Teacher Trainees’ Explicit Knowledge of Grammar and Primary Curriculum Requirements in England
DATA COLLECTION
At the beginning of the PGCE year (September, 2001, through to June), we analyzed general language awareness audits of 28 trainees (4 male, 24 female), categorizing each according to achievement and declared level of confidence. These audits sought to identify broad understanding of language and levels of confidence. As a result, we found that trainees could be grouped in four categories:
High confidence, high language awareness score (6)
Low confidence, high score (4)
High confidence, low score (9)
Low confidence, low score (9).
(Confidence measured by trainee self-assessment on a scale 0-5)
The 28 trainees then completed grammar audits in November, which tested ability to recognize nouns, verbs, prepositions, conjunctions, adverbs, adjectives, simple, compound and complex sentences. This activity was repeated at the end of the year in June to measure exit level understanding. Following the November audit, we asked for volunteers to engage in case studies of their grammar learning and teaching. Six people volunteered but only four were able to complete the activities. We were therefore unable to include an example of ‘high confidence, high score’. Profiles of trainees, re-named Holly, Catherine, Linda and Harriet to preserve anonymity, can be seen in table 2.
The entry and the first grammar audits showed that the trainees were at different stages with regard to grammatical knowledge and levels of confidence. The mid-course grammar scores suggested that Harriet had made significant efforts following the initial language awareness audit. She reported that she had made use of the self-access language study guide issued at the start of the course. Holly made progress during the
year but remained the lowest achiever in grammar audits. She could identify simple, compound and complex sentences and underline verbs in the same sentences without hesitation. She still had issues to address, notably the issue of functional shift with words like round, dash in the sentence:
I peep round the door then make a quick dash ...(from The Ankle Grabber by Rose Impey).
In this respect, she was similar to many of the 28 participants who completed entry and exit audits. Catherine and Linda began the year with high scores but low confidence.
