There are several articles about disciplinary literacy that I have
learned from, but one of my favorites is a recent one, “What is Disciplinary
Literacy and Why Does it Matter?” by Timothy Shanahan and Cynthia Shanahan. It
was printed in an entire issue on disciplinary literacy in Topics in Language Disorders.
I like it because it gives a clear distinction between disciplinary
literacy and content area literacy. | content area literacy
(novices) |
disciplinary literacy
(experts) |
| Generalizable study skills |
Knowledge/skills used by disciplinary experts |
| Reading and writing to learn a subject/content |
Strategies and tools unique to the discipline |
| Techniques used to help students remember texts |
Techniques help students do the work of an
expert |
| Differences among disciplines are largely ignored |
What's special or unique to reading a discipline-specific
text? |
| Learners may be struggling readers or less motivated |
What's special or unique when writing a discipline-specific
text? |
| Learners may be proficient readers ready to explore the
discipline |
It also shares some of the research Shanahan & Shanahan have
done to find out what expert readers do.
Quotes for later use:
“Disciplinary literacy… is an emphasis on the knowledge and
abilities possessed by those who create, communicate, and use knowledge within
the disciplines” (p.8).
"The focus of content area instruction is less on providing
students with an insider's perspective of a discipline and ways of coping with
the unique properties of particular disciplines than on providing students with
tools to better remember the information regardless of the nature of the
discipline" (p.12).
Shanahan T., Shanahan C. (2012). What is disciplinary literacy and why does it matter? Topics in Language Disorders, 32(1), 7–18.
