A Cognitive Toolkit for Adult Literacy

Kieran Egan
Faculty of Education
Simon Fraser University

CONTENTS

Chapter One: The Cognitive Tools of Orality

Introduction
Making literate sense of orality
Some characteristic cognitive tools of orality

• Story
• Metaphor
• Binary opposites
• Rhyme and rhythm
• Jokes and Humour
• Images
• Gossip
• Embeddedness in lifeworld

Conclusion

Chapter Two: The Cognitive Tools of Initial Literacy

Introduction
Some characteristic cognitive tools of literacy

• The redefinition of reality
• Overcoming the everyday world
• The sense of wonder
• Knowledge and human meaning
• Transcendent human qualities
• Early forms of literacy and literal thinking
• Literate forms of oral capacities

Conclusion

Chapter Three: Teaching Literacy

Introduction

Icon, index, and symbol

Practical uses of the cognitive tools of orality

• Story
• Metaphor
• Binary opposites
• Rhyme and rhythm
• Jokes and Humour
• Images
• Gossip
• Embeddedness in lifeworld

Practical uses of the cognitive tools of initial literacy

• The redefinition of reality
• Overcoming the everyday world
• The sense of wonder
• Knowledge and human meaning
• Transcendent human qualities
• Early forms of literacy and literal thinking
• Literate forms of oral capacities

Conclusion

Chapter Four: Frameworks for planning teaching

Introduction

A framework from the cognitive tools of orality

• Identifying importance
• Finding binary opposites
• Organizing content into story form
• Conclusion
• Evaluation

A framework from the cognitive tools of initial literacy

• Identifying transcendent qualities
• Organizing the topic into a coherent narrative
• Concluding
• Evaluation

Conclusion

Conclusion

Bibliography

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