Explore literacies in the disciplines with Drs. Sroka and Wolsey
By Thomas DeVere Wolsey
I spoke with Dr. Matthew Sroka about literacies in the disciplines recently, and you can find our conversation on this podcast. We explored some of the issues that teachers and professors might have, and we investigated connections to college and career (of course) as well as intersections of disciplinary literacy with professional communication, civic education, and lifelong learning.
Literacy in the disciplines aims to help students (and their teachers!) learn how knowledge is constructed in distinct way from one discipline to another (and one profession to another). We may encourage students to write like a scientist or speak like a mathematician. But I started wondering, just what do various experts and professionals write? I decided to do a bit of research using my friend Google.
Here is what I discovered:
Figure 1: What do Professionals and Disciplinary Experts Write?
Scientists1
Doctors2
Historians3
Mathematicians4
Journal articles, typically studies
Research proposals
Lab reports
Research reports
Scientific posters
Regulatory writing (think Food and Drug Administration)
This table contains a list of writing that occurs in various disciplines. This list is not comprehensive; for example, there is no category for authors of fiction, and there is only one profession that draws on several disciplines. The details of format will vary by discipline. Our goal as teachers is not necessarily to have students duplicate what experts write, but to be aware of how experts write. Students may write in other formats, composing a TikTok video or Instagram reel that mimics features of expert writing and addresses the problems or ideas they identify, using the sources of evidence they find.
What disciplines should be added? Which professions might be explored in addition to medical professionals?
Reference:
Grant, M. Wolsey, T.D., & Lapp, D. (2024, Winter). Engaged writing in the disciplines: Let’s talk about it. The California Reader, Winter.
Bridget Dalton
berdwyer
Blaine Smith
danagrisham
jillcastek
TDWolsey
Literacy Beat 