Learning using primary literature may be a way of developing a capacity for scientific ways of thinking among students. Since reading research articles is a difficult task for novices, we examined the possible benefits of learning using primary literature versus secondary literature, particularly with respect to their influence on the creation and formation of scientific literacy. We report on a comparison between four groups of high school students, each with differing degrees of prior knowledge in biology, who read a domain-related text written in either the scientific research article genre
African-American adolescent girls who expressed little interest in literacy activities nevertheless enthusiastically engaged in reading and writing around a topic that mattered to them—doing hair—particularly when they were allowed to determine the format of the literacy activities. The program aimed to carve out free spaces for self-directed learning.
A unique afterschool class in making comic strips and comic books, taught by a professional comic artist, encourages both literacy development and identity development in adolescent participants.
Adult facilitators in afterschool programs can work with LGBTQ youth to construct a safe space in which the youth can validate their identities in the process of doing literacy work.