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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal – Vol. 11, No. 1
Publication Date: January 25, 2024
DOI:10.14738/assrj.111.15922.
Nambi, R., Busimba, J. T., Lutaaya, J. N., Atuhura, D., & Nabiryo, N. R. (2024). Learning to Teach by Practice: Pre-Service Teachers’
Experiences of Using Poetry Memorization, Dramatization and Recitation Pedagogy. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal,
11(1). 53-67.
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
Learning to Teach by Practice: Pre-Service Teachers’ Experiences
of Using Poetry Memorization, Dramatization and Recitation
Pedagogy
Rebecca Nambi
Makerere University
James Taabu Busimba
Uganda Christian University, Mukono
Josephine Najjemba Lutaaya
Makerere University
Dorothy Atuhura
Kyambogo University
Nancy Rosemary Nabiryo
Makerere University
ABSTRACT
In Uganda, poetry is a key genre in the Literature in English curriculum at the
secondary and higher institutions of teacher education. However, many teachers,
especially the novices, struggle with the teaching of poetry in secondary schools in
Uganda. Current approaches to teaching support learner-centered pedagogy where
learners are facilitated to fully participate in scaffolding their own interpretations
of the subject content. Individual in-class poetry recitation is one such activity used
to teach, and taught to, pre-service teachers of poetry because it promotes their
participation and their general attitude towards poetry. In this paper, we present
findings from a study about Makerere University pre-service teachers’ experiences
of using individual in-class poetry recitations as a learner-centered strategy for
teaching poetry. The research was carried out amongst one cohort of finalist
teacher trainees of English and Literature using lecture observation, interviews and
open-ended questionnaire research methods. A thematic analysis of the data
revealed three themes that summarize their experiences with memorization,
recitation and dramatization of poetry: recitation: facing the class; and pedagogical
reflections. As we present these themes, we also draw some pedagogical
implications for poetry classes from the actual recitation experiences of teacher
trainees who participated in this study.
Keywords: pre-service teachers, poetry, experiences, memorization, recitation, pedagogy
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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal (ASSRJ) Vol. 11, Issue 1, January-2024
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
INTRODUCTION
It is important for teachers in professional programmes such as teacher education to be able to
put into practice what they have learned in the lecture room. To this end, teacher education
programmes are packaged to provide both knowledge and skills to enable pre-service teachers
make connections between theory and practice (Ulvik & Smith, 2011; Bobrakov, 2014). The
most common approach of integrating theory and practice is for teacher education
programmes to embed a component of practicum that places pre-service teachers in schools
where they engage in teaching and other activities (Köksal, 2019; Park, 2016). However, the
teacher training process can provide several avenues that can allow teachers to practice what
they learn. For instance, the teaching and learning of poetry offers many such opportunities
because by its nature poetry is a live subject that allows for many practical activities. However,
literature shows that many teachers of Literature struggle when teaching poetry especially in
areas of student motivation (Farber, 2015) and student engagement with poetry during the
lessons (Dymoke, Lambirth, & Wilson, 2013).
In Uganda, poetry is a key genre in the Literature in English curriculum at the secondary and
higher levels of education. However, many teachers, especially the novices, struggle with the
teaching of literature in general and poetry in particular (Nambi, 2011). Literature in English
has been part of the Ugandan curriculum since the 1960s and although it is an optional subject
in secondary school it is highly recognized for its contribution to language development and
aesthetic values (NCDC, 2013). Indeed, some secondary schools in Uganda offer Literature as a
compulsory subject with the aim of providing their learners with increased opportunities of
improving and supporting English language learning. For a long period, Literature was a
requirement for some careers such as law and journalism in Uganda. The study of the subject
in schools and universities has contributed tremendously to the Ugandan Literature industry.
However, the students’ performance in Literature at secondary school often causes concern
with students failing to meet the minimum requirements of interpreting and responding to
texts appropriately (Tembe, 2006; Nambi, 2015).
Poetry is a very important subset of literature because it studying it readily provides room for
language development, creation and exploration of personal growth (Ofsted, 2007) In Uganda
however, the performance in poetry is usually the most worrisome whereby students
misinterpret the meaning of the examined poems. Literature is largely earmarked to be
complex especially considering the fact that English is a second language to the learners
(Tembe, 2006; Kyeyune, 2003). In addition, teachers are sometimes blamed for continually
teaching Literature as if it is a factual subject by employing teacher centered activities yet they
show an awareness of the learner centered methods of engaging learners to creatively derive
meaning from texts (Nambi, 2011; Nambi, 2015). The purpose of this study was to investigate
the experiences of pre-service Literature teachers when using poetry memorization, recitation
and dramatization as a learner centered pedagogical activity during their training and the
impact on future practice.
Pre-Service Education
Various institutions across the world structure their pre-service teacher education
programmes differently. Despite that, the key elements in all teacher-training programmes
include: subject content, pedagogical content and practicum. Subject knowledge and
pedagogical knowledge (professional knowledge) are taught at the institutions while the
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Nambi, R., Busimba, J. T., Lutaaya, J. N., Atuhura, D., & Nabiryo, N. R. (2024). Learning to Teach by Practice: Pre-Service Teachers’ Experiences of
Using Poetry Memorization, Dramatization and Recitation Pedagogy. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 11(1). 53-67.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.111.15922
practicum is the practical part of teacher education programme where theoretical knowledge
gained from lectures is put into practice in the classroom context (Zeichner, 2010; Allen, 2009).
Whereas these general structures of teacher education appear to provide the necessary
requirements for the trainee to become a professional teacher, literature shows that pre- service teachers indicate that the theoretical knowledge they acquire during their training
barely prepares them for the dynamic realities in the school contexts during their practicum
(Allen, 2009; Fraser & Lefty, 2013; Darling-Hammond & Oakes, 2019). The gap between the
teacher training that pre-service teachers receive and the school contexts where they
eventually teach could be explained by challenges such as the lack of a stable partnership
between training institutions and schools (Darling-Hammond & Oakes, 2019; Loyalka, Popova,
Li & Shi, 2019; Zeichner, 2010). Other writers point to the overly theoretical nature of teacher
training programmes that are dominated by the lecture teaching method and more time is
dedicated to the subject content that the pedagogical practice (McDonald & Kahn, 2014;
Shaheen, 2010; Allen, 2009; Zeichner, 2010).
Memorization, Recitation and Dramatization Pedagogy
Memorization, dramatization and recitation are teaching/learning activities that can offer
learners a deep engagement with poetry while helping them strengthen all the language skills.
Although memorization and recitation are commonly associated with the lower order thinking
skills and rote learning (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001; Churches, 2008), they can boost
academic confidence as a student masters not just the words in a poem or play but also refines
his or her phonemic awareness and performance (Pudewa, 2016; Benton, 1999; Medeiros,
2019). Pudewa (2016) and Cliff Hodges (2016) argue that for a student to memorize and
present a poem perfectly they undergo certain processes of transformation which create a
relationship with other disciplines and some aspects of the students’ life. Pudewa (2016)
writes:
Frequently, the sense of accomplishment that accompanies the memorization of poetry builds
linguistic and even academic confidence and spills over into other areas. Like performing a
piece of music, memorization and artistic recitation of poetry requires a certain level of
perfection, which only conscientious effort and consistency can bring. If a student memorizes a
long poem and can recite it flawlessly, he will believe that he can learn anything, be it math
processes or facts from history. (p. 8)
In this paper, we argue that Literature teacher trainees could find it useful to encourage their
future students to memorize, recite and perform poems if they themselves can practically do
the same and appreciate the possibilities of such pedagogy. Memorization and recitation of
poetry is not a passive activity since the student is expected to choose a poem, interpret it and
play an active role in bringing it to life before their audience hence the dramatization aspect
(Elster, 2000).
Elting and Firkins (2006) describe the process of getting the poem from paper to performance
and provide crucial steps such as selecting the appropriate poems, forming teams, rehearsal
etc. These steps indicate the way the students consciously or unconsciously develop critical
skills, as trainees, that prepare them for their own practice as noted “... students will make use
of their different body language, facial expressions, gestures, creative use of voice and
movements in taking the poem from “the page to the stage”” (Elting & Firkins, 2006, p. 130). In
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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal (ASSRJ) Vol. 11, Issue 1, January-2024
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
this sense we continue to argue in this paper that memorization, recitation and dramatization
of poetry is a continuum of learner centered activities that can enable the Literature teacher
trainees to practically develop their teaching skills through action and reflection. Recitation and
dramatization pedagogy can help to bring theory to bear on actual practice whereby teacher
trainees start reflecting on the choices of their future classroom contexts or what Fanghanel et
al. (2016) term as praxis. Praxis as used in this presentation allowed for teacher trainees to
consciously navigate their feelings, choices, surroundings and responses from their peers as
they themselves explored how recitation as a pedagogy.
THE ASSIGNMENT/METHODOLOGY
The teacher trainees’ experiences with memorization, recitation and dramatization we present
in this paper are a result of observations, interviews and surveys of a course we teach at our
faculty called ‘Methods of Teaching Poetry’. This course is designed for teacher trainees of
English and Literature in English and is offered for a period of 30 hours in one semester. Some
of the learning outcomes for the course state that learners will: Confidently and critically read,
write and listen actively and reflectively to poetry; Work in collaboration with others to choose
and analyze poems for their classes and select appropriate poems for their students. Other
learning outcomes state that learners will: Demonstrate the ability to prepare sufficient
materials for their poetry classes; Write critical explications of the different approaches to the
teaching of poetry; Recite at least one poem each to the class and clearly explain its
appropriateness for selected classes. For the findings we report here we had a class of 186
trainees taking the course and they were all required to memorize, recite and dramatize a poem
of their own choice before the end of semester. The assignment was given to the class during
the very first lecture of the course for them to prepare accordingly. The assignment was
structured as follows:
By the fourth week of the semester the students had started their individual presentations and
they chose poems ranging from Shakespearean sonnets to African and local poets. Given the
large number of students in the class, we had to negotiate for additional time during the week
so that we could listen to everyone. At the end of the semester, we administered an open-ended