What is Literacy? Reflection

In our "What is Literacy?" assignment, we were tasked with identifying and analyzing the meaning of literacy, and what literacy means for students in this digital age. Within the assignment, we also made connections with literacy in our content area, with my focus being on literacy in a mathematics focused classroom. The Education Department's Mission Statement offers five main pillars describing the goal of the education department for its students, and while I believe literacy skills are interwoven into each pillar of the mission statement, some pillars represent my ideas of literacy better than others. For example, "Our graduates are passionate and curious scholars" emphasizes my belief that literacy skills incite curiosity in students, and in using one's literacy skills to gain information from visual, printed, or digital media, students exercise their curiosity and are capable of exploring topics which they are passionate about. Allowing students to present to each other in small groups also focused on the "Our graduates are collaborative and knowledgeable instructional leaders" pillar, since students were allowed to learn from each other's presentations, and specifically were able to converse with other students specializing in their content area, furthering their understanding of how literacy applies to their focus.
In the context of this assignment, we were working under the pillar stating, "Our graduates are creative and integrative educators", since many students utilized digital media tools which they had little experience in, they were allowed to go outside of their comfort zone to explore the tool of Adobe Spark Page, learning both the benefits and drawbacks of such a medium. In creating their presentation, students exercised their creativity in how they represent and describe literacy. In my presentation, I considered practical applications of literacy skills in mathematics, and what type of information mediums students may be tasked with interpreting and understanding. For example, students may be asked to read maps, graphs, and mathematical symbols to interpret equations. I believe that this closely matches the "Our graduates are change agents committed to social justice and sustainability" pillar from the mission statement, as having students consider how mathematical models are applied to the real world could be the first step to solving sustainability problems, carbon emissions, and a diminishing water supply. Students are encouraged to think about tomorrow, instead of focusing on the facts of today, and are able to apply their learning to problems that will be around as they grow older.
While listening to my small group's presentations, I was given new ideas for how literacy is considered beyond mathematics. I was reminded that for students today, literacy skills include navigating social media, biased resources, and unknown digital tools. In the classroom, effectively instructing how to recognize bias is essential to developing thoughtful and reflective students who question the information in front of them. Throughout my inclusion class, I've learned that equity is not always equality, and that some students may need more support than others in order to learn. As such, employing a variety of differentiated instruction methods, including visual models, hands-on work, group work, and student choice-led assignments will ensure their success in a rapidly evolving world where literacy skills are constantly evolving.