Literacy Education Trends

  • Tactile Literacy
  • Video Education-Based Games
  • Representative Text
  • Media Literacy
  • Early Childhood Literacy

Literacy education is an important aspect of learning every child must go through while developing. It forms the foundation for success in every area of life. The critical thinking skills obtained from literacy works sharpen one's ability to serve as a highly functioning person in the society. As students continue to change, the education stakeholders continue to study and experiment new techniques to serve them better. Here is a roundup of the top five trends in education literacy.

Tactile Literacy

Teachers at all levels are beginning to realize that the old tactic where students were required to sit still and learn is no longer effective. Students who learn through movements are no longer labeled as having behavioral problems. Instead, they are now perceived as students who learn differently. Teachers now incorporate movements in the classroom activities to facilitate effective learning for all students. This is quite advantageous given the fact that combining physical activities and literacy instructions boosts memory and help students retain new knowledge. We are now seeing new strategies such as encouraging students to model clay for spelling words, tracing letters in shaving creams, using flashcards to read and dancing while reciting words.

Video Education-Based Games

The use of video and computer games has found its way in literacy. Researchers have realized that children learn new literacy each time they play video games. They learn new interactive languages that give them access to virtual worlds filled with engagement, intrigue and meaningful challenges. Schools have responded positively, and they are now introducing computer and video games to help children learn effectively. They use games whose functions are embedded in the construct of alphabetical and notational literacy to help the students make meaning and create actions out of them. This largely improves their reading, comprehension and writing skills.

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Representative Text

Providing students with a wide variety of learning options in the classroom is important. Providing a platform that allows them to vary the assigned reading is equally important. That is why most schools are beginning to put more emphasis on texts that relate to the students' experience. This is vital because when students mirror themselves in the items they are learning and reading, they identify more with the materials and become more engaged. On the other hand, items that do not identify with their past experiences make them feel undervalued, leading to disinterest. It is thus the duty of every teacher to ensure that the lessons put in place promote connections for students.

Media Literacy

Education stakeholders are increasingly becoming worried about the negative effects of the modern media on literacy. Educators are today spending more time helping students to recognize the credibility of contents in media and internet sources. Because of the increasing incidences of fake news, many schools have developed special programs to teach students to interrogate and assess the credibility of information they read. Rather than focusing on the actual content, the students are taught to focus on how the things reported in the media sources happened. This teaches them to think critically when reading and writing.

Early Childhood Literacy

Teachers and parents are beginning to realize the importance of early childhood literacy in preparing the students throughout their school life. Parents should begin to expose their children to literacy as soon as they can talk. This could be in the form of reading to them aloud often or telling them bedtime stories. Doing this exposes them to new vocabulary and familiarizes them with language. It also models their fluency, an important factor that impacts development.

Literacy equips individuals with the tools they need to effectively connect, decipher and discern the world around them. The trends discussed above not only make children become effective learners, but they also make literacy education an attractive field of academia at all levels.

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