Shih Wen - Reflection 2

Learning though ICT has taken a strong hold in the curriculum as institutions call for a need to move our students to become 21^st century learners (MOE, 2008). For the Literature classroom, there is no exception. Teachers are constantly looking for ways to engage students in learning a subject which has always be deemed as less important alongside math and science.

In the article “ICT-Infused Learning in a literature Classroom: Lessons from a Neighbourhood School”, Ong shares with us her experiences teaching mixed ability classes Literature with the use of information and communication technology (ICT), such as movie makers and online social platforms. I am particularly interested in this article as it deals with students who “do not take up the subject out of choice and interest; rather, they are assigned the subject as they may not have met the criteria for other electives offered by the school” (p.81). This is a real issue which I have personally faced in my teaching practicum—teaching a class of students who are academically and linguistically weak, and who could not care less about Literature since they did not opt for it and believe they will never be able to understand or perform well in it.

To help students overcome these negative attitudes towards Literature so deeply entrenched in their culture, Ong suggests the use of ICT for “mixed-ability and low-ability students a medium that they can utilize to form their own responses” (p.88) to Literary texts. For example, one of the suggestions in the article is “Creating Meaning Through Videos” to teach The Crucible. Over a course of 3 weeks, students are to ‘translate’ scenes from the play into a video clip that could “effectively capture the mood, setting, tone and characterization”. Even though students are encouraged retain the original play text, they still have to interpret the kind of mood, atmosphere and intonation of dialogues which drives the characters’ personality. The idea of such a transmediation (McCormick, 2011) not only engages students in a fun and interactive way, but also requires students to ‘translate’ content across sign systems, forcing them to “make choices in response to ambiguity” (McCormick, 2011, p.586). By getting students to produce a 15-minute video based on a scene in The Crucible, the teacher is effectively giving students the autonomy to become their own directors, actors and editors without veering away from the original.

For the weaker students who lack confidence to speak in class discussions, this activity serves as a suitable platform for them to shine as they can edit, replay and rehearse their lines to perfection without the scrutiny of the entire class. As Ong repeatedly emphasizes, ICT allows “reticent students an opportunity to give voice to their opinions”, and this is even more apparent in online class discussions as it provides students with a psychologically safe environment to pour their thoughts after they have organized them into words.

Perhaps, the only issue I might have with ICT is my own proficiency in technology and lack of experience as a soon-to-be beginning teacher. While ICT seems to afford so many promising ideas for alternative assessments, it is still a relatively new medium for teaching and learning. I always find it a challenge to bridge the gap between alternative and traditional assessment as they are so different in their demands. It is like giving students candies and then taking it back from them when examinations’ round the corner, before they could even fully taste its flavour. It is the transition from fun and games to serious academic writing of PEEL which kills the “joys of reading Literature” (MOE, 2013), part of the “aims” of English Literature Syllabus.

 

Faith Ong (2013) ICT-Infused Learning in a Literature Classroom in a Neighbourhood School. In Loh, Yeo & Liew (2013) Teaching Literature in Singapore Secondary Schools. Singapore: Pearson

 

McCormick, J. (2011) Transmediation in the Language Arts classroom: creating contexts for analysis and ambiguity. In Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy 54(8),579- 587.0

 

Ministry of Education. (2008, August 5). Press Release: MOE Launches Third Masterplan for ICT in Education. Retrieved Feburary 2, 2013, from Ministry of Education: http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/press/2008/08/moe-launches-third-masterplan.php

 

Ministry of Education. (2013). Literature in English Teaching Syllabus 2013. Retrieved Feb 8, 2013, from MOE: http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/syllabuses/english-language-and-literature/files/literature-in-english-lower-secondary-2013.pdf