“It allows me to think about what children can do”: Systems Thinking in Productive Literacy Engagement

• In Event: Literacy Instruction to Support Agency, Argumentation, and Equity

Abstract

Vignettes of two K-1 teachers' implementation of systems thinking pedagogy (STP) during literacy instruction highlight students’ meaningful connections and collaborative understandings to comprehend systems’ interrelatedness (Capra & Luisi, 2014). As they read, discussed, and authored texts, children drew upon their different cultural, linguistic, and socio-economic funds of knowledge to more fully “engage in a complex world” (Davis & Francis, 2022). Notably, children’s collective consciousness led their teachers to understand STP as an asset-based and equitable teaching practice.

Authors

• Amy Ardell, Mount Saint Mary's University, Los Angeles

• Margaret Sauceda Curwen, Chapman University

• Laurie Macgillivray, University of Memphis