Using (Re)Valuing Methodology to understand Content Area Literacy Immersion (CALI): A journey with preservice secondary content area teachers

The author explored secondary content literacy in four ways: 1) to create and pilot (Re)valuing Methodology; 2) to explore the various contextual issues in secondary content area literacy through (Re)valuing Methodology; 3) to explore the beliefs and perspectives of secondary preservice teachers; and 4) to explore teachers' contextual experiences and practices as they utilized a literacy lesson framework to plan, teach, and reflect. With the qualitative methodology of (Re)valuing Methodology, the author combined contextual aspects of bricolage, portraiture, educational connoisseurship, and appreciative inquiry. The focus of (Re)valuing Methodology enabled the author to provide insight to the enduring contextual issues surrounding the struggles of secondary content area teachers as they try to implement literacy practices. To further this aim, the author purposefully employed innovative data collection and representation methods, such as photo-elicitation interviewing, retrospective Content Area Literacy Immersion (CALI) interviewing, and graphic portraiture. The key findings include the importance of participant definitions of literacy and content area literacy; participants increased awareness in content and literacy pedagogy and their growth in these areas; the value participants placed on literacy; the potentials of photo-elicitation with a decontextualized photo set; and the potential of CALI as a lesson planning, teaching, and reflection framework. With these and other findings, the author calls for researchers to know the established methodologies and methods used in an area and go outside of these methods when new findings begin to diminish. Researchers and teacher educators should also attend to participant definitions and the weight of these definitions on participant beliefs and performance. If literacy in the content areas is to be the norm as opposed to an anomaly, teacher educators need to provide preservice secondary content area teachers with reflection opportunities accompanied with a competent literacy mentor.