8s) were actually trying and doing it!’.

I believe that if we adopt a whole school approach of embedding these techniques into our instructional model, then our literacy data should improve, and we will see the ‘language of literacy’ become a known expectation in student work across all years. However, I use the word should, with a disclaimer as teaching is complex and there are always many variables that influence student learning. I found that the writing strategies when combined with small group discussions, workshopping and providing exemplars helped me to meet the diverse learning needs of my students.

I structured activities that would provide me some insight into how students’ in my class learn best. I found that, breaking down the content, sitting with small groups of students and adjusting tasks according to individual students significantly enhanced results. I enjoyed this part as it allowed for student/teacher collaboration, boosting confidence and I saw the results. An ongoing challenge is how to reach all students when working with small groups and ensure they take ownership of their learning and value feedback. This challenge is important to address as we need to bridge the literacy gap that has emerged among young people. Has this gap been influenced by COVID, or is it a systemic cultural shift in focus and the dependence on devices? I’m not sure, but I’m enjoying the professional journey I’m on to find answers and am thankful for the opportunity this PLT provided.

Ms Louise Pope

Middle School Encounter Teacher.