Literacy Basics - Community Literacy of Ontario

Instructional Strategies

In general, there are two approaches you can take to include self-management/self-direction skills in literacy programming: you can teach them explicitly (on their own as a separate subject area) or you can embed them within other learning activities (implicitly).

Examples of explicitly teaching these skills could include conducting a group session about the importance of being on time for appointments to specifically address the criterion of "improved/steady attendance". Another example would be leading a goal-planning workshop to meet the requirements for the criteria relating to goal-setting.

Examples of embedding these learning activities could include a writing activity that includes having students review and revise their own work. This would embed the criterion "increased readiness to offer constructive criticism of own work". Another activity could be having learners keep track of their own contact hours. This can be done a daily, weekly or monthly basis.

There are pros and cons to both approaches, and there may be times when you will choose one approach over the other. You might interchange the approaches depending on the individual learner's needs or you may prefer to use only one approach. Each practitioner will have to decide which approach best suits the needs of individual learners. There certainly is no one "right" way to introduce and develop self-management/self-direction skills.

Stay alert! Be on the lookout for "teachable moments". With experience and practice and by taking advantage of learning situations as they arise, you will become more comfortable at recognizing and using opportunities to address these skills. For example, group work could lead to a discussion about constructive criticism and peer review. It can also lead to a discussion about participation levels and attendance if one or more group members are often absent. Awards ceremonies can help raise the subject of trying new challenges and accepting praise.

On an individual level, training plan reviews lead naturally into the topics of goal-setting and goal achievement. The list is endless but it does take some awareness on the part of the literacy practitioner to recognize that a particular situation can become a teachable moment! Teachable moments also provide the opportunity to incorporate real-life into literacy. Rather than talk about a hypothetical situation, they provide an actual, current scenario that the learner can relate to.

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