SFE42209 Literature in Teaching II: English (Autumn 2015)

The course is connected to the following study programs

Compulsory course in the Master Programme in Foreign Languages in the Classroom.

Lecture Semester

Semester 3 (autumn)

The student's learning outcomes after completing the course

KNOWLEDGE:

The students:

- have further developed the foundation that was laid in Literature in Teaching I
- have insight into the field of literature didactics with respect to selected texts, working methods, and the communicative potential of literary texts.
- have knowledge of key topics and methods in literary theory, including gender and multiculturality
- are familiar with a wide range of children's and young adults' literature, and have knowledge of the use of film and ICT in connection with literature
- have increased knowledge of English-language children's and young adults' literature and can define the didactic potential of literary texts

SKILLS:

The students can:

- translate the didactic potential of literary texts into concrete lesson plans
- find relevant media and ICT resources that can be used in their teaching activities

GENERAL COMPETENCE:

The students:

- have gained an awareness of the connection between literary/didactic theory of literature and practical classroom instruction

Content

The introductory theoretical part covers key issues in the field of reception aesthetics, reader-oriented research, gender issues, multiculturality, and post-modern and late-modern children's and young adults' literature.

While the students of Literature in Teaching I have trained in evaluating and selecting relevant texts, the focus in this course is on developing concrete teaching projects.
The students also work on integrating other media, such as film, with their teaching activities. The students select literary texts, films, websites or other electronic resources which they consider appropriate starting points for concrete teaching projects, and form their own syllabi in primary literature accordingly. This work requires them to make active use of the library and to familiarise themselves with the necessary library, media and ICT resources.

Forms of teaching and learning

Priority in the physical seminars is given to lectures/seminars and group work. The main course topics are presented and discussed in the lectures/seminars: active student learning is focused on in the group work with the aim of challenging the students' critical thinking and independence as well as motivating them to pursue this work in the periods between seminars.

Active use of library resources is included. In the periods between seminars, emphasis is placed on peer learning and individual learning.

Methods such as wikiing, blogging or chatting will facilitate academic discussion during the periods between seminars. Individual supervision is provided through continuous supervision (see Assessment).

Some of the common syllabus is in the Scandinavian languages. Otherwise, the language of instruction is English.

Workload

Approx. 280 hours.

Coursework requirements - conditions for taking the exam

Students are expected to write at least 4 short papers (1?2 pages each) about problematic issues and to comment on the papers of at least 2 of their fellow students via Fronter.

Coursework requirements must be approved before students may sit the exam.

Examination

The semester assignment and, possibly, an oral test.

The semester assignment consists of a didactic teaching plan for using children's and young adults' literature in the classroom. The teaching plan must have a theoretical underpinning.
The assignment is written in English and must have a scope of approx. 10?12 pages. The assignment topics must be approved by the subject teacher.

The students receive continuous supervision. The semester assignment must contain a bibliography and an adequate notes system. Assessment of semester assignments places emphasis on the levels of reflection, knowledge, and linguistic skills.

Students MAY be selected to take an oral test lasting approximately 25 minutes in which students are asked to give a short presentation (10 minutes) of their semester assignment that focuses on the connection between theoretical underpinning and practice. The rest of the test entails a discussion of different aspects of the syllabus.

The semester assignment is graded on the basis of a grading scale A-F. The grade awarded for the possible oral test may adjust the overall grade by one grade up or down on the grading scale A-F.

Course evaluation

A mid-semester evaluation and continuous evaluations/final evaluation are conducted.

Literature

Updated February 18th 2014

Primary Literature:

Students select ten texts, two films and two websites or other electronic resources in the target language (the distribution of the selections can be changed, but this must be discussed with the teacher first). The selection should be representative of the diversity of children's and young adult literature, including books from different historical epochs, picture books and books for different age groups.

The student's primary curriculum list must be approved by the teacher.

Theoretical curriculum[1]
Shared curriculum across languages:
Møller, Hans Henrik; Henrik Poulsen; Bo Steffensen. Litteraturundervisning. Mellem analyse og oplevelse. Fredriksberg: Samfundslitteratur, 2010.

Lundahl, Bo. Engelsk språkdidaktik: Texter, kommunikation, språkutvikling. Lund, Sverige: Studentlitteratur, 2009.

Articles published on the learning platform Fronter are considered to be part of the curriculum.

Language specific curriculum
A number of articles and chapters will be published on Fronter.

Selected chapters from the following books: [2]

Birketveit, Anna; Gweno Williams. Literature for the Language Classroom; Theory into Practice. Oslo: Fagbokforlaget, 2013.

Collie, Joanne; Stephen Slater. Literature in the Language Classroom: A resource book of ideas and activities. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988.

Nodelman, Perry; Mavis Reimer. The Pleasures of Children's Literature. 3rd ed. New York & London: Allyn and Bacon, 2003.

Wolf, Shelby A. Interpreting Literature with Children. Mahwah, NJ & London: Lawrence Erlbaum Assoc., 2004.

Reference books:
Carpenter, Humphrey; Mari Prichard. The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature. Oxford and New York: Oxford UP, 1987. The electronic version is available for registered students registered at the Østfold University College library website using the following link:
http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195146561.001.0001/acref-9780195146561=

Modern Language Association. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. (7^th ed.). New York: 2009.

Peck, John; Coyle Martin. Literary Terms and Criticism.  Hampshire, New York: Palgrave Study Guides, 2002.

Steffensen, Bo. Når børn læser fiction: Grundlaget for den litteraturpædagogik. Copenhagen, DK: Akademisk forlag, 2005.

Zipes, Jack, et al. The Norton Anthology of Children's Literature: The Traditions in English. London & New York: W. W. Norton, 2005.

 

 

[1] A number of books and articles are used in both Literature in Teaching I and II.

[2] A number of  the basic books in English are used in both Literature in Teaching I and II.