Supporting Secondary Teachers’ Critical Disciplinary Literacies

Reviewed by Tim Sears, Associate Professor of Practice, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley on 12/16/24

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The text covers many disciplines through specific secondary-level lesson examples and high-engagement instructional and assessment strategies that can be learned and adapted to a range of lessons in any discipline. Although there is not an index or glossary, terms and strategies are often hyperlinked and each chapter is hyperlinked for ease of access. The author and 17 of her university students (secondary pre-service teacher candidates) contributed to the text, which emphasizes and describes how to 'do' disciplinary literacy with any text, not just discipline-specific textbooks. There is a focus on issues of equity for each discipline-specific secondary lesson. The differences and connections between disciplinary literacy and critical disciplinary literacy (CDL) are described in the text's introductory chapter and then explored through each chapter.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The text is error-free and unbiased; in fact, critical disciplinary literacy (CDL) framework skills are discussed and identified in each chapter's secondary-level lesson. The overview section at the beginning of each chapter highlights useful hyperlinked resources, and scholarly and practical references are included at the end of some chapters.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

A wide range of CDL strategies based on research-based best practices are relevant, and the high-engagement strategies used and explained are relevant to any secondary discipline. The text's four primary objectives are achieved through the use of collaborative strategies such as fishbowl discussion, Socratic seminar, poster carousel, Cornell notes and other organizational strategies, and jigsaw.

Clarity rating: 5

The text is written clearly, and relevant terms and concepts are described in the introduction and in subsequent chapters. Various references and practical lesson materials created and shared as Google documents are included in each chapter.

Consistency rating: 5

Each chapter begins with an overview following the same format: the relevant disciplinary literacy skill aligned to a national standard; one or more critical literacy skills (Lewison, Flint, & Sluys, 2002); and hyperlinked instructional resources needed to implement the secondary lesson described in the chapter.

Modularity rating: 5

The Introduction describes the purpose, overview, objectives, and theory relevant to each of the 17 secondary lessons. Each lesson is discipline-specific (i.e., biology, social studies, mathematics, gender studies, and literature). Since multiple hyperlinks and, in some cases, additional references are provided in each chapter -- along with the step-by-step guide to the CDL lesson -- each chapter and lesson is quite modular in nature. Students could be encouraged to apply a specific high engagement strategy or CDL strategy to their discipline or to another discipline, which makes each chapter's example highly useful to any preservice educator in a university educator preparation program.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The topics are discrete since each lesson has a different secondary discipline focus and/or a different high-engagement CDL strategy. The strategies could be described as discussion-based (e.g., fishbowl discussion, collaborative conversation), organizational (e.g., Cornell notes, Venn diagram); or reading-based (i.e., guided close reading or jigsaw). Therefore, the chapters could be organized in that way or in order by discipline (e.g., science, social studies); the nature of the text encourages further exploration and the useful hyperlinks in the table of contents make moving around the text very easy.

Interface rating: 5

The interface is free of issues, making the text easy to follow and navigate.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

No grammatical errors were observed.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The range of discipline-specific examples used in the secondary lessons addressed issues of equity, popular media resources, and popular culture. The critical disciplinary literacy (CDL) strategies complemented the lesson topics that included examination of residential segregation, poverty and housing insecurity, current and historical viruses, gender, and literature of various types.

Reviewed by Heidi Ragno, Adjunct Professor, Springfield Technical Community College on 5/28/24

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This book is a comprehensive tool for teachers, which highlights many strategies the teacher can incorporate into their best practices at the secondary level

Content Accuracy rating: 5

This book has en excellent layout and materials are all accurate and cited properly. The authors do a great job to limit bias, even discussing bias and equitable teaching

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

This book is an excellent resource for secondary teachers, as it offers simple to follow tools to utilize in the classroom. Each chapter comes with a video to describe the lessons and their use in the classroom, as well, which is very relevant and helpful.

Clarity rating: 5

This book is written well for the reader to utilize, as the reader is likely a secondary educator

Consistency rating: 5

The style of the book is to incorporate the ideas and lessons from a variety of authors. This strategy is made consistent by the layout of the chapters and how the lessons are formatted.

Modularity rating: 5

The layout of these modules are very easy to digest and understand.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The order and pacing of the content is well organized

Interface rating: 5

The interface is simple to use and understand

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The text is grammatically accurate and I could see no evidence of typos throughout

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The first chapter introduces the concept of residential segregation, which introduces the concepts surrounding equity and inclusion within our teaching practices. The book incorporates the ideas of many different teachers from all backgrounds.

Comments

I think this is a great resource and I love the availability for teachers. It is relevant and I could see this being used as a required text in a class for secondary teachers. Very well done and well formatted