Understanding the play-way method in teaching senior secondary school’s poetry in Owerri Municipal Council, Imo State

Abstract

Poetry is a piece of writing in which the words are chosen for their sounds and the images they suggest, not just for their obvious meanings. As a branch of literature in English, it is not easily comprehended by students who consider its texture as utterly abstract and grammatically coded with imagery, rhyming patterns and figurative expressions. Based on this, the study was undertaken to test the play-way method of teaching poetry as alternative teaching technique to the talk-chalk method which often than not, can be problematic and tasking to both teachers and students making use of it. This study anchors on Jerome Bruner’s learning theory which viewed people as being active in the process of learning. The quasi experimental design was used for this study which was carried out in six (6) senior secondary schools selected from Owerri Municipal Council Area of Imo State with a total population of 455 students. Four (4) research questions and four hypotheses guided the study. Data were statistically analyzed using mean, grand mean, deviation and variance for the research questions. ANOVA and Independent t-test were employed to analyze the null hypotheses. The findings revealed that there was significant difference on post-test scores of students taught poetry using play-way method in their academic achievements, oral expressions, cognitive ability levels of contents, themes and application of the poems. It was recommended among others that there should be review of senior secondary school curriculum by relevant authorities to include play-way method in the teaching/learning of poetry. The study has contributed to the development of an integrated module for teaching poetry in senior secondary schools.