Poetry Matters ESRC Seminar SeriesGreenwich, May 2011

Fiona Collins and Alison Kelly

Our Journey

2006-2011 Poetry project (ongoing): Poem a Day

2008-2009 Pilot of evaluation of project (PGCE primary)

2010 Poetry Society collaboration

2010 – 2011 Baseline study with year BA Primary undergraduate students

2011- 2012 Poetry Society Project

Developments in the teaching of poetry in English primary schools

1975 Bullock Report

1989 National Curriculum

1997 National Literacy Strategy

2006 Primary National Strategy

Andrew Motion

‘At the moment, our teacher training programmes are producing people who are simply not equipped to teach it [poetry].

Worse than that, I’d say we are producing a lot of

teacherswho remember being anxious around the reading and writing of poetry when they

werechildren themselves, and who are therefore very likely to end up communicating that anxiety, rather than anything else.’

North of England Education Conference, Jan 2010

RESEARCH LANDSCAPE Secondary teachers Benton, 1984, 1999 Secondary student teachers

Dymoke, 2007 Primary teachers

Cremin et al (2008/9) Teachers as Readers, Phases 1 and 2Ofsted, Poetry in Schools: A Survey of Practice 2006/7Medwell, (1998) Effective Teachers of Literacy

Primary student teachers: Ray, 1999

Poem a Day 2006 -

Aims of the Project

To deepen and extend students’ subject knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge

To foster enjoyment of and a positive attitude towards poetry and poetry teaching

To help students to tune into poetic language

Baseline research

QUESTIONSWhat knowledge about poetry and poetry teaching do student teachers bring?

What is the impact of university based modules and School Experience on student knowledge of poetry and poetry teaching at the end of their first year of training?

How do class teachers conceive their role in supporting students’ teaching of poetry?

Methodology

BA Primary Education Year 1 students

Questionnaire 1 (Autumn 2010 , n: 49)Questionnaire 2 (Spring 2011, n:20)Case studies:

4 students4 teachers

Student Journeys: Questionnaire 1Overall positive experience Six students reported on consistently positive experience of poetry during their childhood (i.e. from home to primary school to secondary school). Of the six, four are now English subject specialists or had taken A level English Literature.

No. 18SS

• Home: I remember having Zephaniah books at home. I was fond of Agard and Rosen poems which I would borrow from school and take home to read.

• Primary school: We would study poems as part of English. Poetry books were always available to read and borrow. I remember ‘The Poison Tree’ which I immediately loved and it is still my favourite poem. Some teachers were enthusiastic about poetry and it was something we were encouraged to read and read aloud.

• Secondary school: We had to study lots of poems over the years..make up our own poetry anthology...good way to explore poetry...heavily encouraged to read poetry. Favourite poets were Blake and Duffy.

The role of primary teachers

31% of the responses were positive about primary teachers :

My Year 1 teacher often read poetry

My Year 5 teacher was particularly encouraging

My teachers were enthusiastic about poetry The majority of responses (69%) either

didn’t remember or gave lukewarm responses:

My teacher would read a poem now and then … and that was it.

There were no overtly negative responses about primary teachers.

The role of secondary teachers

• Positive responses (16%)My English teacher for years 7-11 was a guiding light in my world.

I really enjoyed GCSE English literature where I studied Heaney and Clarke. My teacher was very inspiring and this experience led me to take A level English literature.

Enjoyed reading and dissecting poetry, finding the hidden meaning ...Had a great teacher at GCSE who made it more like looking in on someone’s mind and reading their thoughts.

Negative responses (14%)

Unfortunately my memories of secondary school English were not very fond ones.

I can only remember being taught poetry for GCSE as none of my English teachers were particularly passionate about poetry.

Wilfred Owen was very enjoyable but my teacher was horrendous.

My teacher deterred me from poetry.

I didn’t enjoy it, teachers made it boring.

Case studies Katie – Reception

Claire – Year 1

Helen – Year 4

Ted – Year 5

KatieAt first I was a bit hesitant but now I have actually taught them myself I feel so much more confident and I know how much the children enjoy them, they’ll happily participate once they’ve understood the poem and if you introduce an interactive element they’ll enjoy it so much more. It builds on their confidence. Their social skills were changed while I was there. I saw shy children suddenly bloom with confidence by the end, by just asking them to participate in poetry.

Claire I do love poetry but I don’t read enough of it.MemoriesPlease Mrs Butler - I can remember my teacher reading it and I particularly remember those collection of poems and I read one to my best friend who I have been friends with since I was four and we remember different parts of it. For me is evokes so many memories of my childhood growing up and the particular poems I was read by my teacher and my mum.

Helen

I have no confidence in what I would call the more traditional, heavy type poetry… I actively avoided poems in the book (100 best poems) that were a bit darker, a bit more involved…You’ve given me the doorway in which to pick a poem that you can relate to and hopefully that will give you the basis for delving into what I’d call the classics… to start off at the lighter end has built my confidence

Ted

Class teacher: not an avid fan; I enjoy teaching it if I understand it: haikus have got rules

Ted: My teacher wasn’t into poetry… as a person she’s quite logical, very scientific, so if she feels she doesn’t understand it, that might dissuade her from using it.

Questionnaire 2 (Interim findings) Of the 20 completed, 6 students observed

teaching. 14 did not. Range of comments about their own poetry

teaching:confident, I enjoy it, much more confident

as I was able to teach four lessons, much more enthusiastic. comfortable enough but I would like to do a lot more now, fairly confident when teaching simple rhymeanxious, slightly unconfident.

Issues

National priorities : resistance?

How do we define ‘subject knowledge’?

Issues: STUDENT TEACHER IDENTITY

Significance of learning journeys

Communities of practice: implications for student teacher learning

Fragility around evolving professional identity

2011 -2012 Poetry Society Project

Working with the poet, Roger Stevens

Workshops Student anthologies and journals INSET with teachers

BibliographyBenton, P. (1984) ‘Teaching Poetry: the Rhetoric and the Reality’, Oxford Review of Education, 10, no.3, 319-327

Benton, P. (1999) ‘Unweaving the Rainbow’’, Oxford Review of Education, 25, no. 4 , 520-531

Cremin, T., M. Mottram, E. Bearne & P. Goodwin (2008) ‘Exploring teachers’ knowledge of children’s literature’, Cambridge Journal of Education, 38, no.4, 449-464

Day, C., A. Kington, G. Stobart & P. Sammons (2006) ‘The personal and professional selves of teachers: stable and unstable identities’,

British Educational Research Journal, 32, no.4, 601-616

Erstad, O., O. Gijje, J. Sefton-Green & K. Vasbo (2009) ‘Exploring Learning Lives: community, identity, literacy and meaning, Literacy, 43, no.2: 100-6

Lave, J. & E. Wenger (1991) Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Medwell, J., D. Wray, I. Poulson & R. Fox (2002) Effective Teachers of Literacy: Summary of Findings, London: TTA

Ofsted (2007) Poetry in Schools: A Survey or Practice 2006/7 , London: Ofsted

Ray, R. (1999) ‘The diversity of poetry: how trainee teachers’ perceptions affect their attitude to poetry teaching’, The Curriculum Journal, 10, no.3: 403-18