Science Literacy

Science Literacy PDF

Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2016-11-14

Total Pages: 167

ISBN-13: 0309447569

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Science is a way of knowing about the world. At once a process, a product, and an institution, science enables people to both engage in the construction of new knowledge as well as use information to achieve desired ends. Access to scienceâ€"whether using knowledge or creating itâ€"necessitates some level of familiarity with the enterprise and practice of science: we refer to this as science literacy. Science literacy is desirable not only for individuals, but also for the health and well- being of communities and society. More than just basic knowledge of science facts, contemporary definitions of science literacy have expanded to include understandings of scientific processes and practices, familiarity with how science and scientists work, a capacity to weigh and evaluate the products of science, and an ability to engage in civic decisions about the value of science. Although science literacy has traditionally been seen as the responsibility of individuals, individuals are nested within communities that are nested within societiesâ€"and, as a result, individual science literacy is limited or enhanced by the circumstances of that nesting. Science Literacy studies the role of science literacy in public support of science. This report synthesizes the available research literature on science literacy, makes recommendations on the need to improve the understanding of science and scientific research in the United States, and considers the relationship between scientific literacy and support for and use of science and research.

Literacy in Traditional Societies

Literacy in Traditional Societies PDF

Author: Jack Goody

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1975-12-04

Total Pages: 364

ISBN-13: 9780521290050

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An examination of the importance of writing on the development of different societies.

Literacy, Language and Learning:The Nature and Consequences of Reading and Writing

Literacy, Language and Learning:The Nature and Consequences of Reading and Writing PDF

Author: David R. Olson

Publisher: CUP Archive

Published: 1985-04-26

Total Pages: 454

ISBN-13: 9780521319126

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Literacy is an important concern of contemporary societies. This book offers a comprehensive survey of recent efforts to understand the nature of written language and its role in cognition and in social and intellectual life. The authors represent a wide range of disciplines - cognitive psychology, linguistics, anthropology, sociology, education, history and philosophy - and address a wide range of questions. Is literacy a decisive factor in historical and cultural change? Does it alter the mental and social lives of individuals? If so how and via what mechanisms? Does learning to read and write change children's speech, thought or orientation to language? What are children and adults learning when they acquire literate skills? Are there differences - linguistic, psychological and functional - between speaking and writing? And are there differences between oral and written languages?

Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children

Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children PDF

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 1998-07-22

Total Pages: 449

ISBN-13: 030906418X

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While most children learn to read fairly well, there remain many young Americans whose futures are imperiled because they do not read well enough to meet the demands of our competitive, technology-driven society. This book explores the problem within the context of social, historical, cultural, and biological factors. Recommendations address the identification of groups of children at risk, effective instruction for the preschool and early grades, effective approaches to dialects and bilingualism, the importance of these findings for the professional development of teachers, and gaps that remain in our understanding of how children learn to read. Implications for parents, teachers, schools, communities, the media, and government at all levels are discussed. The book examines the epidemiology of reading problems and introduces the concepts used by experts in the field. In a clear and readable narrative, word identification, comprehension, and other processes in normal reading development are discussed. Against the background of normal progress, Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children examines factors that put children at risk of poor reading. It explores in detail how literacy can be fostered from birth through kindergarten and the primary grades, including evaluation of philosophies, systems, and materials commonly used to teach reading.

Literacy

Literacy PDF

Author: Brian V. Street

Publisher: Psychology Press

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 273

ISBN-13: 041529181X

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Literacy is a comprehensive textbook which provides students and researchers with support for advanced study of the topic. It introduces readers to a broad range of approaches to understanding literacy in educational contexts and in society. Literacy: integrates psychological, educational and anthropological approaches to literacy and its consequences for individuals and society gathers together influential readings from key names in this inter-disciplinary field, including: Catherine Snow, David Olson, and Mike Cole presents teachers, students and researchers with many diverse opportunities to explore for themselves a broad range of perspectives and methods of study. Written by experienced teachers and researchers in the field, Literacy is an essential textbook for students and researchers of Applied Linguistics.

Perspectives on Literacy

Perspectives on Literacy PDF

Author: Eugene R. Kintgen

Publisher: SIU Press

Published: 1988

Total Pages: 504

ISBN-13: 9780809314577

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The 28 essays reprinted here are arranged in four sections that offer theoretical, historical, educational, and community perspectives on the whole topic of literacy. In addition to their substantial introduction, the editors provide an exhaustive bibliography based on the citations to the essays. Kintgen, Kroll, and Rose see literacy as an extremely complex area of inquiry in which all aspects are interrelated, and they hope to avoid creating or perpetuating false boundaries within the field. The book’s first section contains articles dealing with various psychological and economic consequences of literacy. The second provides an introduction to the development of literacy in different eras of the West, from its inception among the Greeks to the teaching of it in North America during the past century. The third section treats the teaching of literacy in educational institutions, primarily at the secondary and post-secondary levels. The final section discusses literacy outside the traditional classroom: the development of literacy among children and adults, the functions and uses of literacy in the workplace and elsewhere, and the identity and problems of those who have not mastered literacy skills.

Script Effects as the Hidden Drive of the Mind, Cognition, and Culture

Script Effects as the Hidden Drive of the Mind, Cognition, and Culture PDF

Author: Hye K. Pae

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2020-10-14

Total Pages: 251

ISBN-13: 3030551520

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This open access volume reveals the hidden power of the script we read in and how it shapes and drives our minds, ways of thinking, and cultures. Expanding on the Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis (i.e., the idea that language affects the way we think), this volume proposes the “Script Relativity Hypothesis” (i.e., the idea that the script in which we read affects the way we think) by offering a unique perspective on the effect of script (alphabets, morphosyllabaries, or multi-scripts) on our attention, perception, and problem-solving. Once we become literate, fundamental changes occur in our brain circuitry to accommodate the new demand for resources. The powerful effects of literacy have been demonstrated by research on literate versus illiterate individuals, as well as cross-scriptal transfer, indicating that literate brain networks function differently, depending on the script being read. This book identifies the locus of differences between the Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans, and between the East and the West, as the neural underpinnings of literacy. To support the “Script Relativity Hypothesis”, it reviews a vast corpus of empirical studies, including anthropological accounts of human civilization, social psychology, cognitive psychology, neuropsychology, applied linguistics, second language studies, and cross-cultural communication. It also discusses the impact of reading from screens in the digital age, as well as the impact of bi-script or multi-script use, which is a growing trend around the globe. As a result, our minds, ways of thinking, and cultures are now growing closer together, not farther apart.

Language, Literacy, and Cognitive Development

Language, Literacy, and Cognitive Development PDF

Author: Eric Amsel

Publisher: Psychology Press

Published: 2002-12-01

Total Pages: 308

ISBN-13: 1135661510

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Language, Literacy, and Cognitive Development addresses the impact of language and literacy on cognitive development. Top researchers examine the cognitive significance of the growth in children's ability to express themselves symbolically, whether that involves communicating linguistically, mathematically, logically, or through some other symbol system expressed in speech, gesture, notations, or some other means. The book contributes to refining and answering questions regarding the nature, origin, and development of symbolic communication in all its forms, and their consequences for the cognitive development of the younger child at home and the older child at school.