1. Literacy in Technology Education Lesley Pearce and Glynn McGregor Developed from Aaron Wilson’s research and ideas TENZ Conference 2011

2. New Zealand Curriculum Each learning area has its own language. As students discover how to use them, they find they are able to think in different ways, access new areas of knowledge, and see their world from new perspectives (NZC, p.16)

3. Lifting Literacy Learning in Secondary School Classrooms Teachers need to ensure their students develop the literacy expertise that will enable them to engage with the curriculum at increasing levels of complexity and with increasing independence

4. It cannot simply be assumed that because students can read and write all the teacher needs to do is deliver the content. As they progress through schooling, students need to be able to read and write increasingly complex texts and to engage with increasingly complex tasks. At the same time, the subject matter that they read and write about becomes more abstract and specialised Teachers need to ask at every stage what demands the curriculum is making on students in each learning area and what specific language- related knowledge and skills they need to be aware of, or to teach

5. Teaching as Inquiry “Since any teaching strategy works differently in different contexts for different students, effective pedagogy requires that teachers inquire into the impact of their teaching on their students.” (NZC, p.35)

6. WHY… What is important and how do I know WHO HOW.. what are the strategies…pedag ogical choices WHAT… The what, and what happened as a result

7. Student 1. What do we need to know about the WHO? 2. What is important in terms of valuable knowledge 3. What strategies will service those outcomes 4. What happens as a result in terms of student learning

8. Shanahan & Shanahan (2008)

9. English language learners learn best when: They are provided with meaningful, high challenge/high support tasks Language learning is amplified rather than simplified They are engaged in long term projects that help them connect their funds of knowledge with newly acquired concepts and language over time Based on Walqui 2003

10. Subject-specific literacy demands in technology include Subject and context specialised vocabulary Reading unique text types e.g. technical manuals Writing unique text types e.g. briefs Writing research questions Note-taking Analysing/annotating attributes of other technological solutions

11. Students in a particular class begin the year with lower reading comprehension than their peers in another class In response, their teachers give them fewer opportunities to read, and when they do, the texts are simplified Therefore, they get less exposure to rich and authentic texts than their peers So, the gaps in reading comprehension between the two groups get even bigger

12. Literacy in technology is about knowing how technology texts “work”

13. Literate technologists…. See texts as technological outcomes Understand the purposes of the stakeholders (readers & writers of that text) Analyse the attributes of existing texts (reading) to inform the design of your own (writing) Understand the brief that the teacher-client gives the student-technologist to inform their reading or writing solution.

14. Putting it into practice…

15. Reading the images

16. Reading the captions

17. Predictions from images and captions Prediction. Prediction. Photographs. Photographs. Captions. Captions.

19. Scaffolding is placed around the outside of a new building to allow builders access to the emerging structure as it rises from the ground. Once the building is able to support itself, the builder removes the scaffolding. Jennifer Hammond

20. Literate technologists…. See texts as technological outcomes Understand the purposes of the stakeholders (readers & writers of that text) Analyse the attributes of existing texts (reading) to inform the design of your own (writing) Understand the brief that the teacher-client gives the student-technologist to inform their reading or writing solution.

21. Vocabulary Jumble iconicpedestriancapacityutilityspan ‘bridge structures’ sacredsingle-span justify ‘socio-cultural considerations’ ‘fitness for purpose’ ‘design elements’ ‘material selection’ explain ‘performance specification’ ‘outline how’ evocative prioritisation ‘strengthening functions’ client brief“go like a dream” truss “won the bid” environmental MIPENZ ribs ‘culturally significant’ tangata whenua ‘cable stay’ harmonious yielding usurping ‘concrete abutments’ fabrication ‘reinforcing steel’ ‘elastomeric bearing pads’

22. Three types of vocabulary Tier 2 vocabulary (high literate general use) e.g. usurp, tangata whenua Specialised subject vocabulary e.g. stakeholder, brief General academic vocabulary e.g. explain, analyse

23. Traffic Light Activity Green: All words you are very confident you know the meaning of. Orange: Words you have seen before but are a little unsure about their meaning. Red:Words that are completely new to you. When you have carried out this unit with your students what strategies do you think you could use to help them gain an understanding of the orange and red words?

24. Summarising in your own words Jot down 20 important words from the article Now choose the 6 MOST important words Now use those six words to sum up the article in a couple of sentences

25. Back to -Iconic Te Rewa Rewa Bridge Case Study

26. Questions we should consider asking of reading and writing texts in technology Audience & Purpose Ideas Background knowledge Vocabulary Organisation Sentence level features

27. Audience and purpose Why would a technology teacher want his/her students to read this text?

28. Ideas What are the main ideas you want students to take from this text?

29. Background knowledge What prior knowledge will be important to activate? What prior knowledge might get in the way of the reading purpose? What gaps in prior knowledge might disrupt meaning-making?

30. As language is central to learning and English is the medium for most learning in The New Zealand Curriculum, the importance of literacy in English cannot be overstated.

31. “Cheat Sheets”

32. Thank you for listening and participating I touch the future: I teach