As the new academic year gets underway, it’s the perfect time for schools to renew their focus on disciplinary literacy, referring to the specialised ways of reading, writing, and thinking that are unique to each subject. In science, it might mean interpreting data and writing lab reports; in history, it typically involves evaluating historical sources and constructing evidence-based arguments. Whether it’s interpreting historical sources, or analysing scientific data, by foregrounding disciplinary literacy teachers can help students develop the skills they need to think like subject specialists. And we know that students are better equipped to develop deeper understanding of specific subjects when they are explicitly taught how to navigate subject-specific literacies.
Many teachers are confident in their subject knowledge but may be less certain about how to teach the literacy of their discipline. To be better at it, we need to teach students how to engage with texts, vocabulary, and ways of reasoning that are specific to each subject area. There are resources such as the Teaching and Learning Toolkit designed by Education Endowment Foundation to give practical guidance on key areas for teaching and learning, which can help teachers identify the literacy features of their subjects and design instruction that makes these visible to students.
Our BAWESS research team is also working on developing materials to make it easier for teachers and students to engage with disciplinary literacy. Examples of the work we are currently doing include individual words and the different meanings and associations they carry across subjects, as can be seen from the examples below showing how ‘property’ behaves differently in Biology compared to History.
So why does this matter? Because literacy is a foundation for learning, and when students understand how to read and write in their disciplines, they gain access to knowledge and future opportunities. By embedding disciplinary literacy from the start of the year, we set the tone for a learning environment where all students can thrive.
Disciplinary literacy is the focus of the BAWESS project. If you’d like to get involved, find out more about participating on our website, fill it this form or contact us at bawess@bath.ac.uk.
