Papers by Andrew James Cole
Critical literacy is an instructional practice that seeks to uncover the relationship between the... more Critical literacy is an instructional practice that seeks to uncover the relationship between the written word and power, with an eye towards transformative social action. While there is a great deal of literature on the subject, little relates specifically to the experiences of East Asian or international school students.
Ideally, any curriculum design or proposed change to a curriculum should try to account for the v... more Ideally, any curriculum design or proposed change to a curriculum should try to account for the variables of language acquisition, prior knowledge and educational systems and potential cultural differences among the students. This is something that I view as very important, not only because of my role as a teacher in an international school setting, but also because of the globalised context we find ourselves in, which brings its own set of unique opportunities and challenges.
My proposed lesson sequence deals with ancient peoples (Indus Valley, Greeks, Romans, Vikings and... more My proposed lesson sequence deals with ancient peoples (Indus Valley, Greeks, Romans, Vikings and Anglo-Saxons). The objectives to this sequence are twofold -first to encourage awareness of and sensitivity to cultures and histories outside of Thailand, second to use reading, writing and critical thinking skills towards a practical end that is interesting to the students. The students are required to research one of the aforementioned cultures and create a display about the culture, history, location and stories of their chosen people.
Drafts by Andrew James Cole
Critical literacy is an instructional practice that seeks to uncover the relationship between the... more Critical literacy is an instructional practice that seeks to uncover the relationship between the written word and power, with an eye towards transformative social action. While there is a great deal of literature on the subject, little relates specifically to the experiences of East Asian or international school students. Thus, this case study investigates how international school students in China perceive and experience various key concepts related to critical literacy, such as power structures and social justice, and related pedagogical approaches, such as dialogic teaching and active reading, focusing on IGCSE Literature students from a single international school in Shanghai. It is structured around guiding research questions: the extent to which the students understand key critical literacy concepts, such as power structures, critical analysis, and social justice; how much awareness the students have of social inequalities; how the students perceive and respond to texts; and, finally, what connections the students can make between the texts, the world and themselves. Evidence, gathered from online questionnaires and follow-up interviews, implies the students understand many key critical literacy concepts and supports the literature in the effect student agency has on responses to texts. The data also suggests the impact that the specific intersecting identities as international school students, many from a Confucian Heritage Culture, has on the interpretations and experiences of these concepts and that this consideration of identity as it relates to experiences of critical literacy remains an area worthy of deeper exploration.
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Papers by Andrew James Cole
Drafts by Andrew James Cole