Developing Confident Responses to Literature at A Level

1. Developing Confident Responses to Literature at A Level or The Joy of Assessment Objectives and Examiners’ Reports

2. Gary Snapper • Till 2001, HoD in 11-18 comprehensive in Cambridge • Now at Cheney School, Oxford (11-18 comprehensive, mixed and multicultural catchment) – Part-time teacher of A Level Literature (AQA B) and GCSE Re-sits • National Association for the Teaching of English (NATE) • Editor of English Drama Media; Post-16 Committee • Brunel University – • Research Associate (Research into Post-16 English) • Freelance • Teacher training – A Level and IB Literature – PGCE and INSET • Independent – not an adviser, inspector or examiner! No drum to bang….

3. This workshop… • … takes Assessment Objectives as its focus because of the diversity of specifications • … is about teaching the knowledge and skills that might enable A Level students to be more confident about: • reading, analysing and interpreting texts • setting texts in various broader contexts • writing about texts • and thereby hitting Assessment Objectives

4. Sources • There are few sources of official advice, apart from syllabus-specific advice from exam boards • No up-to-date books on teaching A Level Literature, and little other accessible writing or research • Ideas emerge from: • my own teaching of A Level and I.B. literature • my work with teachers and PGCE students • my research into Post-16 English • my involvement with QCA, exam boards etc in consultations over A Level criteria and specifications • long-established student-centred methods (e.g. English and Media Centre)

5. Focus of workshop • 1. Some key issues (30 mins?) • 2. Exploring Assessment Objectives (1 hr?) • What the examiners say the issues are • Experiences in the classroom • Some resources and methods to develop students’ confidence • 3. Teaching beyond the set text (1 hr?)

6. Some key issues 1. A LEVEL – MOVING ON FROM GCSE • Students need to be moved fast from relatively fragmented and teacher-directed work at GCSE to more sustained, independent and engaged working practices suitable for A Level and university • This creates significant pressure, perhaps especially at AS • Homework and classwork both key issues

7. Some key issues • THE MIXED ABILITY A LEVEL CLASSROOM • A Level classes often more mixed ability than GCSE classes • Levels of motivation, engagement and contribution often vary widely – in and out of class • Success at GCSE does not guarantee success at A Level • GCSE grades do not always guarantee confidence in reading or writing

8. Some key issues 3. A LEVEL – PREPARATION FOR UNIVERSITY • Since A Level changes in 2000 and 2008, greater emphasis in English Literature on: • Comparative study and independent study of texts • Independent writing and responsible referencing • Multiple contexts and interpretations of texts • Formalised approaches to literary forms, structures, genres, etc • Theory, criticism and creativity • Brings A Level Eng Lit into line with Eng Lang, and with University English and Arts/Humanities but increases demand at A Level – for teachers and students

9. Is Change Good? • Changes are meant to modernise the study of literature at A Level, and to demystify it (the study, not the literature) by making its theoretical and analytical basis more explicit…. Less about appreciation, more about analysis • Positives – a more open, accessible subject? A better preparation for further study and cultural understanding? • Negatives – a more difficult subject? Less about enjoyment of reading?

10. GCSE to A Level Problems • Difficulty with extended independent reading tasks – set texts and wider reading • Difficulty with extended independent writing tasks – essays • Difficulty engaging productively in relatively free classroom discussion environment • Self-consciousness in new and mixed ability environment • Difficulty grasping new concepts and understanding the purposes and parameters of the subject beyond passing the exam • Moving beyond plot, character, theme – from text as ‘story’ to text as ‘cultural representation’; from ‘reading’ to ‘analysis’; etc.

11. A Level to University Problems • Exactly the same problems! • But NB – particular difficulty with: • Reading criticism and theory • Reading old texts and poetry • Reading range and quantity of texts • Placing texts in a range of social, political, cultural, historical, literary contexts • Understanding discourses about literary and cultural values and theories, questioning conventional views of literature • Moving from wanting to read and discuss interesting books to wanting to ‘study literature’ • Hence many of the recent changes at A Level

12. So… • Students need aclear,structured and systematic approach to understanding the methods, purposes, range and concerns of the subject • Students need to become capable of sustained, independent approaches to reading and writing in and out of class but such approaches need to be graduallyintroduced and modelled

13. Assessment Objectives... • If used carefully, can be a useful way for teachers to think about what they have to teach in order to develop the broad skills and knowledge needed to grasp the subject • If used carefully, can be a useful way for students to think about what they have to learn in order to develop the broad skills and knowledge needed to grasp the subject • But they can also deaden the subject….

14. Assessment Objectives … • If the skills and knowledge required to meet the assessment objectives are taught organically as part of the syllabus, AOsshould not be a problem when the assessment comes around. • There is no need to mention AOs until the assessment happens – as long as the skills and knowledge required have been taught previously • Focusing on AOstoo soon or too often can be de-motivating and reductive – but teaching the skills and knowledge implied by them should be happening all the time

15. Examiners’ Reports… • … give a crucial insight into how examiners interpret the subject / AOs, and can help inform work in class • … can be shared with students when they are preparing their assessments • Other exam board material – e.g., sample student responses and standardisation material, are also invaluable for both teacher and student use

16. AO1 - Writing Communicating knowledge and understanding of texts through: • Relevant and coherent arguments • Structured and organised writing • Expressive and accurate writing • Use of appropriate terminology Issues: Coursework task-setting, Answering the exam question, Structuring argument, Accuracy and clarity of expression, Presentation and terminology

17. AO2 – Structure, Form, Language, • Identification of aspects of structure, form and language • Critical exploration of how these shape meaning • References to text to support ideas Issues: Definitions and coverage; Genre-specific understandings (novel, poetry, drama); Understanding creativity and convention; Understanding the craft of the writer; Understanding possible intended effects

18. AO3 - Interpretation • Exploration of connections and comparisons between texts • Engaging with different readings and interpretations of texts Issues: Comparison as more than a routine – what is it for?; Narratives as interpretations of the world – representations; Connections between AO2,3,4; Role of criticism and theory – wider reading; Own ideas and others’ ideas – assimilation, plagiarism, referencing

19. AO4 - Context • Relationships between literary texts and their contexts • Influence of culture, text type, literary genre, historical period on the ways in which literary texts are/were received Issues: Contexts of production and reception; Integrating context not tacking it on; Encouraging research and wider reading for context

20. AO5? Student engagement • Contributing to discussion in class • Being intellectually engaged in class • Managing sustained reading and writing out of class Issues: • Structured freedom – breaking down tasks and giving responsibility for feedback and presentation; discreet differentiation; varied approaches to group work and text work

21. Beyond the Set Text • Teaching Poetry not Poems • Teaching The Novel not Novels • Teaching Drama not Plays • Within the time constraints and whilst maintaining a focus on set texts • Engaging students in understanding and questioning what they are doing and why – meta-cognitive awareness – can have very positive effects • Can we envisage a ‘knowledge about literature’ curriculum?

22. gary@nate.org.uk • www.gabrielsnapper.co.uk