Transformation Literacy

This open access book brings science and practice together and inspires a global movement towards co-creating regenerative civilizations that work for 100% of humanity and the Earth as a whole. With its conceptual foundation of the concept of transformation literacy it enhances the knowledge and capacity of decision-makers, change agents and institutional actors to steward transformations effectively across institutions, societal sectors and nations. Humanity is at crossroads. Resource depletion and exponential emissions that not only cause climate change, but endanger the health of people and planet, call for a decisive turnaround of human civilization. A new and transformative paradigm is emerging that advocates for regenerative civilizations, in which a narrative of systemic health as much as individual and collective vitality guide the interaction of socio-economic-ecological systems. Truly transformative change must go far beyond technical solutions, and instead envision what can be termed ‘a new operating system’ that helps humankind to live well within the planetary boundaries and partner with life’s evolutionary processes. This requires transformations at three different levels: ̈ Mindsets that reconnect with a worldview in which human agency acknowledges its co-evolutionary pathways with each other and the Earth. ̈ Political, social and economic systems that are regenerative and foster the care-taking for Earth life support systems. ̈ Competencies to design and implement effective large-scale transformative change processes at multiple levels with multiple stakeholders. This book provides key ingredients for enhancing transformation literacy from various perspectives around the globe. It connects the emerging practice of stewarding transformative change across business, government institutions and civil society actors with the most promising scientific models and concepts that underpin human action to shape the future collectively in accordance with planetary needs.

This book focuses on multicultural curriculum transformation in literacy and language arts subject areas. The discussion of each area outlines critical considerations for multicultural curriculum transformation for the area by grade level and then by eight organizing tools, including content standards, relationships with and among students and their families, and evaluation of student learning and teaching effectiveness. The volume is designed to speak with PK-12 teachers as colleagues in the multicultural curriculum transformation work. Readers are exposed to “things to think about,” but also given curricular examples to work with or from in going about the actual, concrete work of curriculum change. This work supports PK-12 teachers to independently multiculturally adapt existing curriculum, to create new multicultural curriculum differentiated by content areas and grade levels, and by providing ample examples of what such multicultural transformed literacy and language arts curricula looks like in practice.

The major shift going on today in the technologies of reading and writing raises important questions about conventional conceptions of literacy and its role in education, society, and culture. What are the important characteristics of electronic forms of reading and writing distinguishing them from printed forms? To what extent and in what ways is literacy being transformed by new technologies? This central question is addressed in this volume from diverse, multidisciplinary perspectives. The contributing authors focus on a guiding question in one of the following areas, which correspond to the major sections of the book: *Transforming Texts. What are the new differences between printed and electronic texts, and what are the implications of new textual forms for defining literacy, especially in regard to teaching and learning in schools? *Transforming Readers and Writers. How do electronic reading and writing change conceptualizations of literacy development from childhood through adulthood? *Transforming Classrooms and Schools. What are the effects of introducing new reading and writing technologies into schools and classrooms? *Transforming Instruction. How can instruction be adapted in response to the changing literacy landscape, and how can teachers and students exploit forms of reading and writing to enhance teaching and learning? *Transforming Society. What are the broad societal implications of the increasing prevalence of electronic forms of reading and writing? *Transforming Literacy Research. What are the questions that must be addressed as digital reading and writing become more common, and what approaches to research will be most useful in addressing those questions? This volume is the result of an interactive process. The contributors met as a group to discuss drafts of their chapters at a one-day meeting convened and sponsored by the National Reading Research Center, and had read each others' chapters prior to this gathering. That meeting was followed by a two-day conference attended by approximately 180 researchers, educators, and policymakers who responded to an open invitation to present papers and to attend sessions focusing on the six major themes of the book. Contributors then revised their chapters based on interactions with fellow contributors, conference participants, and volume editors. Thus, this work is more than just a compilation of the individual authors' views. Rather, it represents a synthesis of a broad range of current thinking about how literacy is being and may be transformed by technology.

This open access book brings science and practice together and inspires a global movement towards co-creating regenerative civilizations that work for 100% of humanity and the Earth as a whole. With its conceptual foundation of the concept of transformation literacy it enhances the knowledge and capacity of decision-makers, change agents and institutional actors to steward transformations effectively across institutions, societal sectors and nations. Humanity is at crossroads. Resource depletion and exponential emissions that not only cause climate change, but endanger the health of people and planet, call for a decisive turnaround of human civilization. A new and transformative paradigm is emerging that advocates for regenerative civilizations, in which a narrative of systemic health as much as individual and collective vitality guide the interaction of socio-economic-ecological systems. Truly transformative change must go far beyond technical solutions, and instead envision what can be termed ‘a new operating system’ that helps humankind to live well within the planetary boundaries and partner with life’s evolutionary processes. This requires transformations at three different levels: · Mindsets that reconnect with a worldview in which human agency acknowledges its co-evolutionary pathways with each other and the Earth. · Political, social and economic systems that are regenerative and foster the care-taking for Earth life support systems. · Competencies to design and implement effective large-scale transformative change processes at multiple levels with multiple stakeholders. This book provides key ingredients for enhancing transformation literacy from various perspectives around the globe. It connects the emerging practice of stewarding transformative change across business, government institutions and civil society actors with the most promising scientific models and concepts that underpin human action to shape the future collectively in accordance with planetary needs.

Engage, challenge, and inspire students with work that matters Transformational Literacy, written by a team from EL Education, helps teachers leverage the Common Core instructional shifts—building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction, reading for and writing with evidence, and regular practice with complex text—to engage students in work that matters. Worthy texts and worthy tasks help students see the connection between their hard work as readers and writers and their capacity to contribute to stronger communities and a better world. The stories, examples, and resources that permeate Transformational Literacy come primarily from the more than 150 EL Education schools around the country that support teachers to select, supplement, customize, and create curriculum, and improve instruction. The book also draws on EL Education's open source Common Core English Language Arts curriculum—often cited as one of the finest in the country—and professional development offered to thousands of teachers to implement that curriculum effectively. Transformational Literacy combines the best of what EL Education knows works for kids—purposeful, inquiry-based learning—and the new imperative of the Common Core—higher and deeper expectations for all students. Teach standards through a compelling and purposeful curriculum that prioritizes worthy texts and worthy task Improve students' evidence-based reading, thinking, talking, and writing Support students to develop a new mindset toward the challenge of reading complex texts Transformational Literacy introduces an approach to literacy instruction that will engage, challenge, and inspire student with work that matters.

Co-authored by university- and teacher-researchers, this book focuses on the urban elementary teacher researchers' year-long inquiries around literacy topics and on the process of their journeys to create organized literacy instruction--curriculum genres

The field of languages and literacies education is undergoing rapid transformation. Scholarship that draws upon feminist, post-colonial, new material and posthuman ontologies is transcending disciplinary boundaries and disrupting traditional binaries between human and nonhuman, the natural and the cultural, the material and the discursive. In Transforming Language and Literacy Education, editors Kelleen Toohey, Suzanne Smythe, Diane Dagenais and Magali Forte bring together accessible, conceptually rich stories from internationally diverse authors to guide new practices, new conversations and new thinking among scholars and educators at the forefront of languages and literacies learning. The book addresses these concepts for diverse groups of learners including young children, youth and adults in formal educational and community-based settings. Challenging and disruptive, this is a unique and important contribution to language and literacy education.

Focuses on enlarging teachers' understanding of how reading and writing can change lives and how the language arts can contribute significantly to and change educational processes in the twenty-first century.