Page 166 - Šolsko polje, XXX, 2019, št. 5-6: Civic, citizenship and rhetorical education in a rapidly changing world, eds. Janja Žmavc and Plamen Mirazchiyski
P. 166
šolsko polje, letnik xxx, številka 5–6
This is how I realised that rhetoric develops the capabilities, which means
they have to undergo a process of development, also with the teacher’s
help in the school setting. Furthermore, it turned out that it is important
for the pupils to go through the five speaker tasks during the lessons at
school so that I can help and guide them. My aim was to develop didactic
approaches, particularly in teaching argumentation and its use in speech,
as the understanding and the use of argumentation are certainly the two
major objectives for each school year.
During the teaching process, I kept in mind that the transactional
approach should prevail when working with pupils. This means that the
teacher is there not only to transfer the knowledge, but so that the pupils
learn to present findings, formulate rules with the teacher’s help, and ap-
ply them in new circumstances in the learning process by observing per-
suasion techniques, elements of the persuasion process and factors of suc-
cessful persuasion.
The third major obstacle was completely practical. The rhetoric course
was held every 14 days for two consecutive lessons and, for some pupils,
these were their 6th and 7th periods, and for some even their 7th and 8th pe-
riods. It is therefore completely normal and expected that the pupils are
tired and unable to complete long and challenging mental activities. For
this reason I planned the two lessons in such a way that the demanding
content was discussed at the beginning of the first lesson and followed by
various activities and exercises of putting knowledge into practice. I had
to make sure the activities changed regularly (listening, exercises, speak-
ing, exercises, working in groups and so on).
Of course there were several small obstacles, one of them being the as-
sessment of knowledge. The syllabus recommends that pupils receive two
grades for the completed oral presentations and one for an analysis (Žagar
et al., 1999, p. 16), but I had to decide what to evaluate and in which part
of the school year so that the requirements of the rules were met, and I also
had to develop criteria and assessment descriptors.
Teachers certainly improve their teaching skills every year when
working with pupils, but they also need professional feedback to know
whether they are on the right path, a connection with other teachers, as
well as the possibility to exchange good practice experiences and attend
additional professional training. Until 2008, this process was more or less
successful as the Educational Research Institute still organised profes-
sional seminars for rhetoric teachers. Because I participated in those semi-
nars as a teacher with first-hand experiences, I was able to speak about my
experiences and received feedback. However, since 2008 this seminar is
164
This is how I realised that rhetoric develops the capabilities, which means
they have to undergo a process of development, also with the teacher’s
help in the school setting. Furthermore, it turned out that it is important
for the pupils to go through the five speaker tasks during the lessons at
school so that I can help and guide them. My aim was to develop didactic
approaches, particularly in teaching argumentation and its use in speech,
as the understanding and the use of argumentation are certainly the two
major objectives for each school year.
During the teaching process, I kept in mind that the transactional
approach should prevail when working with pupils. This means that the
teacher is there not only to transfer the knowledge, but so that the pupils
learn to present findings, formulate rules with the teacher’s help, and ap-
ply them in new circumstances in the learning process by observing per-
suasion techniques, elements of the persuasion process and factors of suc-
cessful persuasion.
The third major obstacle was completely practical. The rhetoric course
was held every 14 days for two consecutive lessons and, for some pupils,
these were their 6th and 7th periods, and for some even their 7th and 8th pe-
riods. It is therefore completely normal and expected that the pupils are
tired and unable to complete long and challenging mental activities. For
this reason I planned the two lessons in such a way that the demanding
content was discussed at the beginning of the first lesson and followed by
various activities and exercises of putting knowledge into practice. I had
to make sure the activities changed regularly (listening, exercises, speak-
ing, exercises, working in groups and so on).
Of course there were several small obstacles, one of them being the as-
sessment of knowledge. The syllabus recommends that pupils receive two
grades for the completed oral presentations and one for an analysis (Žagar
et al., 1999, p. 16), but I had to decide what to evaluate and in which part
of the school year so that the requirements of the rules were met, and I also
had to develop criteria and assessment descriptors.
Teachers certainly improve their teaching skills every year when
working with pupils, but they also need professional feedback to know
whether they are on the right path, a connection with other teachers, as
well as the possibility to exchange good practice experiences and attend
additional professional training. Until 2008, this process was more or less
successful as the Educational Research Institute still organised profes-
sional seminars for rhetoric teachers. Because I participated in those semi-
nars as a teacher with first-hand experiences, I was able to speak about my
experiences and received feedback. However, since 2008 this seminar is
164
