Apprenticeship in Academic Literacy: Three K-12 Literacy Strategies to Support Higher Education Students

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to outline ways in which early and adolescent literacy strategies can guide the instruction of academic literacy practices for undergraduate and graduate-level students. First, we used guided reading elements to assist higher-education students’ exploration of research texts. Second, we used “writing-aloud” practices and mentor texts to guide the synthesis of research and the construction of literature reviews. Finally, we implemented Writing Workshops to support apprenticeship in inquiry-oriented instructional design, data collection, and research writing. Using formative and design experiments as an approach to pedagogical improvement, we modelled and adapted K-12 literacy strategies for our teacher education students to guide their development into literacy practices with academic texts. We describe each instructional innovation and the resulting modifications across various iterations of the interventions.