There is no better way to kick off this blog then really breaking down new and upcoming ways to teach the future. No matter what subject you are looking to teach, every teacher should be made aware of disciplinary literacy. Along with understanding the definition, teachers should understand how it compares to content, content area, and “metadiscursivity”. Disciplinary literacy is how to use reading of a certain subject to excel in comprehension. However, this differs from content area reading which is just how to read the material of a certain subject, so the class would be easier and a student can pass tests. Disciplinary literacy is about learning how to read the information like an expert of the field would read it. We want our students to think like an expert of the material. This in turn will work with content area reading to boost their ability to excel on tests and quizzes (Wolsey and Lapp, 2017). Essentially, disciplinary literacy is a lens we want our students to read through. The content, which is just the actual material, information, and/or subject, can be tricky sometimes for our middle school age students. They are diving into more difficult subjects or content area, as us teachers like to say. When we make our students start thinking and reading like the experts, it will help them break content down. For example, during my freshman year of college, I took a writing class that pushed us to write like literary scholars (something I am not). The whole semester was focused on studying their writing and analyzing how they got their message across. We looked not only how they structure their papers, but why they did it that way. After building knowledge on literacy scholars, my classmates and I could begin to write like them. We used a lens to write our papers about material that I had no previous exposer.
It is also important that all teachers understand the word “metadiscursivity”. According to Moje’s research, “metadiscursivity” is understanding that, “people not only engage in many different discourse communities, but also know how and why they are engaging, and what those engagements mean for them and others in terms of social positioning and larger power relations” (Moje, 2008). Teachers need to keep this in mind because it will help them promote disciplinary literacy. Students already participate in “metadiscursivity” every day with their friends, family, and society. Now, the teacher needs to have them keep that mindset within school across the disciplines. The students need to understand why they are reading, who they are reading for, and how to respond to the reading. While this can be a tricky mindset for students to first grasp, practice is key. So, teachers become coaches for your students and practice disciplinary literacy every day.
Moje, E.B. (2008). Foregrounding the disciplines in secondary literacy teaching and learning: A call for change. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 52(2), 96-107
Wolsey, T. D., & Lapp, D. (2017). Literacy in the disciplines: A teacher’s guide for grades 5-12. Chapter 1. New York, NY: Guilford.
Teaching: The Art of Being a Forever Learner 
I really enjoyed reading your blog. I thought it was especially effective that you used personal examples and referenced how you will use the concept of disciplinary literacy in your own classroom. The example you used regarding your college course perfectly summed up what disciplinary literacy looks like in the classroom. Like you said, it is important to differentiate between simply reading content and reading like an expert of content. When I first read Moje’s article, I thought that the topic of metadiscursivity was intriguing. You mentioned that students already practice metadiscursivity in their everyday lives. You did an excellent job of explaining what this concept means. You said that “students need to understand what they are reading, who they are reading for, and how to respond to the reading.” Outside of school, students understand what they read and the value it holds. A teacher’s job is to challenge students to continue this thinking inside the classroom. I like that you ended your blog persuasively. This definitely added a more personal touch. You encouraged teachers to coach students to use disciplinary literacy every day in the classroom. As teachers, it is our duty to teach students to think like an expert!
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“I took a writing class that pushed us to write like literary scholars (something I am not). The whole semester was focused on studying their writing and analyzing how they got their message across. We looked not only how they structure their papers, but why they did it that way.” — Your example of the writing class is exactly what Moje others mean when they talk about disciplinary literacy. Having experienced it from a student’s perspective, you have special insight into what might have word for you and what might not have. What do you think you would need to do if you wanted to apply such a writing course to high school students? What about middle school students? Do you think it could work? What would you need to adapt?
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