Literacy and Education: Understanding the New Literacy Studies in the Classroom

'If we take the book "Literacy and Education: Understanding New Literacy Studies in the Classroom" seriously, it may help us teachers in training, teachers in the field, teaching theorists and researchers to learn more about ourselves and our teaching' - "Journal of Early Childhood Literacy". 'The best introduction to the theory and practice of New Literacy Studies available today for teachers, though policy-makers and researchers should also read it' - James Paul Gee, University of Wisconsin-Madison. 'This long awaited, accessible text shows how key research strands into the nature of contemporary literacy can reinvigorate classroom practice. Technological advances have transformed literacy practices in all spheres of learners' lives and Pahl and Rowsell show through real examples, how pedagogical practice can accommodate these developments. This is a must for all those involved in all levels of literacy education' - Dr Julia Davies, Deputy Head of the School of Education, The University of Sheffield. "Literacy and Education: Understanding the New Literacy Studies in the Classroom" is a practical guide to applying New Literacy Studies in primary, secondary and family literacy contexts. It represents a comprehensive look at how to rethink, redefine, and redesign language in the classroom to meet contemporary needs and skills of students based on current literacy research, theory and practice. Each chapter profiles key themes within New Literacy Studies including: literacy and identity, multimodality and multiliteracies, bridging home-school literacy practices, and literacy and globalization. The book follows an accessible format with multiple activities in each chapter, theory boxes highlighting seminal research and theory; suggestions for classroom design and planning ideas; and New Literacy Studies assessment framework; and vignettes of New Literacy Studies and, Multiliteracies classrooms in Britain and Canada, as well as a comprehensive glossary of terms. "Literacy and Education: Understanding the New Literacy Studies in the Classroom" brings research and practice together and is a valuable resource for teachers-in-training, practising teachers, and students studying literacy education at the graduate level. Allan Luke Dean, Centre for Research in Pedagogy and Practice, Singapore, prefaces the book with a look to the international importance of understanding and implementing New Literacy Studies in pedagogy and practice Jim Cummins Professor, OISE/University of Toronto, concludes the book with an eye to local settings and the necessity for us to accommodate the diverse literacy needs of students and clearly illustrates how New Literacy Studies fills such a niche.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Taking Account of the Local The New Literacy Studies and Teaching Literacy Where We Were and Where We Are Going Multimodal Literacies New Ways of Reading and Writing Children's Texts go to School Bridging Local and Global Literacies Literacy and Identity Who are the Meaning-Makers? Navigating New Literacies for New Times Shaping Curriculum and Pedagogy Conclusion Literacy Today ... and Tomorrow

Review :
'This long awaited, accessible text shows how key research strands into the nature of contemporary literacy can reinvigorate classroom practice. Technological advances have transformed literacy practices in all spheres of learners' lives and Pahl and Rowsell show through real examples, how pedagogical practice can accommodate these developments. This is a must for all those involved in all levels of literacy education.' - Dr. Julia Davies, Deputy Head of the School of Education, The University of Sheffield. 'In this book, Pahl and Rowsell pose the question we should all be asking: "As literacy teachers, how can we possibly mediate between a print-governed, grapho-phonic model of literacy juxtaposed against a multidimensional, multiliterate, multimodal model of literacy?" This is one of the most pressing questions in contemporary education. This book sets out, in an accessible manner, to construct an answer. To do this it draws on key theorists and their work, and weaves carefully chosen vignettes together with analysis, subtle argument and practical applications to literacy classrooms. This is a timely and important book for literacy educators as it highlights and discusses the implications of fundamental shifts in the ways in which we create, disseminate and read new and older forms of text. This eminently accessible text speaks directly to practitioners who are attempting to make sense of the rapidly changing cultures and technologies as well as to undergraduates who are, for the first time, engaging with recent research and theory in relation to the practices of literacy. This is a book that seamlessly blends theory and practice. It describes key theorists and their work in clear terms, but more than this, Pahl and Rowsell make direct connections to classroom practice, making this a particularly useful book for classroom teachers and student teachers. Provides a useful analytic toolbox from which classroom teachers and teachers-in-preparation can draw to think about literacy practices' - Dr Victoria Carrington, Reader in Language and Literacy, University of Plymouth