PGCE Support SessionWriting a Literature Review

Aims of a literature review Content of a literature review Planning and organising Writing

Aims of Literature Review

To offer an overview of research relating to the topic of your SSA, including (where appropriate) books, journals and online material

To be selective, not exhaustive To summarise chosen references To synthesise material – i.e. draw together chosen

material and relate references to each other Possibly to offer some evaluation/critique of existing

research

Content of an SSA Literature Review There might be two areas of your literature

review: Material relevant to the particular topic of your

lessons (teaching poetry, Shakespeare, etc….) More general material on pedagogy that relates to

the ways in which you plan to teach the topic (e.g. research on ‘learning styles’, AfL, group work, learning theory, etc….)

Planning and Organising your Literature Review Firstly, read all the material you plan to include Think about how best to organise the material you

are dealing with, you might consider: Chronological – perhaps the simplest way, going through

your references by order of publication Trend – similar to chronological, but grouping references

into ‘phases’ or ‘eras’ Thematic – grouping references that share similar findings

or conclusions Methodological – grouping together references where

similar research methodology was used

Planning a Literature Review (thematic)

Teaching Poetry

Sources relating to place of poetry in English – Bridge (1999), Benton (1989), Philips (2003)

Sources offering thoughts on breadth and range of poetry in English- Dickson (2003), Jenkins (2004), Wright (2008)

Approaches to poetry in the classroom – Benton (1998), Pike (2005), Andrews (1982), Dymoke (2004), Snapper (2008)

Research on teachers’ and students’ attitudes to poetry teaching – Holt (2006), Holbrook (1976), Britton (1982), OfSTED (2007)

Writing your Literature Review Go for a basic introduction/main body/brief

conclusion structure Level of formality; written Standard English Economic, direct, ‘un-wordy’ Signposting – introducing material and

summarising/synthesising Cohesion Use of references/evidence

Example 1 - chronological

Teaching Secondary Poetry (Andrews, 1982) is an account of the author’s attempts to engage his year 10 class with examination poetry. The text describes an active approach to teaching poetry, with oral and group work being integral to the process. The findings that Andrews’ reaches present a powerful argument for moving away from a teacher centred model of teaching poetry.

David Steven’s article, ‘Poetic Possibilities’ (Steven, 1984) looks at…..

Example 2 - Trends In the early 1980s, a succession of books appeared on

the topic of teaching poetry. In Teaching Secondary Poetry, the author initially outlines his own concerns around teaching poetry, before describing his own approach with a year 10 class. His approach is an active one which, through oral and group work, encourages, he claims, ‘a sense of ownership amongst pupils’ (Andrews, 1982, p12). Published shortly after, The Power of Poetry (Docherty, 1983) is, in a sense, a handbook for teachers, offering as it does a rationale for the teaching of poetry before suggesting a whole range of classroom approaches to encourage the reading and writing of verse.

Example 3 - Thematic

Substantial evidence exists to suggest that the teaching of poetry presents particular challenges to the classroom practitioner. Richard Andrews points towards the negative attitudes large groups of children have towards poetry (Andrews, 1987), and urges that teachers confront these attitudes before beginning schemes of work. Offering a series of ‘starter activities’, Andrews argues in his piece that children should be invited to remember their prior experiences of poetry, both in and out of the classroom. Similarly, in his article ‘The Problem of Poetry’ (Pike, 2005), Marcus Pike notes that secondary school students in particular, may have negative attitudes towards poetry. To this degree Pike’s own research seems to echo the earlier work of Andrews. However, in contrast to Andrews, Pike recommends that teachers tackle such attitudes as and when they become evident within lessons, rather than bring

them to light at the beginning of work.

Example 4 - Methodological

A number of studies concerning the teaching of poetry adopt an ‘action research’ methodology, where classroom approaches to poetry are piloted and evaluated. Andrews (1982) proposes that poetry work in the classroom should be active and in Teaching Secondary Poetry he puts his methods into practice with a year 10 mixed ability class. His findings would suggest that group and oral work are fundamental in the effective teaching of poetry. Another classroom based research project on poetry is described in the Changing English article ‘Poetic Possibilities’ (Stevens, 2003). Here the author recounts a series of poetry writing lessons with a year 7 group of boys.

In contrast, a number of academics have adopted quantitative methodologies in an attempt to come to some findings regarding the breadth of the poetry curriculum and teachers’ and pupils’ attitudes to poetry. In ‘The Poetry Curriculum’, (Simms, 2007)….

Signposting Beginning sections

Many researchers point to the importance of talk in the learning process…..

There is much evidence to suggest that talk plays a significant role in learning…..

Linking similar findings Similarly…..In much the same way……Much like….

Contrasting In contrast to….. However, other research suggests….. Not all

researchers agree with these findings….. There are, however, alternative views….

Summarising It can therefore be seen that substantial agreement exists about the

importance of talk….. Despite differences, then, there is broad acknowledgement of the value of talk in the classroom….

Referencing

You must give a reference when directly quoting or putting into your own words the work of another

When putting into your own words, cite the author and date of publication, e.g. Based on empirical data, at least one researcher has suggested that children find

algebra the most challenging aspect of mathematics (Smith, 2004) Smith (2004) has suggested that children find algebra the most challenging…..

When directly quoting, give author, date and page number, e.g. Algebra can be challenging, with one researcher claiming, ‘It is the most

challenging aspect of mathematics’ (Smith, 2004, p.9) When quoting more than about a line, indent your quotation, e.g.:

Among the most interesting of claims is that from the project led by Paul Smith, which concluded that: ‘Whilst many areas of mathematics present significant difficulties to young children, it is

algebra that stands out. It is the most challenging aspect of mathematics’ (Smith, 2004, p.9)

When the source has two authors use both names, e.g. Smith and Gibbons, 2004; where there are more than two use ‘et al’ e.g. Black et al, 2005

Referencing - bibliography Books

Six items: author surname, initials, date, title (in italics), place of publication, publisher E.g. Rawls, J. (2004) Education for the Masses Oxford: OUP

Journals Seven items: author surname, initials, date, title of article (in inverted commas), title of journal

(italics), volume and issue, page number E.g. Gibbons, S. (2008) ‘How L.A.T.E. is was, how L.A.T.E.’ in English in Education 39:1, pp.

11-25 Chapters in edited books

Eight items Surname of chapter author; initials of chapter author; year of publication; title of chapter in inverted commas; surname and initials of editor(s) then (ed.) if there is one editor or (eds.) if there are more editors; title of book, in italics or underlined; place of publication; publisher.

E.g. Andrews, R. (1989) ‘Teaching Poetry’ in Brindley, S. (ed.) Issues in English Teaching London:Routledge

Internet Eight items: Author surname; initials; year of publication (if known); consulted on date; title of

article, in inverted commas; in title of web site; provider of web page; URL for the material E.g. Hick, P. (2000) consulted on 12/8/00, 'New 'threshold' barriers', Inclusive education

archives, Inclusive Education, http://www.mailbase.ac.uk/lists/inclusive-education/2000-08/0010.html