Bethan Marshall

The pedagogy of acting out Shakespeare has been extensive. Less work has been done on how students learn through spectatorship. This element will consider all within the current context of Shakespeare teaching in schools. Using grounded research, it will include work undertaken on a schools National Theatre production of Macbeth, as well as classroom-based, action research, using a variety of digital performances of Shakespeare plays. Both find means of extending student knowledge in unexpected ways through encountering interpretations of Shakespeare that the students had not considered. In reflecting on the practice of watching Shakespeare in an educational context- both at the theatre and in the classroom- this Element hopes to offer suggestions for how teachers might re-think the ways in which they present Shakespeare performed to their students particularly as a powerful way of building personal and critical responses to the plays.

Studies of comparative classroom practice in the teaching of secondary English are limited, especially when it comes to exploration of the day-to-day practice of English teachers in the secondary classroom. This book presents a case study analysis of secondary classroom practice in three countries: Canada, England and Scotland. Each country has had different degrees of state involvement within the secondary English curriculum over the last twenty years. England has had the highest degree of state involvement in that it has had several statutory national curricula and a variety of assessment regimes. Scotland has had a non- statutory curriculum and no national tests and Canada has had no national curriculum at all, with education being determined at province level, and each province varying its policies. The research adopts a case study approach involving both classroom observation and interviews with teachers. Through this, the authors explore the impact of state involvement on the reality of what happens in secondary English classrooms. The book invites readers to consider the applicability of the findings to their own contexts, to examine their own practice in the light of this and to consider the nature of the relationships between policy, personal belief and practice in the teaching of English.

Studies of comparative classroom practice in the teaching of secondary English are limited, especially when it comes to exploration of the day-to-day practice of English teachers in the secondary classroom. This book presents a case study analysis of secondary classroom practice in three countries: Canada, England and Scotland. Each country has had different degrees of state involvement within the secondary English curriculum over the last twenty years. England has had the highest degree of state involvement in that it has had several statutory national curricula and a variety of assessment regimes. Scotland has had a non- statutory curriculum and no national tests and Canada has had no national curriculum at all, with education being determined at province level, and each province varying its policies. The research adopts a case study approach involving both classroom observation and interviews with teachers. Through this, the authors explore the impact of state involvement on the reality of what happens in secondary English classrooms. The book invites readers to consider the applicability of the findings to their own contexts, to examine their own practice in the light of this and to consider the nature of the relationships between policy, personal belief and practice in the teaching of English.

This title considers why summative assessment in English is difficult and explores viewing it as an arts subject rather than one which is quantifiable and assessable objectively. "Testing English" considers why English is such a difficult subject to assess summatively and takes the view that English is an arts subject rather than one which is quantifiable and assessable objectively. Bethan Marshall examines the nature of the subject, the battlegrounds of examinations over the last 100 years and considers some of the solutions that have been put in place to overcome the problem both in the UK and abroad. "Testing English" looks at the way English lends itself to formative assessment in that it actively encourages dialogue with the pupils in the absence of 'right answers'. It explores the complex relationship between formative and summative assessment and considers the relationship in the light of the introduction of Assessing Pupil's Progress (APP). It is an essential reading for postgraduate students and researchers looking at the complexities involved in assessing English.

Learning how to learn is an essential preparation for lifelong learning. Whilst this is widely acknowledged by teachers, they have lacked a rich professional knowledge base from which they can teach their pupils how to learn. This book makes a major contribution to the creation of such a professional knowledge base for teachers by building on previous work associated with ‘formative assessment’ or ‘assessment for learning’ which has a strong evidence base, and is now being promoted nationally and internationally. However, it adds an important new dimension by reporting the conditions within schools, and across networks of schools, that are conducive to the promotion, in classrooms, of learning how to learn as an extension of assessment for learning. There is a companion book, Learning How to Learn in Classrooms: Tools for schools (also available from Routledge), which provides practical resources for those teachers looking to put into practice the principles covered in this book.

Learning how to learn is an essential preparation for lifelong learning. Whilst this is widely acknowledged by teachers, they have lacked a rich professional knowledge base from which they can teach their pupils how to learn. This book makes a major contribution to the creation of such a professional knowledge base for teachers by building on previous work associated with ‘formative assessment’ or ‘assessment for learning’ which has a strong evidence base, and is now being promoted nationally and internationally. However, it adds an important new dimension by reporting the conditions within schools, and across networks of schools, that are conducive to the promotion, in classrooms, of learning how to learn as an extension of assessment for learning. There is a companion book, Learning How to Learn in Classrooms: Tools for schools (also available from Routledge), which provides practical resources for those teachers looking to put into practice the principles covered in this book.

Assessment for Learning - Putting it into Practice Based on a two-year project involving 36 teachers, this manual offers ideas and advice for improving formative assessment in the classroom. It is inspired by research studies worldwide, which provide hard evidence that development of formative assessment raises students' test scores.

Bethan Marshall traces the competing traditions of English teaching and considers their relevance to the current debate through an analysis of English teachers' views about themselves and their subject. The findings are based on a highly original research method in which teachers were asked to respond to and comment upon five different descriptions of their approaches to English teaching.English Teachers - The Unofficial Guide:*contextualises current debates about English teaching within the subject's contested history*provides a vehicle for teachers to reflect on their own practice and locate themselves within the debate*opens up the debate on assessment practices within English teaching.

Bethan Marshall traces the competing traditions of English teaching and considers their relevance to the current debate through an analysis of English teachers' views about themselves and their subject. The findings are based on a highly original research method in which teachers were asked to respond to and comment upon five different descriptions of their approaches to English teaching.English Teachers - The Unofficial Guide:*contextualises current debates about English teaching within the subject's contested history*provides a vehicle for teachers to reflect on their own practice and locate themselves within the debate*opens up the debate on assessment practices within English teaching.