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Patrick Nobby

Arizona State University

RDG 323 Module 2 Reflection

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Disciplinary literacy as a concept was somewhat hard for me to comprehend as it seems so

nebulous, without much of a definition beyond that it contains and recommends a number of

good education practices. However, in this past unit, we have put it to the test and gone through a

number of more practical applications, which has helped clear up the topic for me.

The question to specifically answer for this reflection is “how can I plan and design

instruction so students will actively engage in literacy and discipline specific activities?” While

we have been learning for the past few years within this program how to engage students and

ensure that each one is, in a sense, getting out of the lesson what they need, we have not really

touched much upon making sure they interact with the specific literacies and disciplines, rather

than just understanding them. “Many school administrators, teachers and parents want the

education provided to children to be high quality, rigorous and connected to the world

outside the classroom” (Health). We have a number of methods as teachers with which do

accomplish this, whether it be a digital or physical tool utilized to aid the lesson, or a tactic

someone has developed which allows us to delve further into a given topic. Kathy Dyer at

NWEA gave a list of over 70 tools that can be used for these functions, including one called

Spark, which allows teachers to add digital graphics to documents and PDFs, and another

called Quia, an online quiz creator.

One method I personally like is a focus on the students actually learning the material

given, rather than focusing on grades. Frey and Fisher from IRA Essentials mention a case

study that focuses on this, and state “Students who do not earn a passing grade of at least 70%

receive an “incomplete” rather than a failing grade. The students in this class have learned that it

is essential to master each part of the curriculum, not simply hope that the law of averages will

result in a passing grade for the course” (Frey). In this example, the students learn to focus on
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learning itself, rather than just passing the test, especially assuming they get another chance at

taking it.

Finally, given the difficult times we exist in, learning to utilize these methods in an online

format is increasingly important, and Catlin Tucker gives great insight on how to do so. “Asking

students to craft the norms and expectations for their online interactions gives them ownership of

the space and creates an incentive for them to abide by these guidelines” (Tucker). Creating a

space the students feel comfortable in is paramount to any work actually getting done.

Now to be honest, I like to remember that education is still a relatively new field, and

educating every member of society is something we have only tried for the past century or so. So

we don’t truly know the best way to go about any of this, but it is extremely important that we

continue to try.
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Works Cited

Heath Wickline March 4, 2015 jQuery( document ).ready(function(){ jQuery(".facebook-

share").on("click". “Creating the Conditions for Deeper Learning.” Hewlett Foundation,

Hewlett Foundation, 6 Feb. 2018, hewlett.org/creating-the-conditions-for-deeper-learning/.

Kathy Dyer January. “75 Digital Tools and Apps Teachers Can Use to Support Formative

Assessment in the Classroom.” Teach. Learn. Grow., NWEA, 31 July 2020,

www.nwea.org/blog/2019/75-digital-tools-apps-teachers-use-to-support-classroom-

formative-assessment/.

Frey, Nancy, and Douglas Fisher. “Assessments That Highlight Strengths and Challenges.”

Secondary Literacies, IRA Essentials, May 2014,

secondaryliteracies.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/assessments-strengths-challenges.pdf.

Tucker, Catlin R. “Successfully Taking Offline Classes Online.” Successfully Taking Offline

Classes Online - Educational Leadership, 0AD, www.ascd.org/publications/educational-

leadership/summer20/vol77/num10/Successfully-Taking-Offline-Classes-Online.aspx.