Creating Our Own Definitions of Literacy
Much of the writing, thinking, discussing, and sharing during LBW sessions is done in small groups, usually of four with at least one college teacher. In these groups, participants get close attention and get more opportunities to share, especially the quiet ones. It also helps participants gain greater insight into each others' institutions. It's important to leave time for each small group to report back to the whole group.
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"participants get close attention
and get more opportunities to share..."
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There are many ways to use group work for the LBW activities. The Tuning Protocol , for example, calls for small groups. We describe one activity below:
In small groups, participants are asked to consider what has been read, written, and talked about in order to write a working definition of what the word "literacy" means to them (10-15 min.).
Each group writes their ideas on large newsprint, tapes it up near them, and then shares their definitions with the whole group. The group can then discuss these various definitions and what they have in common. The lists can then be used to create a broader, whole-group list that could represent their ideas of literacy. The list can be typed up for a future session and referred back to at the end of the LBW sessions. Total time: 45 minutes to one hour.
This activity would be appropriate for Session 1 or 2.