Jul 08, 2024
OHIO University Undergraduate Catalog 2023-2024
OHIO University Undergraduate Catalog 2023-2024
[Archived Catalog]
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T3 4071 - The Literacy Crisis: Origins and Effects
What is the literacy crisis? Our environment bombards us with increasing amounts of information: images, words, text. Those who speak of a literacy crisis assert that a large portion of the United States’ population is overwhelmed by rising demands made on them and handicapped by inadequate literacy skills. This problem can be demonstrated by the poor performance of students on international tests of reading and writing, and employers’ charges their workers cause accidents and decrease production because of limitations in their reading and writing skills. To assess the validity of these claims, this course reviews the historical development of literacy; the personal and professional applications of literacy; the power of literacy to effect change within the developing world; the educational strategies employed by U.S. schools to foster literacy skills; and the performance of students and workers on reading and writing tasks. The course also addresses the tensions that complicate efforts to establish a definitive standard for writing and reading skills. Some of these tensions arise from the evolving nature of reading and writing skills and from the demands made by various activities and professions on these same skills. Beyond the tensions produced by changes within literacy itself, other changes might arise from employers’ efforts to acquire the most highly skilled workers at the lowest possible wage. Students critique the arguments for and against the existence of this crisis and suggest responses based on their views. Students also study literacy practices within their areas of study and propose solutions to literacy problems that arise within their disciplines.
Requisites: Sr only
Credit Hours: 3
General Education Code (students who entered prior to Fall 2021-22): 3
Repeat/Retake Information: May be retaken two times excluding withdrawals, but only last course taken counts.
Lecture/Lab Hours: 3.0 lecture
Grades: Eligible Grades: A-F,WP,WF,WN,FN,AU,I
Learning Outcomes:
- Be able to construct effective plans to implement theoretically sound and feasible proposals to address problems arising from limited skills on the part of both those who create and design texts and those who interpret and apply that material.
- Be able to explain the key factors affecting the development of literacy in its three primary locations: Near East, China, and America.
- Be able to explain the historical, sociological, and economic forces contributing to the spread of literacy within societies and throughout the planet.
- Be able to use appropriate theoretical concepts to identify the contributions made by literacy skills to daily tasks, civic responsibilities, and recreational and enrichment activities.
- Be able to apply insights from studies of previous literacy struggles to identify the educational, historical, and cultural factors that limit a population’s acquisition of literacy.
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