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Literacy in Action

Semester and Year FA 2017
Course Number WRTNG-UG1460
Section 001
Instructor Dianne Ramdeholl
Days Wed
Time 6:20 PM - 9:00 PM
Units 4
Level U

Notes

Description

This course combines volunteer work in New York City adult literacy and English as a second language programs with an academic introduction to the philosophy, history, and current issues of adult literacy. An important emphasis of the class is to critically examine adult literacy through a social justice lens. Students work as volunteer teachers of reading and writing oral English or mentors at such institutions as the University Settlement, Make the Road NY, Turning Point, and CASES.. In class they read about and discuss such key issues as adult literacy education policy and the impact on the field - including instruction, implications of being marginalized by educational systems, instructional approaches developed for adults; and the steps that might be taken to build support for high-quality, adult basic-skills programs. Throughout the course, students relate such issues to their own on-site experiences in class discussion and role-playing, and create a portfolio of writing that includes on-site observations, lesson plans, reflections, and a final analytical paper. Readings may include  Making Meaning, Making Change  (Auerbach);  We Make the Road by Walking  (Horton and Freire);  Pedagogy of the Oppressed  (Freire), as well as other articles and journals ( Focus on Basics and The Change Agent ).

Syllabus

All Syllabi

Course Type

Advanced Writing Courses (WRTNG-UG)

Instruction Mode

In-person