Diversity

International Literacy International Dyslexia Association Course/Artifact

Association

ILA Standard 4: IDA Standard A: Foundation Concepts EDCS 605 Literacy

Diversity about Oral and Written learning Coaching and Leadership

Artifact 5: Literacy Bag

Identity

EDCS 605 Literacy

Coaching and Leadership

Artifact 6: Literacy Timeline

Synthesis of Standards
ILA Standard 4: Diversity requires literacy specialists to understand and promote ways to

value diversity within the classroom. It also requires creating curriculum that engages students

and empowers them to embrace differences in their society. This includes knowledge about

diversity and how to foster student learning because of it. ILA Standard 4 is grouped with IDA

Standard A: Foundation Concepts about Oral and Written learning because it is important for

literacy specialists to understand how diversity impacts the development of reading and writing.

ILA Standard 4 advocates for diversity awareness and is more generalized, while IDA Standard

A focuses specifically on how the different cultural, environmental and social factors impact

literacy development. This could include if English is the primary language spoken at home or

not, and what multicultural experiences the student might bring to the classroom.

As literacy specialists, diversity is something we should be consciously bringing into the

classroom each day. Our students have unique cultural experiences and identities that we need to

make sure we are highlighting and encouraging. This is important to embrace and bring in to the

classroom because it inspires creativity and student voice. Diversity can also impact student
learning negatively in the classroom if teachers are unaware of foundational concepts about oral

and written learning. Many students come from a variety of backgrounds and English might not

always be their native language. It is important for teachers to acknowledge this and create ways

that promote and encourage student diversity while incorporating cultural and social experiences

to help student development.

Summary of Artifacts

Artifact # 5 Literacy Identity Bag.

The Literacy Identity Bag artifact was created to promote cultural, social and behavioral

awareness. When creating this identity bag, there were four factors to consider: Teacher/Educator

Identity, which focused on representing where we taught, how long it was for, and the school

culture. The second factor was Literacy Identity, which required showing a piece that represents

our own definition of literacy and why it matters to us as individuals. The third factor was

Personal Identity, challenging us to share a personal aspect of our lives connecting with literacy.

The fourth was Cultural Identity, which could include our ethnicity, language, social life, values,

traditions and cultures.

Artifact # 6 Literacy Timeline.

The Literacy Timeline was created to highlight main events in my life that involved my

literacy journey. In EDCS 605, we created literacy timelines to reflect on our literacy journeys

and how they impacted the ways we incorporate literacy in our classrooms. Each piece of the

timeline represents how diversity and culture play a part in literacy.

Evidence of Application

Diversity (ILA 4).

Understanding and ability to explain other aspects of cognition and behavior that
affect reading and writing (IDA: A3).

Artifact 5, Literacy Identity Bag, shows my understanding of Diversity because it

allowed me to use four factors to describe myself through my teacher identity, literacy identity,

personal identity and cultural identity. This required me to reflect on my own past and how it has

provided a catalyst for my educational journey now. My literacy identity showcases some of my

favorite novels growing up. A major part of my literacy identity was reading these with my

parents and siblings. My personal identity included some of my favorite novels that I currently

read on a regular basis (Harry Potter). Focusing on my cultural identity is where I personally

connected the most with diversity. My grandparents were from Czechoslovakia and one of our

holiday traditions is watching the Midnight Mass with the Pope, while eating Vegetarian

Vegetable soup with Kielbasa. Diversity plays such a major role in our students’ lives, and it is

critical for literacy specialists to incorporate diversity and experiences to enhance reading and

writing, not affect it. Artifact 6 shows my knowledge of how understanding and ability to explain

other aspects of cognition and behavior affect reading and writing by showcasing each step of

my literacy timeline. It discusses the impact that family, travel and experiences had on my life

which allowed me to have positive interactions with literacy. While reflecting on this, it also has

showed me that others may not have the same experiences and might have a negative outlook on

literacy. It is important for literacy specialists to be aware of both and incorporate strategies that

allow students the ability to see literacy differently if they might not have had excellent

interactions with it in the past.

 Artifacts 5 and 6 both display my understanding of Diversity through providing and

incorporating cultural awareness in my own classroom. As a teacher, my school has a strong

focus on community and cultural identity. We service many students from the Hawaiian

homestead, Papakolea, and many of our students’ first language are not English. The Literacy

Identity Bag is a fantastic way for me to incorporate diversity in my classroom with my students.

As a literacy specialist, I will be able to have students use the Literacy Identity Bag to create

diversity and make connections with literacy. This would be a great opportunity for my students

to be able to bring in their own artifacts from their culture, write about their own personal

connections, and then share those with the class. By using having students also create Literacy

Timelines; it can be a good way to bring in the community to the classroom. Students can host an

open house with their families and come to the classroom and see all the different cultures and

timelines. By incorporating these two artifacts into my own classroom, it could spearhead a

culture week at school. While students are working to complete the timeline and identity bag,

they can bring in items, food and music from their culture to share with their peers. This opens

the door for students to be able to create their own identities in a safe environment that promotes

their personal and diverse cultural experiences.

Ability to define and identify environmental, cultural, and social factors that
contribute to literacy development (language spoken at home, language and literacy
experiences, cultural values) (IDA: A4.)

I was able to show my understanding of IDA Standard A, the Foundation Concepts about

Oral and Written learning through reflecting on my own cultural journey in Artifact 5. This

provided me with opportunities to reflect on what different things contribute to literacy

development and how it impacts oral and written learning. Artifact 6 demonstrates my
knowledge of how environmental, cultural and social factors contribute to literacy development.

This brings up the idea of access, one that literacy specialists should be familiar with. Reflecting

on my own literacy interactions, I always had access to books, library programs and parents who

read to me every day, at a young age. It is important for literacy specialists to understand that not

every child will have the same experience for their literacy identity. Students who have multiple

languages spoken a home require consideration that their experiences are valuable as well.

Having knowledge of this helps literacy specialists bring access to students who might not

have it. This could include bringing in guest speakers from the library, creating library cards

together and weekly fieldtrips to the library so that students can have access to literature. As a

literacy specialist who understands that diversity can have impacts on literacy development, it is

important to bring student interest, culture and diversity to the classroom for students. An

example of this could be gaining student voice in the types of literature that interests students,

then from that, creating a classroom library. It could also include the creation of their own story

through exploring fanfiction and new literacies. All of these play a part in the ways we as literacy

specialists can invite environmental, cultural, and social factors to bring diversity to our own

classrooms.