TALK THE POEMNational Poetry Recitation Competition

Dr. Aisha Spencer

IN THE BEGINNING…• was the Caribbean Poetry Project - a pioneering

collaborative effort between the University of Cambridge and The University of the West Indies (Mona, Cave Hill and St. Augustine campuses)

[2010-2015]

THIS LED TO…

• Collaborative research in the area of Poetry and Poetry Pedagogy between the School of Education, Mona Campus and the School of Education, University of Cambridge and more specifically, between the project director of the and the Founder, Co-founder and Directors of the Competition in the UK.

OUR TALK THE POEM ENDORSER

PROFESSOR EMERITUS MERVYN MORRIS JAMAICA’S FIRST POET LAUREATE

COLLABORATION AND RESEARCH ON SPOKEN WORD PEDAGOGY

• ‘There is a difference between learning by ROTE and learning by HEART’ (Mike Dixon, Poetry by Heart)

• Dr Aisha Spencer from the University of the West Indies reflects on exploring spoken word poetry with Jamaican High School students. (Poetry By Heart Blog, UK , August 2015)

COLLABORATION AND RESEARCH ON SPOKEN WORD PEDAGOGY

• Current research is now being conducted by the ‘Poetry for Life’ Poetry Recitation Project in South Africa and the ‘Talk the Poem’ Poetry Recitation Project in Jamaica.

• Researchers: Dr. Aisha Spencer and Dr. Georgie Horrell and their respective teams.

RECITATION IN JAMAICA

• Poetry and other forms of recitation occurred in Jamaica, prior to and a little after independence, but when Britain stopped this practice, so too did our education system.

is the first competition for secondary school students which solely focuses on poetry recitation – the spoken word- and memory.

THE VALUE OF POETRY RECITATION FROM THE MOUTHS OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

• Data from interviews with students (2014-15) who were the participants of a case-study pilot research project on the impact of Spoken Word poetry in secondary school students’ experience of poetry in the classroom…

WHAT’S ARE A FEW BENEFITS OF POETRY RECITATION?

• STUDENTS WERE:• able to recall distinct images through memory

activities which they would not have observed solely through the act of reading;

• able to speak more confidently about the meanings of the words on the page based on what they recalled of the ‘sound’ of the words;

WHAT’S ARE A FEW BENEFITS OF POETRY RECITATION?

STUDENTS WERE:• were able to respond more quickly because

they spent so much time ‘actively listening’;• One student said: ‘…it trained my ears…’• Another said: ‘I can figure out different ideas

which I would not normally understand just by reading them…’

WHAT IS TALK THE POEM?

• The ‘Talk The Poem’ (TTP) competition focuses on memorizing and reciting poems from the TTP anthology.

• Students are evaluated based on their ability to articulate their interpretation through the spoken word, without using dramatic performance, props or instruments.

WHO CAN ENTER THE TALK THE POEM COMPETITION?

• All secondary school students between the ages of 13 and 18 years are eligible.

THE TALK THE POEM TEAM

DR. AISHA SPENCER – PROJECT DIRECTOR

THE TALK THE POEM TEAM

DR. YEWANDE LEWIS-FOKUM - PROJECT COORDINATOR

THE TALK THE POEM TEAM

MS. SCHONTAL MOORE - PROJECT COORDINATOR

THE TALK THE POEM TEAM

MS. ALTHEA AIKENS MS. NADINE VALENTINE- PROJECT ADMINISTRATORS

WHEN IS THE TTP COMPETITION BEING HELD?

• The competition has three (3) stages:

–The School Level – January 2017–The County Level – February 2017–The National Finals – March 2017

TALK THE POEM TEACHERS WORKSHOPS

• A few important aims of our workshops are to: – raise the profile of poetry in our secondary schools;– equip teachers with stimulating approaches to the

teaching of poetry, particularly spoken word pedagogy;

– empower teachers by helping to boost their comfort levels with poetry.

TALK THE POEM TEACHERS WORKSHOPS

RESEARCH THROUGH TTP

• During the competition process, the team attempts to attain important data about the following:– Male engagement with spoken word poetry– Spoken word poetry in the classroom– Understanding teachers’ and students’ attitudes

towards poetry in the Language and Literature classroom.

RESEARCH THROUGH TTP

• During the competition process, the team attempts to attain important data through the following instruments:

– The Interview (Structured and Unstructured)– A Survey (after workshop and competition)– Videotaped Selections– Observations