Module description
Playing Parts : Studying Drama and Poetry ( hereafter Playing Parts ) is a core first-year undergraduate module in the School of English at Keele University . As the module handbook states , Playing Parts ‘ aims to introduce students to the critical study and evaluation of drama and poetry through close attention to issues of performance , voice and style ’. Focusing on a range of plays and poems from the seventeenth century to the present day , the module encourages ‘ a reading of literary texts with respect to the historical , formal , and cultural contexts informing them ’. As a core module at Level 4 , the module is designed to support students in developing their reading and analytical skills to equip them with the skills necessary for their degree in English and / or other disciplines , as well as their work beyond university . 2
Students engage in a mix of lectures , seminars , and assessments to help them achieve the module ’ s learning outcomes . Playing Parts typically comprises a one-hour lecture and seminar per week , though COVID-19 altered the delivery structure to weekly asynchronous mini-lectures and bi-weekly , two-hour synchronous seminars on MS Teams . Students are assessed through a close reading paper , in which they critically analyse an extract from a literary text studied on the module , and a seen exam . The exam contains two parts : a close reading paper ( as above ) and a comparative essay . Talis Elevate was particularly useful in preparing students for these assessments , since they were able to engage in the following activities on a regular basis : practice reading and analytical skills , test ideas , gain insight into other interpretive possibilities by reading annotations made by peers , and receive constructive feedback on work . As a result , students were able to engage in collaborative close reading activities that typically take place during in-situ seminars , deepening their understanding of the assigned readings when learning online and enabling them to develop the analytical skills required for assessments .
Integrating Talis Elevate into English Literature seminars
Talis Elevate is a versatile tool that enables people to annotate multiple media ( e . g . text , image , and video ), making it an ideal space to engage students in various independent and collaborative reading activities . 3 For the purpose of this article , I will discuss my approach to integrating Talis Elevate into the synchronous seminars for Playing Parts to encourage collaborative reading and critical analysis , though it was used by students for asynchronous reading activities throughout the module .
As with any learning technology , it is vital that students understand how to use Talis Elevate for them to engage with it in meaningful ways for their learning . Therefore , the first stage of integrating Talis Elevate into Playing Parts involved some training to build students ’ digital literacies . I provided students with written step-by-step instructions and a short video tutorial on Talis Elevate ; this approach enabled students to choose a format that aligns with their learning needs and preferences . Using these materials , students were asked to log into Talis Elevate in advance of the first seminar to familiarise themselves with the tool ; to aid this introductory process , the module convenor assigned a reading task on Talis Elevate during the first lecture and populated the document with questions for students to respond to when annotating the poem . This activity ensured that students were familiar with and knew how to use Talis Elevate for their learning by the time they attended their first seminar , in which we used Talis Elevate extensively . Students were encouraged to reach out to their module tutor should they need some support in accessing and interacting with resources on Talis Elevate .
Collaborative reading activities during synchronous online seminars typically involved the following process :
• Students were tasked with reading a poem or extract from a play , which was uploaded to Talis Elevate ;
• Students were assigned into small groups of 3-4 people , using the breakout room function on Teams , and asked to complete the reading activity together on Talis Elevate in fifteen to twenty minutes ( Figure 1 );
• Students were provided with question prompts to guide their annotations and ensure they were making critical connections between social issues in the text and contemporary society ;
• Students were asked to take on a role within the
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