Session Information
10 SES 13 C, Research on Programmes and Pedagogical Approaches in Teacher Education
Paper Session
Contribution
This paper reports the second of a cross-national research project in which interactive, creative and aesthetic approaches to teaching and learning are adapted to cross-curricular teaching, and particularly to the development and improvement of reading writing and second language competencies. A paper presented at ECER in 2010 (Greenwood & Sæbø, 2010) examined the overarching theoretical framework and reported the pilot studies in Norway and New Zealand investigating the use of creative and interactive methodologies in the teaching of reading and writing and relating the initial findings to a discussion of initial teacher education.
The research question that focuses the project is twofold:
· How can creative, interactive and aesthetic-based processes be used to develop literacy?
· What knowledge, skills and experience do beginning teachers need in order to effectively teach literacy?
The wider conceptual framework of this study draws on conceptualisations of
· curriculum founded on understandings of knowledge as socially and collectively constructed and characterised by complexity, multiplicity and resistance to closure (Andreotti, 2007),
· of learning through the aesthetic as holistic, complex, and engaging body and emotion as well as cognition (Greenwood 2010; Sæbo 2009),
· of literacy as socially related set of skills (DeZutter, 2007),
· and of the interactive strategies of process drama, particularly the use of role and framing (Greenwood & Sæbo 2009; Greenwood, 2005; Sæbo 2010).
The contextually and culturally situated approach to literacy and to initial teacher education discussed in this paper aligns with the conference theme of Urban Education, particularly with the concept of cities' educational systems working 'under the conditions of cooperation, competition and innovative dynamics'.
This second stage reports two case studies, one in Norway and one in New Zealand, in which the strategies of applied drama have been used to motivate, direct and extend learning. The work in the Norwegian classroom is with mainstream students and focused on literacy development. The New Zealand case study is with children who are recent immigrants and for whom English is a new language. This study focused on the development of oracy as well as literacy.
The paper reports improvement in motivation and in the performance of classroom literacy and oracy tasks. It also highlights the need for teacher education (initial and in-service) to develop the knowledge and finely-tuned skills that allow teachers to strategically use interactive and creative methods in the classroom. Finally the paper draws some tentative conclusions about the complewxity of the scholarship and artistry involved in teaching.
As European and other western governments react to financial recession by prioritising competency in literacy and numeracy in school outcomes and in funding for professional development of teachers (Sæbo & Alern 2010; Ax, Elte & Ponte, 2007; Mattsson, Johansson & Sandström 2008; Greenwood, Fletcher, Parkhill, Grimley & Bridges, S 2009 ), and in reducing expenditure on initial teacher education courses , there is a need to re-examine the so-called basics in education and to explore the relationship between creative and contextually embodied pathways and the learning of basic skills.
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
Andreotti, V. (2009). Shifting conceptualisations of knowledge and learning in the integration of the new New Zealand curriculum in initial and continuing teacher education. Paper presented at BERA Conference. Manchester. Ax,J. , Elte, R. & Ponte, P. (2007). In J. Ax & P. Ponte (Eds.) Critiquing praxis; conceptual and empirical trends in the teaching profession (pp67-89). Rotterdam: Sense Publishers. DeZutter, S. (2007). Play as Group Improvement. In O. Saracho & B. Spodek (Eds.), Contemporary Perspectives On Social Learning in Early Childhood Education. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing E. U. (2006). Key competencies for lifelong learning. http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/education_culture/publ/pdf/ll-learning/keycomp_en.pdf Greenwood, J. & Sæbo, A. (2010). Creativity and Basic Skills: Competing or Complenetary Agendas in Initial Teacher Education. Paper presented at ECER Conference. Helsinki. Greenwood, J. (2010). Aesthetic learning, and learning through the aesthetic. In S.Shonmann (Ed). Key Concepts in Theatre/Drama Education. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers. Greenwood, J. (2005). Playing with Curriculum. Invercargill: Essential Resources. Greenwood, J., Fletcher, J., Parkhill, F., Grimley, M. & Bridges, S. (2009).What happens to reading progress in the New Zealand Year 7-8 classes? The plateau, literacy leadership and the remaining tail. In M. Sinclair (Ed). A Journey of Discovery: Facilitating the initiation and application of schooling research. Auckland: Cognition Institute. Learning and Teaching in Scotland (2008) Curriculum for Excellence. http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/curriculumforexcellence/index.asp Mattsson, M., Johansson, I. & Sandström, B. (Eds.) (2008). Assessment and knowledge construction in teacher education. ). Rotterdam: Sense Publishers. New Zealand Ministry of Education (2007). The New Zealand Curriculum. Wellington: Learning Media Norwegian Board of Education (1997). Core Curriculum. Oslo: Norwegian Board of Education. Sæbø, A.B. (2009). Drama and student active learning. A study of how drama responds to the didactical challenges of the teaching and learning process. Trondheim: NTNU.
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