Subject-specific/disciplinary literacies and numeracies: What are they and how do they work?

Subject-specific/disciplinary literacies and numeracies: What are they and how do they work?

As students’ progress in their studies, they will find themselves faced with ever specific and specialized texts, readings and concepts in their subjects, as opposed to the generalized learning they may have faced in the past. Educators need to understand these specialized literacies and numeracies taught in specific content areas, also called subject-specific literacies and numeracies. Some other topics educators will need to learn on their teaching journey are disciplinary literacies and numeracies, the definition of knowledge in a particular subject, how knowledge is created, and what types of evidence, language and numeracies are used in a particular discipline.

            Firstly what exactly are subject-specific literacies and numeracies when applied to a particular subject area? For the literary side, it means understanding the specific terminology used for the subject and the context in which words are used. Whereas on the numeracy side, it means understanding mathematical concepts useful and common to the specific subject (Shanahan & Shanahan 2012). For example, let us use the subject of History. A subject-specific literacy in this case would be teaching students the skills needed to read sources and be able to discern whether it’s a primary or secondary source, and to judge the reliability of its author. A subject-specific numeracy in a history class would be the skill to understand statistics and figures in context to the particular time it was released in history.

A good analogy might be to compare subject-specific literacies and numeracies to construction trades. Tools such as hammers and screwdrivers can be used for all construction trades, while a tool such as a plasterboard joint knife would only be useful to the specific trade of plastering. In respect to subject-specific literacies and numeracies, it follows the same concept, being that specific subjects, as they become more specialized, require specialized tools needed by students to better understand the subject (Johnson, Watson, Delahunty, & Smith 2011).

Another term that pops up when discussing this topic is “disciplinary literacies/numeracies”. It is often confused with subject-specific literacies/numeracies and assumed to be interchangeable, but that is not usually the case. A subject specific literacy/numeracy refers to skills a student might use to understand a particular subject, while disciplinary literacy/numeracy refers to the specialized tools experts use for their work in a particular discipline (Shanahan & Shanahan 2012).  

In the context of education, knowledge in a particular discipline means knowing the specific facts, information, skills, language and numeracy used in a particular subject, and also understanding the literacy tools experts in the subjects use (Johnson et al., 2011). For example knowledge in Geography would mean having knowledge in geological terminology, map reading and understanding how to read topological graphs. New knowledge is created in Geography when experts in the field publish peer-reviewed articles after conducting extensive research to gather evidence in an area of the discipline. Some types of evidence that the field of Geography use are: satellite images, photographs, surveys, and geographic information systems. Geography as a subject also has particular language that has special meanings that apply only in this particular subject. For example in Geography, the word erratic (Fig.5) refers to a boulder that has been moved by a glacier (Bureau of International Information Programs, 2008), while in any other context erratic would mean something entirely different. Mathematics is also used in Geography, for example cartograms are Geographical maps that have a heavy use of statistical methods.

 

Figure 5. Morning light and an erratic boulder. Reprinted from Panoramio. Retrieved from    http://static.panoramio.com/photos/large/97373168.jpg

To recap, subject-specific literacies/numeracies are skills students need to understand a particular subject, while disciplinary literacy/numeracy refers to the specialized tools experts use for their work in a particular discipline. Knowledge in a specific discipline means knowing the facts, skills, language and mathematics used in a subject. New types of knowledge are constantly created in specific subjects, using evidence found by experts in the particular field. Specific jargon and special mathematical techniques are also used in particular subjects.