Classroom Perspectives
issue 47 mar / apr 2014

Journeying With Literature

Learning Journeys are a great way for students to experience what they learn in History or National Education. A group of student teachers from NIE show us how such field trips can bring Literature to life for students too.

We often speak of writers who are so skilful that their works transport us across time and space into another world. But these days, reading can take Literature students places, literally!

With more works by Singapore writers being introduced in the Literature curriculum, teachers now have the opportunity to take their students out of the classroom to see the sights they read about in stories and poems.

A group of student teachers from NIE’s Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) programme recently organized a Literature Learning Journey for their classmates to explore the topic Place Poetry.

“Learning Journeys really helps students situate what they are learning in their world,” says Mr Gavin Swee. But he is quick to add that the essence is not the journey itself, but “to help students engage with the text, the themes, and the ideas.”

Exploring Bras Basah: A Literature Learning Journey

Bras Basah is an area rich in history, but it has seen many changes since the 20th century. Using the itinerary created by Dr Loh Chin Ee of the English Language and Literature Academic Group in NIE, a group of her student teachers organized a trip for their classmates. They explored Place Poetry, and also how Learning Journeys may be used to complement Literature teaching.

  1. Dhoby Ghaut: Use this as a starting point to introduce the area’s history, and how it was arguably Singapore’s most ethnically diverse residential neighbourhood.
  2. The Cathay: Refer to an entry on the Remember Singapore blog that revisits the story behind the old cinema. Take photographs of the exterior, interior and surroundings and compare it to the old building.
  3. The junction of Armenian Street and Fort Canning Link: Here stood the former National Library before it was demolished to make way for a tunnel. There are many stories and recollections of the place that can be shared for evocation. “The Portrait of a Sentenced Library”, a poem by Singapore playwright Alfian Sa’at, can be used for discussion and reflection.
  4. Singapore Management University (along Victoria Street): Read aloud Eileen Chong’s poem “Shophouse, Victoria Street”. Teachers can ask students to observe the surroundings and compare the poem’s description to present-day Victoria Street. Students could also draw a scene or image from the poem that capture their attention.
  5. Bras Basah Complex and the National Library: Explore the shops in Bras Basah Complex and get students to share their memories of the place. End the Learning Journey at the National Library, where students can discuss essential questions of the trip, and use creative writing to reflect individually or in groups.

Understanding Change

Clichéd as it sounds, literature speaks to a deeper truth than the mere facts of history.

Gavin on why Literature is a valued subject

Gavin and his classmates Ms Anna Cai and Ms Ang Huan Ting teach both Literature and History. And they usually begin their Learning Journeys for both subjects by asking their students the same question: “What has changed?”

The question can yield very different answers, because the two subjects sometimes view the idea of change differently. In History, the answer is quite straightforward – Singapore has come a long way from a small fishing community to a garden city. The narrative is clear that change is progress, and progress is good.

As Gavin puts it, “The History that we’ve been taught is really the history of the nation, the national story,” while Literature dwells on the stories of individuals. When students read poetry about the changes Singapore has experienced, they may feel a bit more nostalgic and sentimental.

This helps them feel more connected to Singapore. According to Gavin, it is also one of the reasons why Singapore texts are being included in the Literature syllabus: to build social cohesion and a common identity.

The subject engages students not through just facts, but through emotions evoked by language. This is what makes the subject especially valuable: It speaks to our individual, personal feelings.

“Clichéd as it sounds, literature speaks to a deeper truth than the mere facts of history,” notes Gavin.

A Personal Journey

That Literature engages students on a more personal level is something the student teachers take into account when planning their field trip.

“If you do a Literature Learning Journey, of course you should focus a bit more on why you feel that way, how the poetry makes you feel, and compare that to your own experience,” says Anna.

During their Literature Learning Journey, the group finds that they had to be creative to elicit personal responses from their classmates. Gavin, for example, tried to engage not just their intellect, but their senses as well.

When his group was at Victoria Street, he asked them to close their booklets and observe and listen to the surroundings. After that, they compared their observations with what was documented in Eileen Chong’s poem “Shophouse, Victoria Street”, which describes the area in olden days.

This creative element (performing a poem) added a new dimension to the field trip because it’s a form of reflection for the student teachers.

Huan Ting on including creative elements in field trips

“Maybe I had a wonderful group, but they were very reflective and pensive,” says Gavin. “They said things like, ‘We are always walking past these places but we never stopped and considered what the value of these things are.’”

Huan Ting points out that creative elements can trigger a reflection process too. Her group was tasked to perform a poem and create their own at the end of the Learning Journey. “This creative element added a new dimension to the field trip because it’s a form of reflection for the student teachers.”

“That, to me, is the value of going outside the classroom where they can experience and be closer to what they are studying, rather than merely learning from books,” Gavin says. He thinks there is a lot of potential in Literature Learning Journeys for on-the-spot performances and dramatized readings.

It certainly takes some creativity and effort from the teachers to come up with a fun and engaging Literature field trip, but the experience and personal insights students can gain from it simply cannot be taught in the classroom.

Planning a Literature Learning Journey

Planning a Learning Journey can be a logistical challenge. Here are some pointers from Ms Ang Huan Ting, Ms Anna Cai and Mr Gavin Swee and on how you can plan and carry out one for your Literature class.

Work with other teachers: Gavin stresses this point: “You shouldn’t plan and execute a Learning Journey on your own. You cannot be the pedagogue, the person with all the content knowledge, the disciplinarian, as well as the safety officer all in one.”

Is it really necessary?: Planning a field trip takes lots of effort, so the question teachers should always ask themselves is: “Can this be done in the classroom instead?”

Prepare the students: A good pre-activity can help students stay engaged during the Learning Journey. Huan Ting shares that before a field trip around Bras Basah, the group watched Royston Tan’s documentary film Old Places. It showed them what the area was like in the past, and, together with the local poetry they read, the students felt a sense of nostalgia when they observed the present-day Bras Basah.

Stay on task: Being out of the classroom is always fun for students, and they might enjoy themselves so much that very little learning takes place! “Teachers have to be on task, or get student volunteers to help them be on task by asking appropriate questions at the appropriate times,” says Anna.

Use creative elements: Depending on what the class needs and likes, the teacher could always add a dash of creative, active and experiential elements. For example, a performance or dramatized reading can engage students. Anna notes that the writing aspect is important as well. “Use creative writing and writing of reflections. My group said it was a drag, but when they sat down, they had a lot of thoughts!”

Mix Literature with History?: For a more interesting field trip, why not make it interdisciplinary? Huan Ting thinks that combining Literature and History in one Learning Journey is not only feasible, but also enriches the learning and understanding of the other. She says, “Over the years, I’ve discovered that to study Literature, there is a need to learn about the history of a place and the context of the literature written.” But Anna notes that much coordination and pre-trip preparation are needed from the History and Literature teachers to ensure a meaningful Learning Journey.

 

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