I have recently finished a convincing argument that alleviates - if only
temporarily - my attempts to seek to identify a singular literacy pedagogy.
Visitors to this site will be well aware of my struggle to resolve two
images of literacy pedagogy, a conflict which is also apparent in the
tension between Wittgenstein's early and later conceptualisations of
language. These two images are commonly represented by such dichotomies as
practice in print-based skills vs (oral) language development (Aaron et al,
2008); word recognition vs (word) meaning (Chall, Jacobs & Baldwin, 1990);
formal practices vs informal practices (Senechal, 2006); or constrained
skills vs unconstrained skills (Paris, 2005; Stahl, 2011).

In short, fostering literacy requires that one is adept at systematically
reinforcing the core, constrained skills of literacy (to the point of
mastery) so that fluency is attained and higher order thinking can be
facilitated, whilst providing rich opportunities for students to gain and
express meaning in multiple knowledge domains and modes through scaffolded
speaking, listening, reading and writing. In my earlier writing, I
suggested that such a teacher must be both systematic and expansive, that
the literacy pedagogy must be both intensive and extensive, that a teacher
must be both precise and discursive, and that a teacher must keep a keen
ear our for cognitive development whilst building sociocultural capacities
and knowledge. To say the least, a teacher must be organised with an
awareness of selecting suitable content, with a clear conception of
learning intentions, and with the ability to determine if intentions are
being met and whether such learning is fostering all the attributes that
will equip the learner for future learning.

A literacy teacher must be "a teacher for all seasons" - so to speak -
which is clearly on display in the chapter, "Classroom environments and
literacy instruction" that appears in Chall, Jacobs and Baldwin's (1990)
book The Reading Crisis: why poor children fall behind. Even though
contemporary standards may take exception to the bluntness of the title,
the author's observations about the challenges of coordinating a balanced
pedagogy are pertinent today.

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