Disciplinary Literacy and Explicit Vocabulary Teaching: A whole school approach to closing the attainment gap

Disciplinary literacy matters because it offers the subtle and vital knowledge that subject teachers need to adapt their practice. It meets teachers where they are. It combines the disciplinary knowing with the doing. That is not to say this hasn’t been tried before, or that it proves easy work. Despite lots of accessible research evidence attending disciplinary literacy, too often teachers struggle to apply that research in practical terms to their work in the classroom. Happily, Katherine Mortimore has produced a teacher-friendly account of disciplinary literacy that is stuffed full with useful worked examples and subject-specific perspectives to help teachers transform their work. Disciplinary literacy matters. And it matters to every teacher and pupil. Indeed, success in each and every classroom depends upon it. - Alex Quigley

Currently a lead practitioner for English at Torquay Academy, Kathrine Mortimore is particularly interested in tackling social inequalities through education. She gained a Masters in Advanced Subject Teaching from the University of Cambridge where she researched how to narrow the attainment gap in 2012, and has used this research to inform whole school improvement projects ever since.

She has worked on specific school improvement literacy projects alongside outstanding colleagues for the last five years to take Torquay Academy, which serves a particularly deprived coastal community, out of ‘requires improvement’ and towards significant improvements in the results achieved which have received national recognition. This improvement has been as a result of the inspirational work of Steve Margetts, the principal, who had the foresight to see the power of coaching to improve teaching and learning, alongside the adoption of direct and explicit instruction and a knowledge-rich curriculum.

Alongside her teaching, she has worked with Neil Bowen to produce many of the well-regarded Art of Poetry, Prose and Drama study guides which are designed to support students to achieve the very highest grades through a series of critical essays. They have proved very popular with teachers looking to improve their subject knowledge.