The impetus for this literature review came from my arrival at a new post in a large secondary co... more The impetus for this literature review came from my arrival at a new post in a large secondary comprehensive school. I had taught outside the state system for a decade or so and, although I had taught in this school on a previous occasion, I was surprised by the changes that I perceived in the curriculum, delivery and reception of English lessons. My initial surprise was the number of students in my classes whose approach to learning seemed overly dependent on teacher-provided answers despite my efforts to design tasks to promote personalization and independence. Was this dependency a result of changes in the state system over the decade? Was the contrast heightened by my move from one system to another? I was unwilling to accept that a cohort of students could be so different for immutable reasons. I wanted to explore ways to regain what I termed the ‘creativity’ necessary for more independent thinking and so I chose this area as the subject of my research for the M.Ed course. In retrospect, I realize that creativity is a diffuse concept, however, the search to define it has clarified my thoughts about what is important for my own students’ experience of English. In this critical literature review I will be exploring some of the factors that I believe are salient to students’ experience of teaching and learning in English lessons. These are the policy background and macro educational landscape that we are all part of, the effect that leaders can have and the cognitive, affective and neuroscientific factors affecting individual students.
This autoethnographic case study explores the apparent differences in one English Department rega... more This autoethnographic case study explores the apparent differences in one English Department regarding the most effective ways to improve student writing. Qualitative data is examined to reveal ideological and methodological tensions between an approach informed by National Writing Project ideals and an approach informed by the government’s current standards debate. Data was gathered over the course of one academic year and contains semi-structured interview transcripts with a wide range of staff and students, as well as exemplar material and field notes. The discussion is located in the literature of government policy contrasted with contemporary exegeses most notably by Smith and Wrigley, Locke and Myhill. The analysis concerns English teachers’ attempts to understand the ‘field of judgement’ applied to student work by the examination board, to write a scheme of work, to mark student written work, to trial a different approach and to work within a whole school context. The study advocates a pragmatic blend of National Writing Project methods within current external constraints. It concludes that a radical change of approach to school literacy policy, teaching styles and approaches would be beneficial to improvement in student writing.
The impetus for this literature review came from my arrival at a new post in a large secondary co... more The impetus for this literature review came from my arrival at a new post in a large secondary comprehensive school. I had taught outside the state system for a decade or so and, although I had taught in this school on a previous occasion, I was surprised by the changes that I perceived in the curriculum, delivery and reception of English lessons. My initial surprise was the number of students in my classes whose approach to learning seemed overly dependent on teacher-provided answers despite my efforts to design tasks to promote personalization and independence. Was this dependency a result of changes in the state system over the decade? Was the contrast heightened by my move from one system to another? I was unwilling to accept that a cohort of students could be so different for immutable reasons. I wanted to explore ways to regain what I termed the ‘creativity’ necessary for more independent thinking and so I chose this area as the subject of my research for the M.Ed course. In retrospect, I realize that creativity is a diffuse concept, however, the search to define it has clarified my thoughts about what is important for my own students’ experience of English. In this critical literature review I will be exploring some of the factors that I believe are salient to students’ experience of teaching and learning in English lessons. These are the policy background and macro educational landscape that we are all part of, the effect that leaders can have and the cognitive, affective and neuroscientific factors affecting individual students.
This autoethnographic case study explores the apparent differences in one English Department rega... more This autoethnographic case study explores the apparent differences in one English Department regarding the most effective ways to improve student writing. Qualitative data is examined to reveal ideological and methodological tensions between an approach informed by National Writing Project ideals and an approach informed by the government’s current standards debate. Data was gathered over the course of one academic year and contains semi-structured interview transcripts with a wide range of staff and students, as well as exemplar material and field notes. The discussion is located in the literature of government policy contrasted with contemporary exegeses most notably by Smith and Wrigley, Locke and Myhill. The analysis concerns English teachers’ attempts to understand the ‘field of judgement’ applied to student work by the examination board, to write a scheme of work, to mark student written work, to trial a different approach and to work within a whole school context. The study advocates a pragmatic blend of National Writing Project methods within current external constraints. It concludes that a radical change of approach to school literacy policy, teaching styles and approaches would be beneficial to improvement in student writing.
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Papers by Tricia Lennie
The analysis concerns English teachers’ attempts to understand the ‘field of judgement’ applied to student work by the examination board, to write a scheme of work, to mark student written work, to trial a different approach and to work within a whole school context. The study advocates a pragmatic blend of National Writing Project methods within current external constraints. It concludes that a radical change of approach to school literacy policy, teaching styles and approaches would be beneficial to improvement in student writing.
The analysis concerns English teachers’ attempts to understand the ‘field of judgement’ applied to student work by the examination board, to write a scheme of work, to mark student written work, to trial a different approach and to work within a whole school context. The study advocates a pragmatic blend of National Writing Project methods within current external constraints. It concludes that a radical change of approach to school literacy policy, teaching styles and approaches would be beneficial to improvement in student writing.