What is effective teaching of literacy?

The craft of teaching is becoming increasingly complex and nowhere is this more evident than in
the area of literacy. Effective teachers are capable of ensuring that an increasingly diverse group
of students have the literacy skills to cope with the demands of life beyond school in their careers
and/or college.

Experts have been debating the best

way to teach reading for over fifty years. Dimensions of Effective Literacy Practice
In reality, there is no single method that
Effective Teachers:
will teach all students to read and write
successfully. Over the years, various • Understand literacy learning
approaches have come in and out of favor
in an effort to raise achievement. These • Know the standards
include: tighter curricula specifications,
prescribing structures for literacy blocks, • Know their students as learners
providing scripts for teaching and
• Set high expectations for students and encourage risk taking
increasing accountability, all resulting in
minimal impact on the learning outcomes • Use a flexible range of teaching strategies
for students (Boykin & Noguera, 2011).
• Engage students in challenging content
Classrooms today are complex and
dynamic learning environments.
Identifying the range of factors that
positively impact student achievement We can now say, with certitude, that Effective teachers understand literacy
has been a major focus of research. effective teachers of literacy: learning
There is clear, documented evidence of • Know the literacy processes and the Effective teachers of literacy have a
the most effective features of practice pedagogy that determines how their deep understanding of the complexities
including the degree of the teachers’ students learn and cumulative processes of reading
influence and what they do to raise
• Know what their students need to and writing. The also understand the
student learning outcomes (Allington
understand and be able to do to meet developmental nature of literacy learning.
2002, Hattie 2009).
the Standards
Effective teachers understand that:
Literacy teaching can only be described • Know their students as learners
as truly effective when it positively • The pathway to literacy is
• Have high expectations for their
impacts student learning. developmental
students and encourage risk taking
Successful teachers are able to skillfully • Flexibly use a range of instructional • Becoming literate is a social process
integrate a range of instructional practices where students are active learners
approaches and resources to meet the • Students take individual and multiple
• Engage students in challenging
diverse learning needs of their students. pathways in their learning
learning experiences

© Sheena Hervey Generation Ready 2013 1

 Effective teachers are aware of the Knowing students as learners requires
complexity of a wide range of texts and one to understand the pathways of
the potential challenges these pose progress for individual students and the
for students. They also recognize the patterns of progress for students as a
sequence of events that occur within whole. Therefore, effective teachers need
the classroom and how it could impact to extensively and continuously develop
student learning. Most importantly, their knowledge of:
effective teachers know it is not how
much students know, but rather, how they • Their students’ individual learning
apply this knowledge. profiles and the implications this has
It is what happens, for teaching
moment by moment in Effective teachers see themselves as life- • The patterns of progress for
long learners. They understand the need
their classrooms, that students as they become literate
to continuously update their skills and
makes a difference to knowledge in response to the changing • Their students’ literacy practices
student achievement. world, new research, and emerging outside school, as well as in school
Sheena Hervey, 2013 information about literacy learning and Effective teachers recognize assessment
teaching. as central to their classroom practice
and gather data from a range of sources.
Effective teachers know what their They:
students need to learn
• Acknowledge their students’
In order to ensure that students are on prior learning, helping them make
track for college and career, effective connections between new learning
teachers know what literacy skills and and what they already know
understandings their students require.
• Use ongoing assessment to identify
The new Standards set rigorous learning needs of students, using this
expectations for students, and effective to inform their teaching
teachers understand the instructional
... our best evidence... • See students’ errors and
shifts in practices that are needed to
is that what happens misconceptions as a window into the
ensure that students meet these raised learning process
in classrooms through expectations. Effective teachers
quality teaching and understand that while the standards set Effective teachers strategically gather,
analyze, and use information to guide
through the quality common outcomes for students, this
does not mean equal input. students learning, which is accomplished
of the learning by their own understanding of literacy
environment generated Effective teachers know their students learning and what is expected as a
by the teacher and the as learners measure of success.
students, is the key Effective teaching involves knowing Effective teachers have high
variable in explaining the student as an individual. Because expectations for students
up to 59%, or even reading is a process where students’
Effective teachers’ positive expectations
more, of the variance in prior knowledge interacts with print to
construct meaning, it is important that for, and acknowledgment of, their
student scores. students’ efforts are key factors leading
teachers understand as much as possible
about the students’ world. The most to success in literacy learning. The
Ministry of Education, 2003
important single factor that influences expectations teachers have for their
learning is what the learner already knows students are a powerful indicator of
(Ausubel, 1968). success. Students patterns of progress
and achievement are impacted by their
Effective teachers also know students as teacher’s expectations. Research shows
literacy learners and collect information that students know that they are treated
from a range of sources on students’ differently and that teachers have higher
strategies, understandings, attitudes and expectations of some than others
previous learning experiences. (Weinstein, 2002).

© Sheena Hervey Generation Ready 2013 2

This applies to older students who have approximations and providing informed,
not yet mastered reading and writing, genuine, and encouraging responses,
and to students who are learning to both teachers let students know that they
speak, and become literate, in English. believe they will learn. While teachers
Effective teachers’ expectations are high, can create the conditions that foster
appropriate, clearly articulated, and: learning and demonstrate strategies
for learning to occur, the students have
• Clearly expressed to actively engage in the process. The
• Shared with, and informed by program needs to be interesting enough
feedback from all partners in the so that students want to be engaged in
student’s learning the learning.

• Reflected on and reviewed Effective teachers also create learning

Effective teachers are
environments that are alive with firmly convinced that
High expectations go hand in hand with
purposeful print and where students have they are responsible for
creating an optimal learning environment
that generates an atmosphere of trust,
access to reading, and creating, a wide student learning and
range of texts. consistently bend their
efforts towards doing a
Gradual Release of Responsibility
better job every day.
Students Teachers
Steele, 2009: 185
Introduce and provide
Observe, listen
models of strategies and
and respond
texts
Student Independence

Demonstrate how the

Teacher Support

Participate and respond strategy works in a shared

setting

Support students as they

Attempt with support
practice in small groups

Practice and Observe students as they

problem solve practice independently

where it is understood it is OK to make Effective teachers use a range of

mistakes and self correct because instructional strategies
mistakes are the essence of learning.
Effective teachers flexibly use a range
The social setting that teachers provide of instructional practices to meet the
is equally as important as the physical diverse needs of the students in any
environment. Research shows that class. These strategies are the tools of
the quality of the instruction makes a effective practice and teachers should
difference and more than that, that it is plan for whole class, small groups and
the interaction between the teacher and independent work. Within these contexts,
student, most especially the feedback the effective teachers will provide a varying
student gets, which is essential (Hattie, degree of support that reflects the
2003). needs of the students and the challenge
in the learning. This gradual release of
Learning to read and write involves taking responsibility will come through reading
risks. This is more likely to happen if and writing, to shared and guided reading
students feel that their attempts will be and writing with the students, leading to
valued. Teachers need to help students independent reading and writing by the
see that mistakes are a natural part of students.
the learning process. By accepting their

© Sheena Hervey Generation Ready 2013 3

Effective teachers: Effective teachers engage students in References
challenging learning
• Routinely and explicitly demonstrate Alton-Lee, A. (2004). Using best evidence
how proficient readers and writers While teachers can create the conditions syntheses to assist in making a bigger
make meaning of, and construct, that foster learning and demonstrate difference for diverse learners. Wellington:
texts strategies, for real learning to occur, Ministry of Education.
• Demonstrate skills and strategies in students need to be active participants.
a variety of ways to cater for different The program needs to be interesting Au, R., Watkins, D.W., Hattie, J.A.C.,
learning styles enough to make students want to engage & Alexander, P. (2009). Reforming
in the learning. the depression model of learned
• Demonstrate the use of reading skills hopelessness for academic outcomes.
and strategies across all learning and One of the greatest challenges for Educational Research Review. 4, 103-17
expect students to use them in all teachers of literacy is ensuring that
content areas students have the comprehension Ausubel, D.P. (1968). Educational
• Provide opportunities for students strategies needed to cope in the Psychology: A cognitive view. New York:
to discuss texts, developing increasingly complex world of print. Holt, Rinehart and Winston
appropriate language for meaningful
The Literacy Common Core State Boykin, A. W. & Noguera P. (2011)
talk
Standards acknowledges this and have Creating the opportunity to learn: moving
• Support or guide students as they placed an increasing emphasis on making form research to practice to close the
practice the skills and strategies students ready for the complexities of achievement gap. Alexandria, VA: ASCD
demonstrated texts they will face both in and out of
Hattie, J. (2003, October). Teachers
• Provide daily opportunities for school.
make a difference: What is the research
students to independently practice
Effective teachers are able to provide the evidence? Paper presented at the
skills and strategies in authentic
appropriate challenge for each of their Australian Council for Educational
contexts
students. They understand that learning Research Annual Conference on Building
• Encourage students to self-reflect takes place in the ‘zone of proximal Teacher Quality, Melbourne.
and goal set development.’ It is in the struggle that
Hattie, J.A,C. (2009). Visible Learning:
Successful literacy learning and teaching new learning occurs.
A synthesis of 800+ meta-analysis on
involves a shift in responsibility from
We need to help students develop the achievement. London: Routledge.
teacher to student, with new learning
introduced in the most supportive stamina and resilience that comes from
Ministry of Education (2003). Effective
setting. Effective teachers create a engaging them in challenging tasks where
literacy practice. Wellington: Learning
balanced program where there is a range they read and write for authentic purpose.
Media
of instructional practices which offer
students varying degrees of teacher Teachers Matter: Attracting, Developing
support. and Retaining Effective Teachers. (2005).
OECD: Paris

Steel, C.F. (2009). The inspired teacher:

How to know one, grow one, or to be one.
Alexandria, VA: ASCD

Weinstein, R. (2002). Reaching higher: the

power of expectations in schooling. MA:
Harvard University Press.

© Sheena Hervey Generation Ready 2013 4