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Effectiveness of teaching the novel using the traditional and response methods
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Type
Thesis
Author
Leong, Susan K. P.
Supervisor
Goh, Soo Tian
Abstract
This study proposes to find out if a more student-centered response method of teaching could improve the student's attitude towards and academic performance in Literature.
It was an attempt to address some of the problems in Literature instruction at the secondary school level, in particular, the way Literature has been taught, which might have resulted in a less-than-favourable attitude among students towards the subject. The study also tried to suggest an alternative to the usual traditional method of teaching Literature by focusing more on the students' role as active participants in the process of making meaning from a text, rather than as passive recipients.
Two intact Secondary 2 Express classes from a government-aided school in Singapore were used for the experiment. One class was the control group, taught with the traditional method ; the other was the experimental group, taught with the response method. The traditional method was characterised by an approach which focused mainly on factual knowledge, with little regard for inferential and interpretational skills. It was not unlike reading comprehension instruction as the student's response was not encouraged. The response method recognised the reader's contribution as an essential component in the "transaction process" (Rosenblatt 1938) and elicited personal responses from the reader as he interacted with the literary text.
An Attitude Checklist was administered to both experimental and control groups at the beginning of the study. After the eight-week bloc of instruction, the same Checklist was again administered. Comparison of the data from the two administrations indicated that the experimental group generally showed a more positive attitude towards Literature than the control group.
To find out how each group did academically, a Pre-Test and Post-Test were given after the teaching of Chapters 1-3 and Chapters 6-8. The internal replication was undertaken so as to yield more accurate results. The analysis of the performance in the tests showed that there was a significant improvement in the performance of the experimental group, especially in the response-type, inferential questions which required higher-order thinking skills.
According to the findings in this experiment, the response method does recommend itself as an appropriate method of instruction in the Literature classroom as it would help to improve both the student's attitude towards, and academic performance in, the subject.
It was an attempt to address some of the problems in Literature instruction at the secondary school level, in particular, the way Literature has been taught, which might have resulted in a less-than-favourable attitude among students towards the subject. The study also tried to suggest an alternative to the usual traditional method of teaching Literature by focusing more on the students' role as active participants in the process of making meaning from a text, rather than as passive recipients.
Two intact Secondary 2 Express classes from a government-aided school in Singapore were used for the experiment. One class was the control group, taught with the traditional method ; the other was the experimental group, taught with the response method. The traditional method was characterised by an approach which focused mainly on factual knowledge, with little regard for inferential and interpretational skills. It was not unlike reading comprehension instruction as the student's response was not encouraged. The response method recognised the reader's contribution as an essential component in the "transaction process" (Rosenblatt 1938) and elicited personal responses from the reader as he interacted with the literary text.
An Attitude Checklist was administered to both experimental and control groups at the beginning of the study. After the eight-week bloc of instruction, the same Checklist was again administered. Comparison of the data from the two administrations indicated that the experimental group generally showed a more positive attitude towards Literature than the control group.
To find out how each group did academically, a Pre-Test and Post-Test were given after the teaching of Chapters 1-3 and Chapters 6-8. The internal replication was undertaken so as to yield more accurate results. The analysis of the performance in the tests showed that there was a significant improvement in the performance of the experimental group, especially in the response-type, inferential questions which required higher-order thinking skills.
According to the findings in this experiment, the response method does recommend itself as an appropriate method of instruction in the Literature classroom as it would help to improve both the student's attitude towards, and academic performance in, the subject.
Date Issued
1992
Call Number
PN59 Leo
Description
Pg. 76 is missing
Date Submitted
1992