analysis and interpretation of...

CHAPTER V

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA

5.0 INTRODUCTION

5.1 ANALYSIS OF ISSUES AND LINGUISTIC DIMENSIONS RELATED

TO LANGUAGE LEARNING AND TEACHING AT TEACHER

TRAINING INSTITUTES AT PRIMARY LEVEL

5.2 ANALYSIS OF SELF-WORTHINESS TO USE THE COMPONENTIAL

DIMENSIONS OF COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE

5.3 ANALYSIS OF TEST SCORES OF EXPERIMENTAL AND CONTROL

GROUPS

5.4 ANALYSIS OF TEST SCORES OF THE THREE EXPERIMENTAL

GROUPS: A CROSS COMPARISON

5.5 ANALYSIS OF GAIN SCORES OF THE EXPERIMENTAL AND

CONTROL GROUPS ON THE SELECT COMPONENTS OF

COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE

5.6 GENDER-WISE ANALYSIS OF TEST SCORES

5.7 MANAGEMENT-WISE ANALYSIS OF TEST SCORES

5.8 LOCALE-WISE ANALYSIS OF TEST SCORES

5.9 ANALYSIS OF THE SELF-WORTHINESS TO ACCOMMODATE THE

COMPONENTIAL ASPECTS OF COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE

5.10 PRAXIS OF REFLECTIVITY THROUGH CASE STUDIES

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA

5.0 INTRODUCTION

Analysis is the process of editing, segmenting and consolidation of

data through conceptualizing and graphically representing data so as to reach

meaningful conclusions. It is an ongoing cyclical process integrated into all

phases of the research.

This study titled, “Effect of Reflective Teaching Strategies on

Communicative Competence of Teacher Educands at Primary Level”,

demanded quantitative data and qualitative interpretations so as to address all

pertinent dimensions and trends under the ambit of communicative

competence in English while adopting reflective practices. The data thus

collected have been analysed, interpreted and synchronised with discussion,

in alignment with the set objectives of the study under the following two

sections:

Section A

Analysis of issues and linguistic dimensions related to language learning and

teaching at Teacher Training Institutes at Primary Level with focus on the

development of Communicative Competence in English of Teacher Educands.

Section B

Analysis of the effect of the select reflective teaching strategies in the

enhancement of communicative competence in English of teacher educands

at Primary Level by considering the performance of teacher educands on: The

Analysis and Interpretation of Data

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Language Test on Communicative Competence, the Self-Assessment Rubric

for communicative purpose, the Strategy Evaluation Proforma, and Case

studies in praxis.

The first section provides a framework to the study raising important

issues and questions about a) the fundamental pedagogy of teaching English

language at the Teacher Training Institute at Primary Level, b) the constraints

experienced in enhancing communicative competence and, c) the need to

acquaint teacher educands at Primary Level with certain reflective practices

so that they could subsequently be equipped to develop their own

communicative competence and the communicative competence of the

student-folk in future.

The second sphere of the analysis intensifies the effect of the select

reflective teaching strategies namely; Concept-mapping, Problem-solving and

Portfolio-writing, in the enhancement of communicative competence of

teacher educands by analysing the test scores of the select sample on the

English language test on communicative competence, by assessing the

observations made by teacher educands on the Strategy Evaluation

Proforma, by comparing gain scores of performance on the four select

dimensions on communicative competence and by analysing case studies in

praxis. Prior to the conduct of the experiment, the perceptions of teacher

educands with regard to their level of communicative competence on the four

components namely; grammatical, sociolinguistic, discourse and strategic

competencies were considered.


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The synchronisation of the analysis section indicates a coherent way of

responding to the prime concern of maintaining excellence in our schools with

the enhancement of communicative competence of prospective teachers.

From the setting of high standards in language arts interaction to the

translation of these standards in classroom practices, this chapter offers a set

of unique perspectives on the development of communicative competence in

English. More than that, it provides educators an important basis for

meaningful exchange through offering research-based select reflective

teaching strategies and a conceptual framework for new practices built upon

them.

A schematic representation of the analysis undertaken under the two

specified sections mentioned above is shown in Table 5.1.


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Analysis of test scores of the three Experimental groups taken two at a time

Analysis of gain scores of Experimental and Control groups on the four select components of communicative competence

Table 5.1

A Cognitive Gestalt of the Analysis undertaken in the Present Study

SECTION A

5.1

SECTION B

EXPERIMENT ON THE ANVIL: PRE TEST POST TEST NON-EQUIVALENT GROUPS DESIGN

Analysis of issues and linguistic dimensions related to language learning/teaching at Teacher Training Institutes at Primary Level with focus on the enhancement of Communicative Competence of teacher educands

Prevailing status with respect to the attainment of set communicative goals

Constraints experienced

Suggestive alternate modes

Analysis of self-worthiness to use the componential aspects of communicative competence by teacher educands at Primary Level

Grammatical

Discourse

Strategic

Socio-linguistic

Analysis of test scores of Experimental and Control groups taken two at a time

Concept-Mapping vs Control

Problem-Solving vs Control

Portfolio vs Control

5.3

5.4 Concept-Mapping vs Problem-Solving

Problem-Solving vs Portfolio

Problem-Solving Vs Portfolio

5.5

ANALYSIS BASED ON THE STRATIFIED VERSION OF THE SAMPLE:

Gender

Type of Management

Locale of Institution

Gender-wise analysis of test scores of each experimental and control group

5.6 Male vs Female

Management-wise analysis of test scores of each experimental and control group

5.7 Govt. vs Aided

Govt. vs Unaided

Aided vs Unaided

Locale-wise analysis of test scores of each experimental and control group

5.8 Urban vs Rural

5.2


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Analysis of the Self-worthiness to accommodate the componential aspects of communicative competence by Teacher Educands at Primary Level through the Self-Assessment Rubric

Analysis of Case Studies – one from each experimental group

Table 5.1 (continued) REACTIVATION OF SELF-WORTHINESS:

PRAXIS OF REFLECTIVITY:

SECTION A

5.1 ANALYSIS OF ISSUES AND LINGUISTIC DIMENSIONS RELATED

TO LANGUAGE LEARNING AND TEACHING AT TEACHER

TRAINING INSTITUTES AT PRIMARY LEVEL WITH FOCUS ON THE

DEVELOPMENT OF COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE IN ENGLISH

OF TEACHER EDUCANDS

In the wake of the changed global scenario, there has been a growing

demand for strengthening the communicative competence of prospective

teachers at Primary Level as they are the deciding factors in building a sound

language culture among learners at the decisive age of language acquisition.

But, the investigator’s close interaction with the teacher educands at Primary

Level on several occasions while taking classes on Communicative English

has revealed that the competence in English of teacher educands in general

is very low. In this context, it was deemed essential to analyse the pertinent

issues and linguistic dimensions with regard to the communicative

5.9

5.10

Case from Concept-Mapping group

Case from Problem-Solving group

Case from Portfolio group

Aided vs Unaided


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performance of teacher educands at Primary Level and a) to analyse the

prevailing status of English language learning/teaching, b) the constraints

experienced, if any, in the actualisation of communicative goals through the

prevailing curriculum transaction modes, and c) the suggestive alternative

modes for strengthening the communicative competence of teacher educands

at Primary Level. With these aspects in view, the observations of a mixed

sample of teachers including Experts in linguistics, teacher educators and

school practitioners at various levels were garnered and analysed. The item-

wise responses of the select sample are given below.

Regarding the expected communicative performance in English of

teacher educands at Primary Level (item No.1), the prominent elements

attributed to develop a satisfactory level of communicative competence

among teacher educands as observed by the select sample are listed below.

They are, the ability to:

focus on specific linguistic components;

organize information according to its semantic attributes;

analytically integrate language elements;

design contextualized discourses within the stipulated time limit;

apply problem-solving modes and convey meaning unambiguously;

introspect one’s own communicative ability;

participate in a variety of cognitively challenging writing tasks to

develop their skills.


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As far as the general assessment of the communicative ability of

teacher educands at Primary Level was concerned (item No.2), the majority of

teachers observed that the prospective teachers were still at the Novice level

with regard to their acquisition of the grammatical, sociolinguistic, discourse,

and strategic features of language. Most of the teacher educands had

knowledge of grammatical rules but were inhibited in their use in a social

context. This phenomenon may be due to their fear of occurrences of acute

mistakes in their communication which are likely to creep in their day to day

communicative scenario. They were unable to build word relationships which

are essential for generating discourses. They were also cited to have poor

language framework in their daily communications. Only a minority of teacher

educands could be confidently ranked as ‘Advanced’ or ‘Proficient’ with regard

to their communicative capabilities. The select sample of experts reiterated

that the commonly used teaching learning practices (item No. 3) included:

Collaborative learning

Shared readings

Lecture in bilingual modes

Peer coaching

Projects

Seminars


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Focussed discussions, which constitute towards developing active

initiations on the part of learners and the consequent nourishing of

self-direct learning.

A critical assessment was made by the practitioners about the

appropriateness of the prevailing strategies in equipping teacher educands to

employ communication skills in their daily practices (item No. 4). They are of

the opinion that the prevailing activity-oriented modes, though innovative, are

not sufficient to assist teacher educands to: increase their competence in

subject matter; improve their literal and critical comprehension; develop

capacity for engaging in inquiry-based modes; build a language framework

that could make them more conscious of their language processing modes

and to develop reflection that could ensure deeper exploration, enriched

learning, focused introspection, and enhanced communication.

The next area that captures our attention is the set of challenges

confronted by the stakeholders in education in their classroom set up where

English serves as the medium of instruction. The prominent findings in this

respect are given in Table 5.2.


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Table 5.2

Encumbrances towards the Development of Communicative

Competence among Teacher Educands

Item No.

Encumbrances Responses of Teachers in %

5. Lack of motivational factors 90%

Dearth of information-gap activities 95%

Paucity of time to provide an open, uncritical environment for learner choice

90%

Weakness of the feedback and revision system to transform both content and expression

91%

Lack of life-related or learner-focused activities 95%

Overuse of mother tongue 88%

Minimal exposure to a framework within which learning can be structured

90%

Lack of flexibility to treat mistakes 80%

Use of multiple models rather than teach one well 85%

The constraints mentioned by experts in the area of the development of

communicative competence among teacher educands included: lack of

activities related to real life situations, dearth of information-gap activities and

an inquiry focused classroom. The weakness of the evaluation system,

overcrowded classrooms, other syllabus requirements and the overuse of

mother tongue too hampered the use of English in classrooms. It was felt that

the lack of a framework within which morphological, syntactic and semantic

elements could be built into too posed additional challenge to the teachers in

the present system of curriculum transaction. It has been found that teachers

in an attempt to develop creativity and inquisitiveness among learners have


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resorted to multiple models leading to fragmentation and lack of overall

understanding of critical aspects of the learning mode.

From the analysis of item No. 6, the constraints experienced by

teachers in their attempt to minimise the problems faced by their learners and

in eventually raising their communicative opportunities were gathered. A

good number of the select sample of teachers (88%) opined that problems

related to the lack of hands-on-experience in a) schematically presenting the

language content, b) in meaningfully using probes that initiate verbal

interactions, and c) in using novel modes that foster reflective thoughts, were

among the major constraints experienced by teachers of a second language

in structuring communicative tasks effectively. They also added that the

pressure of syllabus coverage and parallel assignments seldom gave them

room to create a congenial language learning environment for their learners.

Almost all the teacher educators and school practitioners (85%) reiterated that

systemic constraints like examinations and large class sizes prevented them

from creating a conducive environment for communication. A good number of

them (73%) added that certain cultural constraints characterised by beliefs

about teacher and student role, and classroom relationships stood in the way

of according complete freedom for learners to explore the communicative

task. They also commented that the teacher educands’ low motivation and

unequal ability to take part in independent active learning practices too

caused hurdles in the smooth transaction of the course work. The teachers

admitted that a small proportion of teacher educands are quick in


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comprehending internally but are inept in using language meaningfully in

connected speech or in a social context.

It was also noted by the investigator that teachers themselves were not

very comfortable with the shared inquiry approach to literature and the

reasoning processes used to engage in persuasive writing. Moreover, there

was limited effort to teach linguistic competency.

While seeking the remedial measures for inducting teacher educands

towards an effective communicative culture (vide item No.7), majority of the

select sample of experts (90%) emphasised the need for building an inquiry-

focused environment. The other suggestive comments are presented in

Table 5.3.

Table 5.3

Suggestive Remedial Measures to Strengthen

Communicative Competence of Teacher Educands

Item No.

Thrust Area Response of Experts in %

7. Suggestive measures:

- Opportunities to elaborate upon prerequisites

- Engage in process-oriented learning episodes

- Opportunities for concretizing thinking through appropriate scaffolds

- Involvement in reflective tasks wherein metalinguistic and meta cognitive strategies in language processing are involved

90%

90%

92%

95%

It was observed that in order to strengthen the communicative ability of

teacher educands or learners of English in general, it is essential to open


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avenues for them to integrate previous knowledge, and be moved towards

inquiry-oriented, thought-generating processes wherein appropriate reflective

modes are involved. As a result, the learner builds a self-monitoring

mechanism to discover the relevance of his syntactic and semantic

formulations and steps towards incorporating suitable ones.

In order to identify certain efficacious strategies that could lead towards

faculty development and guide personal inquiry, the select sample of experts

were asked to suggest a few facilitative supports (vide item no. 8). It was

noted that most of them (87%) favoured the inclusion of reflective teaching

strategies like: ‘Critical Incident Analysis’, ‘Concept-Mapping’, ‘Journal

Writing’, ‘Mind-Mapping’, ‘Portfolio-Writing’, ‘Problem-Solving’, ‘Reflective

Discussions’ in second language classrooms.

From among these strategies, all the experts (98%) vouched for the

inclusion of ‘Concept-Mapping’, ‘Problem-Solving’ and ‘Portfolio Writing’ (vide

item No. 9) as each of them has a systematic progression of phases that

could be easily assimilated by novices for better communicative performance.

They are of the view that Concept-Mapping can enable practitioners

visualise the communicative scenario in its interlinking networking background

and in leading towards an identification of major concepts and their significant

minutiae and in obliterating inappropriate information while Problem-Solving,

could lead them towards informed decision-making in problematic situations,

and the finally suggested strategy Portfolio, could enable them to thematize

and maintain a folder of interconnected schemas.


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A summative framework of the strengths and challenges cited by the

sample of teachers and experts regarding the role of the select strategies in

developing communicative competence (vide items no. 10 & 11) are given in

Table 5.4.

Table 5.4

An Interpretive Version of the Suggestive Strategies for Developing

Communicative Competence in General

Item No.

Thrust Area Response of Experts in %

10. Strengths:

- Develop a conceptual framework of syntactic practices to incorporate language structures within the classroom set up.

- Integrate sequences of linguistic network based on prior knowledge.

- Conscientize them about their lexical, syntactic and semantic repertoire.

- Foster multiple-level thinking and self-monitoring.

- Develop conducive environment for strengthening specific language competencies like. collaboration, cohesiveness, decision-making and other deliberations for language processing.

92%

92%

93%

93%

93%

11. Hindrances in the pathway of the smooth implementation of the strategies:

- Lack of proper environment to foster thought-generating processes like open-mindedness, trust, wholeheartedness.

- Deficiency of trained personnel to scaffold reflective thinking.

- Non-availability of resources and lack of time.

- Lack of a core of efficient faculty to foster appropriate linguistic competencies.

94%

95%

95%

96%


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The experts are of the view that the select strategies namely, Concept-

Mapping, Problem-Solving and Portfolio-Writing, have an upper hand over the

other prominent reflective teaching strategies in that they can prepare the

essential foreground to incorporate linguistic elements in a more informed

manner. Integration of the linguistic sequence based on prior knowledge,

awareness of one’s own lexical syntactic repertoire, and an enhancement in

higher-order thinking processes are some of the strengths attributed to these

strategies.

Hindrances in the pathway of the smooth implementation of the select

strategies as cited by majority of them (94%) pointed towards the lack of

proper thought-generating environment, deficiency of trained personnel skilled

at promoting reflective thinking, non-availability of resources, paucity of time

and, dearth of a core of efficient faculty to foster appropriate linguistic

competencies.

Opinion about the extent of practice of the set strategies (item No. 12)

revealed that negligible proportion of the sample of teachers were routinely

carrying out these strategies in their daily classroom practices. Practitioners

having higher qualifications and better training are familiar with such

strategies and were using them frequently.

The final session of the interview focused on seeking alternate modes

for setting appropriate environment for promoting the select strategies

namely, Concept-Mapping, Problem-Solving, and Portfolio-Writing. The

prominent ones which need special mention are:


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Incorporation of the schema in the prescribed curriculum framework of

preservice teacher training programme.

Developing ICT resources for the smooth implementation of reflective

teaching strategies.

Outlining appropriate learning packages based on these strategies.

Implementation of a monitoring device to ensure practice of the same.

Timely provisions of inservice training to the practitioners for

acquainting themselves with the recent trends in this field.

Developing district-wise systems of curriculum management that

encourage teachers to employ new materials and techniques, and that

which provide adequate planning time for collaboration between and

among teachers on how best to deliver instruction.

The initial sphere of the interview traced the prevailing status of English

language learning at the preservice training programme and the problems of

communicative competence. It was revealed that the communicative ability of

teacher educands is far below the expected level and in order to strengthen

their capabilities in this regard they were to be exposed to conducive

environments that foster specific language competencies like collaboration,

cohesiveness and decision-making.

Even though most of the teachers are practising reflective strategies for

enhancing comprehensibility and cohesiveness there exists a lacunae in the


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smooth transaction of the same owing to deficiency in exercising these modes

on a regular basis.

The prevalence of such situations compelled the investigator to adopt

the set strategies for developing the desired level of communicative

competence among teacher educands. These strategies can pave way

towards gaining proficiency in applying grammatical rules appropriately, in

formulating syntactic patterns suitably and in integrating language elements

for conveying ideas in language unambiguously.

Certain studies conducted by Hawkey (2006); Bruton (2002); Samuda

(2001) and Stern (1992) reveal that selection of appropriate learning

strategies are a prerequisite for the attainment of communicative competence

among the stakeholders.

Such an exploration by the investigator through a face-to-face

interaction, on the pedagogic aspects of teaching language is likely to

contribute towards raising the awareness of teachers and exponents in the

field of language education to the different meanings and dimensions of

communicative competence by helping them reflect positively on their beliefs

and practices followed in their classroom set-up. As Tsui (2003) has

observed, such reflections are likely to help teachers come to a somewhat

clearer understanding of the different dimensions of language teaching and

learning. The interview results also suggest to the authorities the need for

taking timely steps for the implementation of innovative practices like


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reflective teaching strategies and ICT based resources for ingraining

communicative competence among students.

Thus, the first section of the analysis throws light into the dire need of

refurbishing the prevailing curriculum transaction modes through the adoption

of select reflective teaching strategies.

SECTION B

ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECT OF THE SELECT REFLECTIVE TEACHING

STRATEGIES IN THE ENHANCEMENT OF COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE

IN ENGLISH OF TEACHER EDUCANDS AT PRIMARY LEVEL

In the second section of the analysis undertaken in the study, the effect

of the select reflective teaching strategies, namely, Concept-mapping,

Problem-solving, and Portfolio writing on the communicative competence in

English of teacher educands at Primary Level was ascertained through both

quantitative and qualitative approaches.

As a prelude to the experimental study, the investigator deemed it

essential to gather the perceptions of teacher educands at Primary Level

regarding their own level of communicative ability on the four select

dimensions of communicative competence. This was done because reflection

is believed to begin only through self-reflection of one’s own strengths and

weaknesses (Barbara, 2008).


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5.2 ANALYSIS OF SELF-WORTHINESS TO USE THE COMPONENTIAL

DIMENSIONS OF COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE BY TEACHER

EDUCANDS AT PRIMARY LEVEL

This section outlines the self-worthiness of teacher educands to use

the prominent componential dimensions of communicative competence

namely, grammatical, sociolinguistic, discourse and strategic features. The

Self-Assessment Rubric employed for this purpose comprised of various

criterion levels of communicative competence ranging from the Novice to the

Proficient levels on four descriptors. The prominent criterion levels for the

different categories were: ‘Proficient’, ‘Advanced’, ‘Intermediate’, and ‘Novice’.

Here, being ‘Proficient’ implied, the ability to communicate with ease

and dexterity; ‘Advanced’ specified, an ongoing movement towards being

proficient but lacking a blend of all the essential attributes required to

communicate effectively; ‘Intermediate’ meant possessing communicative

ability more than the basic level but not yet advanced; and ‘Novice’

represented the lack of ability to communicate in English even at the basic

level.


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Table 5.5

Assessment based on Criterion-referenced norms and Dimension-wise

Classification of Communicative Competence among Teacher Educands

Components of Communicative

Competence

No*. of Teacher Educands in %

Proficient Advanced Intermediate Novice

Grammatical Nil 2 23 75

Sociolinguistic Nil 1 15 84

Discourse Nil 1 13 86

Strategic Nil 1 3 96

*No = 327 teacher educands

Table 5.5 elucidates that none are qualified to be termed as Proficient

in all the four select dimensions of communicative competence namely;

grammatical, sociolinguistic, discourse and strategic competencies. This may

be due to the grammatical insensitivity of teacher educands and a failure to

imbibe the essential elements underlying the structural patterns of the

language. These teacher educands are still ‘satellizers’ ; that is, they are

cognitively, emotionally and socially dependent on parent figures to guide

their thinking and are incapacitated to organize, synthesise and sequence

ideas as per the task demands.

The table also shows that only a negligible proportion of teacher

educands (1.2%) could be qualified as ‘Advanced’ on any of the four select

components of communicative competence. The table further reveals that

just a handful of teacher educands could be categorised as ‘Intermediate’ in

terms of the set componential features. The performance ratings on the Self-

Assessment Rubric reveal that the teacher educands under the ‘Intermediate

level’ have the confidence to communicate sparsely with their peers in English

even though they commit several grammatical errors, make inappropriate

lexical substitutions, use umpteen repetitive phrases and ubiquitous sentence


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constructions. Among those who were qualified as ‘Intermediate’ it is noted

that their scores on the prime component of communicative competence –

grammatical – was higher than in the other three components and least on the

strategic component. This result reveals that the select teacher educands

have been exposed to a language teaching mode that has focussed more on

pattern practice and least on developing procedural skills for solving language

problems. Being at the ‘Intermediate’ level implies that these teacher

educands had still to increase a meticulous planning for their written product,

monitor the writing, deduce grammatical rules, and elaborate on personal and

creative prior knowledge and integrate the same for newer language

constructions.

The data in Table 5.5 reveals that the majority of select teacher

educands (87%) at Primary level come under the category ‘Novice’ with

regard to their communicative performance. The teacher educands were

categorised so because they felt least confident in executing language tasks

in English calmly and with self-confidence. Their limited vocabulary

repertoire, insufficient knowledge of phonology, inappropriate development of

oral and literacy skills, excessive reliance on their mother tongue and limited

social consciousness to structure discourse coherently and strategically were

some other pertinent reasons that hindered their communicative proficiency.

They resort to rote memorisation of linguistic features without any language

practice. The differences noted in the performance level of the select teacher

educands through the self-monitoring device is explicated in Figure 5.1

attached.

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0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Proficient Advanced Intermediate Novice

Re

sp

on

ses

(%

)

Level of Communicative Competence

Figure 5.1 Classification of Teacher Educands on the basis of their Level of Communicative Competence

via Adoption of the Communicative Competence Assessment Rubric

Grammatical competence

Sociolinguistic

Discourse Competence

Strategic Competence


231

The diagrammatic representation shown in Figure 5.1 indicates that

most of the teacher educands are found to be in the Novice level which

reveals a considerably low level of communicative competence of teacher

educands for their day-to-day performance.

The conclusion that can be drawn in a nutshell is that in order to

develop the communicative ability of teacher educands they need to be

exposed to devices that strengthen their mental processes like planning,

implementing, monitoring, and checking the outcomes of learning. An

empowerment in the comprehension of a second language is imperative to

understand the nature of language as being ‘communicative’. Some studies

based on language teaching (Ellis, 2000; Nunan, 2000) point out that

communicative comprehension can be developed through the adoption of

inquisitive, process-oriented tasks which are mainly meant for generating

thoughts and solving problems in a planned manner.

The results on the Self-Assessment Rubric which was administered

prior to the experimental procedures revealed that teacher educands at

Primary Level experience difficulty in identifying the purpose behind a

communicative task, in formulating multiple perspectives on a given issue, in

stating assumptions behind a line of reasoning and in applying linguistic and

literary concepts appropriately. The result also support the proposition that

teacher educands need to be trained adequately in an advanced reflective

mode that focuses on the pertinent components mentioned earlier. Through

the deliberations with experts, intensified readings and personal experience, it


232

was decided to find the effect of the suggested reflective teaching strategies

on the communicative competence in English of prospective teachers at

Primary Level. The results of the Self Assessment Rubric point towards the

urge for the conduct of an experiment in order to find out the extent to which

the suggested strategies would be fruitful in upbringing the language

competencies in the select areas with special reference to the Grammatical,

Sociolinguistic, Discourse and Strategic competencies.

EXPERIMENT ON THE ANVIL: PRETEST POSTTEST NON-EQUIVALENT

GROUPS DESIGN

The effect of the select reflective teaching strategies namely, Concept-

mapping, Problem-solving and Portfolio-writing were ascertained

quantitatively by adopting the experimental procedures for Pre test Post test

Non-Equivalent Groups Design. Out of the total sample of teacher educands

(n = 327) selected for the study, a sum of 200 were subjected to the

experimental study. The selection of subjects to the three experimental and a

control groups were based on the scores of the pre test. Teacher educands

representing the High, Average and Low groups were equally divided to the

four groups. Care was taken to select equitable number of teacher educands

for each group. The first group was made the ‘control’ and underwent

instructions through the prevailing activity oriented classroom transaction

mode, and the other three groups constituted the Experimental groups. The

first experimental group was exposed to concept-mapping treatment, the


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second experimental group to the problem-solving strategy, and the third and

final experimental group to the portfolio treatment.

The pre and post scores obtained through the English language test on

communicative competence formed the basis for ascertaining the efficacy of

the select strategies. Added to these were the responses of teacher

educands garnered through the Strategy Evaluation Proforma and the

re-administration of the Self-Assessment Rubric. In order to have a

comprehensive assessment of the extent to which reflection followed through

the select strategy namely, concept-mapping, problem-solving, and portfolio

writing in a controlled set up could be internalised by teacher educands, Case

Studies were also undertaken and the data in this regard have been analysed

and presented in this chapter.

5.3 ANALYSIS OF TEST SCORES OF EXPERIMENTAL AND CONTROL

GROUPS TO ASCERTAIN THE EXTENT OF ATTAINMENT OF

COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE IN ENGLISH BY TEACHER

EDUCANDS AT PRIMARY LEVEL

This section as specified earlier, presents the analysis and

interpretation of the pre and post test scores of the three experimental and the

control group. For a detailed description of test scores, the data have been

grouped under the following stratifications:

5.3.1 Comparison of the test scores of the Concept-Mapping group and the

Control group using t-test


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5.3.2 Comparison of the test scores of the Problem-Solving group and the

Control group using t-test.

5.3.3 Comparison of the test scores of the Portfolio group and the Control

group using t-test.

Determining the genuineness of the difference in the performance of

groups

5.3.4 Effectiveness of the Experimental treatments in developing the

communicative competence in English (using ANCOVA)

Summary of ANOVA of pre test and post test scores of teacher

educands in the experimental and control groups

Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) of the pre test and post test

scores of teacher educands in the experimental and control

groups

Adjusted means for the post test scores of teacher educands in

the experimental and control groups.

5.3.1 Comparison of the Test Scores of the Concept-Mapping Group

and the Control Group using t-test

To find out the effect that the select reflective teaching strategy namely,

Concept-Mapping had over the prevailing classroom transaction modes in

enhancing the communicative competence in English of teacher educands at

Primary level, the pre test and post test scores of the control group and


235

concept-mapping group were analysed using appropriate statistical

techniques in the manner shown:

Pre test Scores of Control group and the Experimental group (Concept-

Mapping): A Comparison

As an initial step to assess the degree to which the select reflective

teaching strategy namely, Concept-Mapping could improve the

communicative competence in English of teacher educands at Primary Level

over the prevailing classroom practices, the mean and standard deviation of

the pre test scores of teacher educands in each group were computed and

the critical ratio was found out. The results of the test of significance are

presented in Table 5.6.

Table 5.6

Results of the Test of Significance of Mean Pre test Scores of

Control Group and the Experimental Group (Concept-Mapping)

Group No. of Teacher

Educands Mean

Standard Deviation

Critical Ratio

Control 50 7.16 3.23

1.01 Experimental

(Concept-Mapping) 50 6.50 3.33

It is seen from Table 5.6 that the critical ratio (CR = 1.01; p > .05) is not

significant at any level. This shows that there is no significant difference

between the test scores of the control group and the experimental group


236

(Concept-Mapping). The result indicates that the two groups were equitable

in their initial levels of performance.

Post test Scores of Control group and Experimental Group (Concept-

Mapping): A Comparison

In order to find out whether there existed significant difference between

the post test scores of teacher educands in the control and the concept-

mapping group, the mean and standard deviation of the post test scores of

teacher educands in each group was calculated and critical ratio was found

out. The details are presented in Table 5.7.

Table 5.7

Results of the Test of Significance of Mean Post test Scores of

Control Group and the Experimental Group (Concept-Mapping)


Educands Mean

Standard Deviation

Critical Ratio

Control 50 8.80 3.33

5.87 Experimental

(Concept-Mapping) 50 14.12 5.48

The critical ratio obtained on comparing the mean post test scores of

the control group and the concept-mapping group reveals that there exists

significant difference between the mean post test scores of the two groups

(CR = 5.87; p < .01). Concept-mapping group with a mean post test score of

14.12 was superior to the control group whose mean post test score was

8.80. That is, the teacher educands who were exposed to the select reflective


237

teaching strategy, namely, Concept-mapping, showed significant development

in their level of communicative competence over their counterparts in the

control group exposed to the prevailing teaching modes.

This positive trend noted in the performance level of teacher educands

exposed to the concept-mapping strategy may be due to the improved

cognitive framework assimilated by the teacher educands when exposed to

the specific phases of concept-mapping namely, ‘Exploration’, ‘Bridging’,

‘Context-guided Integration’ and ‘Evaluation’.

The reflective teaching strategy Concept-mapping has enabled teacher

educands to go through the syntax of the strategy in four phases as detailed

below:

Through the first phase of this strategy, namely, ‘Exploration’, the

teacher educands were being equipped to a greater extent to focus on

relevant language themes by following a systematic pattern of comprehending

the lexical terminologies used, the syntactic patterns employed and cues

adopted for structuring the discourses.

The second phase of the select strategy namely, ‘Bridging’, was

assisting them to rely on their previous schemata and confidently construct

ideas through a divergent line-of-action. They were being sensitised to

discern the suitability of the discourse constructed and proceed to devise

appropriate ways of internalising linguistic patterns.

The third phase of the strategy, namely, ‘Context-guided Integration’

could provide necessary algorithms to establish meaningful relationships


238

among the concepts generated and check its suitability in the wider

framework. They could discover the intricacies involved and enhance the

activation of contextually relevant information and thereby develop an

interlinked network of meaningful associations of linguistic elements.

The fourth and the final phase of the strategy namely, ‘Evaluation’ has

enriched their self-monitoring capabilities and the development of a proper

language framework within which they were being capacitated to:

re-examine the processes employed;

hypothesise the possible combinations of language elements;

infer cause and effect relationship;

concretise prominent language elements;

interlink hierarchically and generate newer streams of conceptualised

elements;

analyse the dimensional aspects of the language task;

reconsider the appropriateness of the grammatical cues employed; and

extract summarised versions meaningfully.

As a conclusion to the syntactic version of concept-mapping, it can be

stated that the select reflective teaching strategy has empowered teacher

educands of this group to conceptualise language elements required for

effective communication and gain the skill to process grammatical

components in an automatic manner. As noted by the investigator through

participant observation modes, the teacher educands of the concept-mapping


239

group have shown active trends in hierarchically clustering language

elements, in subsuming compartmental themes, in developing lexical

terminologies and have moved towards the production of language in a skilled

manner as expected of them.

In order to assess the praxis of the concept-mapping strategy in their

daily classroom interaction, the self-evaluation of the appropriateness of the

strategy was gathered through the Strategy Evaluation Proforma, the details

of which are given in Table 5.8.

Table 5.8

Self-Evaluation of the Appropriateness of the Concept-Mapping

Strategy towards Strengthening Language Competence of

Teacher Educands at Primary Level

Observations

Responses of Teacher Educands in %

To a greater extent

To some extent

Not at all

1. The concept-mapping strategy has helped me greatly to focus clearly on the lexical, syntactic, and semantic meanings of the language text.

96 4 -

2. The strategy has helped me to sequence events in a meaningful manner so as to address the task requirement in its totality.

98 2 -

3. I am able to identify topic sentences of discourse and refurbish it with supporting details.

87 13 -

4. It helps me in my search for devising appropriate substitute terms and in thus building meaningful units appropriate to the social context.

80 20 -

5. It has helped me to visualise concepts in a divergent mode and capture the essence of the matter conveyed.

89 11 -

6. The Concept-mapping strategy has enhanced my competency for the effective use of language especially in situations demanding specific clarifications and collaborations.

89 11 -

7. It has exposed avenues for facilitating re-examination of the emerged discourses.

80 20 -


240

Table 5.8 (continued)

8. It allows me to learn at my own pace and also to see how my learning differs from my peers.

80 20 -

9. It has refined my study skills and patterns of thinking.

88 12 -

10. It has provided innovative modes of executing language tasks and in upgrading the learned task.

82 18 -

11. Exposure to concept-mapping strategy has opened the way for meaningfully integrating language tasks and in strengthening vocabulary and sentence patterns with firm grammatical background.

80 20 -

The responses gathered through the administration of the Strategy

Evaluation Proforma throw light into the extent of impact the select reflective

teaching strategy – concept-Mapping – has had on teacher educands in

developing the essential language competency. It was found that though

initially these teacher educands had difficulty in retrieving lexical terminologies

for positional processing and for constructing discourses with grammatical

accuracy, after being exposed to the concept-mapping strategy they have

shown a positive inclination towards the learning of English language. Almost

all the teacher educands (90%) exposed to concept mapping were of the view

that this strategy has helped them to consciously focus on the syntactic and

semantic features of language, sequence the ideas in a hierarchical mode

moving from the most important idea to the subordinate ones, in devising

appropriate substitute terms, in capturing the essence of the matter conveyed

and in acquiring the skill for re-examining the emerged discourses much more

than their usual practices.

As a concluding remark towards establishing the effectiveness of the

Reflective Teaching Strategy namely, Concept-Mapping, on the


241

communicative competence in English of teacher educands at Primary Level,

it can be stated that the select strategy is superior to the prevailing classroom

practices in the conceptualisation, integration, and development of language

processing tasks.

The results of the concept-mapping strategy reveal that teacher

educands are greatly benefited when they are led through meaningful learning

modes that can create powerful language frameworks onto which the

language elements can be subsumed and syntactic patterns can be placed.

This finding is in consensus with the findings of Brandsford (2000) where they

found that concept maps could help develop these habits of mind:

To look for the pivotal ideas in the text;

To become sensitive to or aware of ambiguity, irony, and nuances in text;

To be able to recognise an author’s ‘voice’ and how it is achieved;

To put forward their own ideas about the text supported by textual

references;

To appreciate the power of syntax;

To develop a life-long love of reading;

To appreciate the multiple pathways to pursue meaning and arrive at

solutions.

It is realised that the curriculum material provided to teacher educands

should have richness, complexity, and literary merit that provides issues,

themes, and ideas that are meaningful. With literary habits of mind as guiding


242

beacons, prospective teachers can be helped to make classroom decisions

that are truly world class.

5.3.2 Comparison of Test Scores of the Problem-solving Group and the

Control Group

In order to find out the effect of the select reflective teaching strategy

namely, Problem-solving, over the prevailing activity-oriented modes adopted

in the Teacher Training Institutes for enhancing the communicative

competence of teacher educands, the pre test scores and post test scores of

the two groups were computed statistically. The results of the data gathered

in this regard are presented as shown.

Pre test scores of the Control and Experimental group (Problem-

solving): A Comparison

To find out whether there is any significant difference between the

experimental group (problem-solving) and the control group of the total

sample in their pre test scores, the mean and standard deviation were

obtained and critical ratio was found out. The data and results of the test of

significance of the difference between the means are given in Table 5.9.


243

Table 5.9


Control Group and Experimental Group (Problem-Solving)


Educands Mean

Standard Deviation

Critical Ratio

Control 50 7.16 3.23

0.59 Experimental

(Problem-Solving) 50 6.80 2.89

The critical ratio (CR = 0.59; p > .05) indicates that there is no

significant difference at any level. This shows that there is no significant

difference between the control group and the problem-solving group in their

pre test scores. The results reveal that the two groups were equitable in their

initial levels of performance.

Post test scores of Control Group and Experimental Group (Problem-

Solving): A Comparison

To find out whether there is any significant difference between the post

test scores of the control and the experimental groups exposed to the

Reflective teaching strategy, namely, problem-solving, the test of significance

of difference between the means was found out. The details are presented in

Table 5.10.


244

Table 5.10


Control Group and Experimental Group (Problem-Solving)


Educands Mean

Standard Deviation

Critical Ratio

Control 50 8.80 3.33

6.67 Experimental

(Problem-Solving) 50 14.18 5.02

The critical ratio obtained is 6.67 which is significant at .01 level (CR =

6.67; p < .01). This shows that there exists significant difference between the

mean post test scores of teacher educands in the control group and the

problem-solving group. Since the mean post test score of the problem-solving

group (M = 14.18) is higher than that of the control group (M = 8.80), the

problem-solving group is superior to the control group with regard to the

attainment of communicative competence. So it can be concluded that the

reflective teaching strategy Problem-solving, is more effective than prevailing

Activity-oriented strategies in enhancing the communicative competence in

English of Teacher Educands at Primary Level. The superior performance of

teacher educands exposed to the problem-solving strategy over their

counterparts in the control group may be attributed to the concomitant

features associated solely with the select reflective teaching strategy. The

investigator could experience that the teacher educands while going through

the various phases of the strategy could make mental leaps beginning, from,


245

‘Problem Identification’, through ‘Problem-Defining’, ‘Strategy formulation’ and

‘Problem Solution’ ultimately leading to a wholistic vision of the set linguistic

context. Learning through the sequential phases have helped the teacher

educands to a great extent to contextualise the problems by examining the

appropriacy of the syntactic patterns and to arrive at feasible conclusions.

The first and foremost phase of the problem-solving cycle namely,

‘Problem identification’ could enable teacher educands to trace out the

problematic situation and devise appropriate tasks to get a comprehensive

background of what linguistic context is expected of them.

In the subsequent phase, namely, ‘Defining the Problem’, the teacher

educands could focus on specific grammatical components and equip

themselves to make inferences as and when required. The teacher educands

were being armed with the skill to a) state the problem accurately, b) identify

the missing elements, and c) thematise discourses in a full-fledged language

environment leading them towards being precise in presenting suitable

statements.

Through the third phase of the problem-solving strategy – ‘strategy

formulation’, the teacher educands could synthesise the language elements

and establish interrelatedness of those linguistic elements with each other and

with the contextual features. Here, the teacher educands could generate an

assortment of possible mental representations of discourses and select the

most clear-cut representations of the language task. The goal of the task thus

formulated, could help focus their attention to the processing of grammatical


246

elements. It could equip teacher educands to select relevant syntactic and

semantic features in proximity with the task demand. A search for diversified

meaning through lexical search enhanced the development of automatic

connections that led to a quantum of lexical inferences.

Through the final phase of problem-solving the teacher educands could

develop competence to assess the relevance of the discourses generated in

terms of:

- grammatical conciseness;

- syntactic accuracy;

- contextual relevance, and thereby develop appropriate insights into

the ‘workings’ of their own language use and re-think about the nature of the

complex cognitive and social phenomenon of language production.

The problem-solving strategy was seen to permeate the cognitive

architecture of language in such a way that teacher educands could reflect to

a certain extent on the way they conceptualised the possible combination of

language structure.

In order to assess the praxis of the problem-solving strategy in their

day to day classroom interactions, teacher educands were made to give their

independent views regarding the suitability of the strategy through a Strategy

Evaluation Proforma. The details of the observations made are given in Table

5.11.


247

Table 5.11

Self Evaluation of the Appropriateness of the Problem-Solving

Strategy towards Strengthening Language Competence of

Teacher Educands at Primary Level

Observations


To a greater extent

To some extent

Not at all

1. The strategy has helped me to formulate relevant questions.

90 10 -

2. The problem-solving strategy encourages reflection at every stage of discourse preparation and creates an awareness of the social milieu in which the communicative tasks get structured.

87 13 -

3. While structuring language usages I am helped to focus on relevant syntactic features appropriate for reducing the complexity of language formulations.

88 12 -

4. The strategy enables me to think deeply of all possible solutions before selecting the appropriate modality.

82 18 -

5. This strategy encourages me to interact with my peers and teachers in fruitful discussions.

82 18 -

6. This strategy makes me focus on the relevance of sentence connectors and discourse markers used.

76 24 -

7. It provides ample opportunities to consider the viewpoints of others.

74 26 -

8. It equips me to have a diversified vision and move towards creative framework and face challenges in a fruitful manner.

80 20 -

9. It has helped me in identifying classroom problems and solve it accordingly by taking into consideration the several causes and the possible solutions to be adopted.

89 11 -

10. It leads me to make decisions regarding the various formulations appropriately.

89 11 -

The responses of the teacher educands exposed to the problem-

solving strategy indicates that almost all of them (88%) were benefited by the


248

strategy to overcome their initial hesitations to inquire into something or give

suggestions in language contexts.

The teacher educands opined that the strategy encouraged reflection

at every stage thereby promoting structured and thoughtful intra and inter

communications in language context. While being engaged in a language

task, this strategy helped them to gain clarity regarding the task demand

because they were compelled to focus on the topic sentences. Unlike their

earlier response to a task, an exposure to the problem-solving strategy

enabled them to think deeply of all possible language formulations before

reaching a final conclusion. A desire to seek for clarifications and

consideration for peer remarks were valued by them greatly. What impressed

them most was the creative thoughts that could be explored in their writings

and communicative modes and the ability to make decisions regarding

language functions, and patterns of their use.

Thus, the problem-solving strategy could account for positive changes

in the communicative outlook of teacher educands and behavioural modes,

enabling them to act strategically.

To conclude, the problem-solving strategy empowered teacher

educands as competent communicators through the phased programming of

perplexing language context. It has enabled them to formulate appropriate

linguistic context through the processing of language elements. The pivotal

role that the problem-solving strategy has played in facilitating the

comprehension process and communication in the language have been


249

highlighted in the research findings of Donald & Voss (1988); O’Malley (1990);

and Costelloe, Sherry & Magee (2007). In their opinion, teaching novices

especially in language necessarily calls for good problem-solving skills.

Problem-solving skills are central to developing competency as a language

user and yet these skills are minimal among teacher educands at Primary

Level.

The study has revealed that it is essential for teacher educands to

reflect on their language processing modes and develop their meta-cognitive

and independent learning skills. Fekate et al. (2000) acknowledges the

importance of reflection in assisting students develop meta-cognitive skills.

For problem-solving scenario to emerge, it is essential to embed critical

thinking into the teaching of all the language arts so that teacher educands

will be able to:

state a purpose for all modes of communication, their own as well as

others;

define a problem, given ill-structured, complex, or technical information;

formulate multiple perspectives (at least two) on a given issue;

state assumptions behind a line of reasoning in oral or written form;

apply linguistic and literary concepts appropriately;

provide evidence and data to support a claim or thesis statement;

make inference, based on evidence;

draw implications for enacting the same in their day to day affairs.


250

5.3.3 Comparison of Test Scores of the Control Group and the

Experimental group (Portfolio)

This section focuses on identifying the effect of the select reflective

teaching strategy (Portfolio) and the prevailing activity-oriented modes in

enhancing the communicative competence in English of teacher educands at

Primary Level. For this purpose, the test of significance of difference between

means of the two groups was computed. The analysis done in this regard is

presented as shown.

Pre test scores of the Control group and the Experimental group

(Portfolio): A Comparison

To find out whether there is any significant difference between the

control group following the prevailing activity-oriented strategies and the

experimental group exposed to portfolio strategy in their pre test scores, the

mean and standard deviation of the pre test scores of teacher educands in the

two groups were found out. The data and results of the test of significance

are given in Table 5.12.

Table 5.12


Control Group and Experimental Group (Portfolio)


Educands Mean

Standard Deviation

Critical Ratio

Control 50 7.16 3.23

0.43 Experimental

(Portfolio) 50 6.88 3.27


251

As given in Table 5.12, the critical ratio is 0.43 (CR = 0.43; p > .05)

which is not significant even at .05 level. This result reveals that there is no

significant difference between the mean pre test scores of teacher educands

in the portfolio group and that of the control group. Hence, the groups do not

differ significantly with respect to their initial level of communicative ability.

Post test scores of the Control group and the Experimental group

(Portfolio): A Comparison

The mean and standard deviation of the post test scores of teacher

educands in the control group exposed to the prevailing activity-oriented

modes and the experimental group exposed to the portfolio strategy were

found out. The data and results of the test of significance are given in Table

5.13.

Table 5.13


Control Group and Experimental Group (Portfolio)


Educands Mean

Standard Deviation

Critical Ratio

Control 50 8.80 3.33

4.47 Experimental

(Portfolio) 50 12.28 4.38

The critical ratio (CR = 4.47; p < .01) is significant at .01 level. This

implies that the mean post test scores of the two study groups differ

significantly.


252

Here, the mean post test score of the Experimental group exposed to

Portfolio strategy (M = 12.28) is significantly greater than the mean post test

score of the Control group (M = 8.80). The select Reflective teaching

Strategy, namely, Portfolio Writing, has a positive effect on the communicative

competence in English of teacher educands at Primary Level.

The superior performance of teacher educands in the portfolio strategy

may be due to the emphasis that this strategy lays on proper sequencing of

ideas, and on presentation in clear unequivocal terms, and the emphasis laid

on appropriate checking and rechecking of prepared text. Being rooted in the

principles of experiential learning, the portfolio strategy enabled learners to

learn language automatically. This mode was beneficial to them while

constructing language patterns in accordance with the social demands.

Moreover, it was observed by the investigator that the varied phases of

portfolio strategy, namely ‘Theme Generation’, ‘Task Analysis’, and

‘Reflection’, could encourage teacher educands to relate language tasks

conveyed in the course book to their own background knowledge and hence

identify the rhetorical and functional intent.

The initial phase of this reflective teaching strategy – portfolio, could

lead them to develop proper grammatical encoding whereby language tasks

get translated into a series of connected words with a result that the most

prominent task element is assigned the major core theme. As the

aforementioned linkage programme get strengthened, learners are assisted in


253

the systematic analysis of the task and in assigning deliberate syntactic

functions to the mental lexicon.

The next stage, namely, ‘Task-analysis’ could enable them to infer the

sequence between events, infer missing details and link sentences and

concepts in a logical order.

The ‘reflection stage’ acted as a monitoring device to check their

predictions and thematize discourses by frequently referring to the

appropriateness of context and genuineness of the discussions. Therefore,

the teacher educands benefited in deriving novel predictions about the

processing and framing of sentences in a creative mode.

As a conclusion to the syntactic version of portfolio it can be stated that

the select reflective teaching strategy has reinforced the importance of

revision and in integrating writing with the teaching of content areas. Such

integration as observed by Joyce, Dana, and Linda (1996) could help learners

develop critical thinking skills which is crucial to effective communication.

Studies by Meadows and Dyal (1999); Brown & Irby (2000, 2001);

Wilkerson & Lang (2003); & Barnes, Clark, & Thull (2005) support the role of

portfolios as identified through the results of the present study.

In order to assess the praxis of the portfolio strategy in their day-today

classroom interaction patterns, the self-evaluation of the appropriateness of

the select strategy was gathered through the Strategy Evaluation Proforma,

the details of which are given in Table 5.14.


254

Table 5.14

Self-Evaluation of the Appropriateness of the Portfolio Strategy

towards Strengthening Language Competence

of Teacher Educands at Primary Level

Observations


To a greater extent

To some extent

Not at all

1. The involvement in the strategy has helped me to communicate ideas more clearly, read materials closely, analyse others’ opinions and note down texts more meticulously.

72 28 -

2. I am helped in revising my prepared discourses and focus attention on relevant sentence patterns and paragraph structuring modes.

67 33 -

3. The strategy has enforced a self-directed learning mode and keeps me focused on the communicative task more seriously.

64 36 -

4. The strategy has helped me to analyse the problem context and to thematize my writings according to the task demand.

88 12 -

5. It has created a sense of self-worthiness and a move towards corrections.

51 49 -

6. My inhibition to open up before others has lessened to a greater degree and I can sense a peak in my personal career.

63 37 -

7. I have gained confidence in developing discourses in various genres.

72 28 -

8. The strategy is an additional strategy that can help me get prepared for the presentation of the task with confidence.

62 38 -

9. It is an effective strategy for future planning of classroom activities.

74 26 -

10. The portfolio preparation is not stressful when accomplished in a set group.

72 28 -

The teacher educands in the third experimental group exposed to the

reflective teaching strategy – Portfolio, perceive the strategy to have helped

them improve their communication skills, revise their work and practise self-

directed learning. The portfolio has helped them to reflect on the theme

(88%) and has encouraged self-reflection (51%). Among the respondents,

most of them agreed that the portfolio was useful as an additional learning


255

strategy and has helped them greatly in their personal career (63%). Three

fourths of teacher educands expressed an increase in their confidence level

for preparing discourses and composition pieces. The respondents consider

the strategy a best mode to enhance future planning of the language task

(74%) and admit that the task of preparing portfolio would be less

cumbersome when done as a group work (72%).

Thus, both the quantitative data and their qualitative interpretations

reveal the superiority of the portfolio strategy in strengthening the cognitive

faculties of an individual in relation to constructing meaningful discourses and

in leading learners to greater metacognitive insight with a closer awareness of

the social and affective features of learning a language.

The quantified data formulated through the experimental procedures

and substantiated by qualitative assessment through the administration of the

Strategy Evaluation Proforma and timely classroom observations pave way

for reiterating the superiority of the select reflective teaching strategies over

the prevailing classroom transaction modes. The select strategies have given

a furtherance to the construction of apt discourses and develop metacognitive

insights with a closer awareness of the social milieu and with increasing levels

of systematicity and appropriateness.

In order to gain a bird’s eye view on the performance of teacher

educands in the control and experimental groups, a graphical representation

of the mean pre test scores of the groups are given in Figure 5.2 and the

mean post test scores of the groups in Figure 5.3 respectively.

256

6.10

6.20

6.30

6.40

6.50

6.60

6.70

6.80

6.90

7.00

7.10

7.20

Activity-Oriented Concept Mapping Problem Solving Portfolio

Me

an

Sc

ore

Groups

Figure 5.2 Mean Pre-test Scores of the Experimental Groups and the

Control Group

257

0.00

2.00

4.00

6.00

8.00

10.00

12.00

14.00

16.00

Activity-Oriented Concept Mapping

Problem Solving Portfolio

Me

an

Sc

ore

Groups

Figure 5.3 Mean Post-test Scores of the Experimental Groups and the

Control Group


258

The graphical representations show that the experimental and control

groups were more or less equal with regard to their pre test performance.

However, marked difference in the levels of communicative competence can

be seen in the post test scores of three experimental groups, namely,

Concept-Mapping, Problem-solving and Portfolio when compared to the

prevailing activity-oriented modes.

Genuineness of the Difference in Performance of Teacher Educands in

the Various Groups

The analysis of the pre test scores of the control group and the three

experimental groups showed that the level of communicative competence in

English of teacher educands in these select groups was more or less

equitable and that the random allotment of teacher educands in the

aforementioned groups could be justified. But after administering the select

reflective teaching strategies namely, Concept-Mapping, Problem-Solving,

and Portfolio to the three experimental groups respectively, and permitting the

control group to proceed with the prevailing activity-oriented strategies, it was

found that all the three experimental groups performed better than the control

group in attaining greater levels of communicative competence. Hence, it can

be tentatively concluded that the select reflective teaching strategies are

superior to the control group treatment. But, it cannot be conclusively stated

that the groups differ significantly by just analysing the pre test and post test

scores of these groups. So the results were substantiated using the


259

technique of Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) and other relatable statistics.

The analysis done in this regard is given in the subsequent sections.

5.3.4 Comparison of Communicative Competence in English of the

Total Sample of Teacher Educands in the Experimental Groups

and the Control Group – Analysis using ANCOVA

The total scores of teacher educands in the select experimental groups

exposed to the select reflective teaching strategies, namely, Concept-

Mapping, Problem-Solving, and Portfolio-Writing and that of the control group

subjected to the activity-oriented strategies were analysed using the

technique of Analysis of Covariance. This was done to determine the

effectiveness of the select Reflective Teaching Strategies over the prevailing

activity-oriented modes in enhancing the communicative competence in

English of Teacher Educands at Primary Level. The statistical procedure as

specified in Garrett (1981) is given below:

Summary of Analysis of Variance – ANOVA

Summary of Analysis of Covariance – ANCOVA

Calculation of Adjusted Means

Summary of ANOVA for the Pre test and Post test Scores of the Total

Sample of Teacher Educands in the Experimental Groups and the

Control Group

The sum of squares, mean square variances, and F-ratios for the pre

test and post test scores of the three select Experimental groups and the


260

Control group were computed and Table 5.15 presents the details of the

analysis done in this regard.

Table 5.15

Summary of ANOVA of the Pre test and Post test Scores of

Teacher Educands in the Experimental and Control Groups

Source of Variation

df SSx SSy MSx MSy

Among Means 3 11 1012.88 3.7 337.6267

Within Groups 196 191 4187.84 10.2 21.37

Total 199 2001.555 5200.72

Fx = 0.36 From Table F, df 3/196

Fy = 15.80 F at .05 level = 2.65

F at .01 level = 3.88

The F-ratios for the two sets of scores were tested for significance.

Since the table value of F for df 3/196 is 2.65 at .05 level and 3.88 at .01 level,

the obtained Fx (0.36) value is not significant at any level of significance. The

Fx value shows that the random assignment of subjects to the two groups,

namely, Experimental and Control, was quite successful. The Fy value

obtained (Fy = 15.80) is highly significant at .01 level because, the table value

of F for df 3/196 at .01 level of significance is 3.88. The analysis of variance

of the ‘y means’ indicate that, there exists significant difference between the

Experimental groups and the Control group.

For correcting the final y-scores for the difference in the pre test

scores, the adjusted sum of squares and adjusted mean square variance for


261

post test scores were computed and F-ratios were calculated. ANCOVA was

used for further computations. The results are given in Table 5.16.

Table 5.16

Analysis of Co-variance (ANCOVA) of the Pre test and Post test Scores

of Teacher Educands in the Experimental and Control Groups

Source of Variation

df SSx SSy SSxy SSyx MSyx SDyx

Among Means

3 11 1012.88 -91.2 1253 418

2.33 Within Groups

195 1991 4188 2494.1 1063 5

Total 198 2001.555 5200.72 2402.86 2316

Fy.x = 76.65

From Table F, df = 3/195 F at .05 level = 2.65

F at .01 level = 3.88

The obtained F ratio (Fy.x = 76.65) is higher than the table value at .01

level, and is thus significant at .01 level. The significant F ratio for the

adjusted post test scores show that the two final scores of the Experimental

and Control groups differ significantly after they have been adjusted for

differences in the pre test scores.

The adjusted means for the post test scores of Teacher Educands in

the Experimental and Control groups were computed using correlation and

regression and are given in Table 5.17.


262

Table 5.17

Adjusted means for the Post test Scores of the Total Sample of

Teacher Educands in the Experimental and Control Groups

Groups N Mx My My.x (adjusted)

Control 50 7.16 8.80 8.39

Experimental (Concept-Mapping)

50 6.5 14.12 14.54

Experimental (Problem-Solving)

50 6.8 14.48 14.52

Experimental (Portfolio)

50 6.88 12.28 12.22

General Means - 6.84 12.42 12.42

From the results of the adjusted means for the post test scores of the

Total sample of teacher educands in the Experimental and Control groups, it

is seen that the adjusted mean score of the experimental groups are higher

than that of the control group. When considered in their order of ranking, the

adjusted means of Concept-Mapping group (My.x = 14.54) was closely

followed by the Problem-solving group (My.x = 14.52) and then by the

Portfolio group with an adjusted mean score My.x = 12.22. It is observed that

all these adjusted mean scores of the experimental groups were much higher

than that obtained by the control group (My.x = 8.39). So it can be concluded

that among the treatments selected in the present study, instructions based

on the syntactic modes specified for the select reflective teaching strategies

could provide greater opportunities for teacher educands to develop


263

conceptual frameworks for subsequent integration of the prominent

componential dimensions of communicative competence, and were superior

to the control group’s treatment.

5.4 ANALYSIS OF TEST SCORES OF THE THREE EXPERIMENTAL

GROUPS: A CROSS COMPARISON

The analysis of the test scores of Experimental and Control groups

have revealed the superiority of the Experimental treatments over the Control

group’s treatment. In order to find out which among the select reflective

teaching strategies could exercise more influence on the communicative

competence in English of Teacher Educands at Primary Level, a cross-

comparison of the test scores of the three experimental groups have been

carried out as shown:

5.4.1 Comparison of test scores of Concept-Mapping Group and Problem-

Solving Group

5.4.2 Comparison of test scores of Concept-Mapping Group and Portfolio

Group

5.4.3 Comparison of test scores of Problem-Solving Group and Portfolio

Group

5.4.1 Analysis of Test Scores of the Concept-Mapping Group and the

Problem-Solving Group

In order to find out whether Concept-Mapping or Problem-Solving

strategies benefited teacher educands most, the mean pre test and post test


264

scores of the two experimental groups were computed and analysed in the

order shown below.

Comparison of pre test scores of the Concept-Mapping group and the

Problem-Solving group

Comparison of post test scores of the Concept-Mapping group and the

Problem-Solving group

Comparison of Pre test Scores of Concept-Mapping Group and Problem-

Solving Group

In order to find out whether any significant difference existed between

the pre test scores of the Concept-Mapping group and the Problem-Solving

group, the mean and standard deviation of the pre test scores of teacher

educands in these groups were computed. The critical ratio was also found

out. The details are given in Table 5.18.

Table 5.18


the Concept-Mapping Group and the Problem-Solving Group


Educands Mean

Standard Deviation

Critical Ratio

Concept-Mapping 50 6.50 3.33 0.48

Problem-Solving 50 6.80 2.89

The critical ratio obtained is 0.48 which is not significant at any level

(CR = 0.48; p > .05). This implies that the mean scores of the two

experimental groups do not differ significantly thereby equating the two


265

groups with respect to their initial level of attainment of the set competence in

communication.

Comparison of Post test Scores of Concept-Mapping Group and

Problem-Solving Group

The mean and standard deviation of the post test scores of the

Experimental group exposed to Concept-Mapping strategy and the

Experimental group exposed to Problem-Solving strategy were computed to

find out significant difference, if any, in their performances. The data in this

regard are given in Table 5.19.

Table 5.19


the Concept-Mapping Group and the Problem-Solving Group


Educands Mean

Standard Deviation

Critical Ratio


Problem-Solving 50 14.48 5.02

The table shows that the critical ratio (CR = 0.34; p > .05) is not

significant even at .05 level. Therefore, the mean post test scores of teacher

educands from the experimental groups exposed to the select reflective

teaching strategies, namely, Concept-Mapping and Problem-Solving are not

significantly different. Both the experimental treatments could develop an

activation mode that developed connected representation of structured

description and thereby overcome abstractness in lexical representation.


266

5.4.2 Comparison of Test Scores of the Concept-Mapping Group and

the Portfolio Group

In order to find out whether Concept-Mapping strategy was superior to

the Portfolio strategy in enhancing the communicative competencies of

teacher educands at primary level, their mean pre test scores and the mean

post test scores were found out and subjected to further statistical analysis.

The results have been presented under the following heads:

Comparison of the pre test scores of the Concept-Mapping group and

the Portfolio group

Comparison of the post test scores of the Concept-Mapping group and

the Portfolio group

Comparison of Pre test Scores of the Concept-Mapping Group and the

Portfolio Group

In order to find whether any significant difference existed between the

performance of teacher educands in the Concept-Mapping group and the

Portfolio group in their mean pre test scores, the mean, standard deviation

and critical ratio were computed. The details are given in Table 5.20.

Table 5.20


the Concept-Mapping Group and the Portfolio Group


Educands Mean

Standard Deviation

Critical Ratio


Portfolio 50 6.88 3.27


267

The critical, CR = 0.58; p > .05, is not significant even at .05 level.

That is, the mean pre test scores of the two experimental groups are not

significantly different. This finding reveals that the groups exposed to

Concept-Mapping and Portfolio respectively performed equitably in their pre

test performance with regard to their attainment of communicative

competence.

Comparison of Post test Scores of the Concept Mapping Group and the

Portfolio Group

In order to find out if any significant difference exists in the post test

performance of teacher educands in the Concept-Mapping and Portfolio

groups, the mean, standard deviation and critical ratio were computed. Table

5.21 gives details in this regard.

Table 5.21


the Concept-Mapping Group and the Portfolio Group


Educands Mean

Standard Deviation

Critical Ratio


Portfolio 50 12.28 4.38

From the table, it is clear that the experimental groups exposed to

Concept-Mapping and Portfolio strategies respectively, do not differ

significantly in their post test performances as the critical ratio (CR =1.85;

p > .05) is not significant even at .05 level.


268

It can be implied that both the select reflective teaching strategies,

namely, Concept-Mapping and Portfolio could help teacher educands to

thematically formulate discourses, syntactic rules and thereby overcome

abstractness in lexical and semantic representations. A process-oriented

learning ensues which assists teacher educands to structure their writings as

is deemed appropriate in the social context.

5.4.3 Comparison of Test Scores of the Problem-Solving Group and the

Portfolio Group

To find out whether the Problem-Solving had greater influence than the

Portfolio-Writing group on the communicative performance of teacher

educands, the mean pre test and the mean post test scores of the two groups

were computed and analysed in the manner shown:

Comparison of the pre test scores of the Problem-Solving group and

the Portfolio group

Comparison of the post test scores of the Problem-Solving group and

the Portfolio group

Comparison of Pre test Scores of the Problem-Solving Group and the

Portfolio Group

In order to find whether any significant difference exists in the pre test

scores of the Problem-Solving group and the Portfolio group, the mean and

standard deviation of the two experimental groups were computed. The

critical ratio was also found out. Table 5.22 gives details in this regard.


269

Table 5.22


the Problem-Solving Group and Portfolio Group


Educands Mean

Standard Deviation

Critical Ratio

Problem Solving 50 6.50 3.33 0.58

Portfolio 50 6.88 3.27

The obtained critical ratio (CR = 0.58; p > .05) is not significant at any

level. That is, the mean pre test score of the Problem-Solving group

(M = 6.50) is not significantly different from the mean pre test score of the

Portfolio group (M = 6.88). This means, the teacher educands in both the

groups were initially equated as far as their level of communicative

competence was concerned.

Comparison of Post test Scores of the Problem-Solving Group and the

Portfolio Group

The mean and standard deviation of the post test scores of the select

sample of teacher educands in the two experimental groups under

consideration were computed to find out significant difference, if any, in their

communicative performances. The critical was also calculated and is given in

Table 5.23.


270

Table 5.23


the Problem-Solving Group and the Portfolio Group


Educands Mean

Standard Deviation

Critical Ratio

Problem-Solving 50 14.48 5.02 2.34

Portfolio 50 12.28 4.38

It has been found out that the two experimental groups exposed to the

select reflective teaching strategies, namely, Problem-Solving and Portfolio

respectively show a significant variation in their post test scores at the .05

level (CR = 2.34; p < .05). It is noted that the teacher educands exposed to

the Problem-Solving strategy had a greater mean post test score (M = 14.48)

than their counterparts in the Portfolio group (M = 12.28). This difference at

the .05 level suggests that the teacher educands exposed to the select

reflective teaching strategy – Problem-Solving – could build a language

structure with more grammatical, thematic, and syntactic accuracy and

minimise syntactic disambiguation. The fact that the renewed curriculum is

issue-based and project-centred could have made teacher educands most

conversant with the Problem-Solving strategy than with the Portfolio strategy.

But it can be concluded from the analysis done with regard to the

extent of influence that each of the select reflective teaching strategies

exercised on the communicative competence in English of teacher educands

at Primary level that, each strategy exercised marked influence on teacher


271

educands exposed to these strategies. Since the strategies did not show

marked difference when their mean pre and post test scores were compared,

except in the case of the comparison between Problem-Solving and the

Portfolio group, all the select strategies seemed to have strengthened a

system of thinking that has helped teacher educands to analyse language

tasks meaningfully and choose appropriate words and grammatical elements

benefiting the communicative context.

5.5 ANALYSIS OF GAIN SCORES OF THE EXPERIMENTAL AND

CONTROL GROUPS ON THE FOUR SELECT COMPONENTS OF

COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE

In order to find the impact of the select Reflective Teaching Strategies

on each of the four select components of communicative competence,

namely, grammatical, sociolinguistic, discourse, and strategic competencies,

a comparative analysis of the gain scores of the teacher educands of the

control and the experimental groups have been considered here. Table 5.24

presents the details of the comparative analysis undertaken.

The graphical representation of the mean pre and post scores of the

control and experimental groups on the four components of communicative

competence is given in Figure 5.4.


272

Table 5.24

Comparative Analysis of Gain Scores of Performance of the

Control and Experimental Groups on the Select

Components of Communicative Competence

Group Score Total Score

Components of Communicative Competence

Grammatical (Max. 25)

Sociolinguistic (Max.25)

Discourse (Max.25)

Strategic (Max = 25)

Control

Pre score 28.64% 8.2 4.3 6.04 10

Post score 35.21% 10 6 8.2 11

Gain* performance

27.80% 21.95% 53.49% 35.76% 8.9%

Concept-Mapping

Pre score 26% 5 7 6 8

Post score 56.8% 13 16.8 12.0 15

Gain performance

122% 160% 140% 100% 87.5%

Problem-Solving

Pre score 27.2% 7 5 6.7 8

Post score 56.72% 12.3 16 13.4 15

Gain performance

120.8% 75.7% 220% 100% 87.5%

Portfolio-Writing

Pre score 27.52% 6.7 7.02 6 7.8

Post score 49.12% 12 12 13 12

Gain performance

80% 79.1% 70.9% 116.6% 53.8%

Post score – Pre score

*Gain performance (in percentages) = 100 Pre score

273

0.00

2.00

4.00

6.00

8.00

10.00

12.00

14.00

16.00

18.00

Pre (28.69%) Post (35.2%) Pre (26%) Post (56.8%) Pre (27.2%) Post (56.72%) Pre (27.52%) Post (49.12%)

Control Concept-Mapping Problem-Solving Portfolio

Mean

Sco

re

Groups

Figure 5.4 Mean of Pre and Post Test Scores of Performance of the Control and Experimental Groups

on the Select Components of Communicative Competence

Grammatical

Sociolinguistic

Discourse

Strategic

*

note: *denote the aggregate percentage of the respective groups


274

From the table and the figure, it can be observed that a positive trend

in the gain performance with respect to all the four select components of

communicative competence (grammatical, sociolinguistic, discourse, and

strategic) was evidenced in the three experimental groups, namely, Concept-

Mapping, Problem-Solving, and Portfolio. While considering the Grammatical

component of communicative competence, it can be noted that, Concept-

Mapping group had a higher gain performance (160%) than that of Problem-

Solving group (75.7%) and Portfolio group (79.1%). This increase of gain

performance in the grammatical component of communicative competence

among teacher educands may be because of the unique features of the

phases the teacher educands got exposed to wherein they were led to

analyse sentences into their constituent parts through appropriate interlinks

and lexical linkages. Since their understandings could be visualised, they

could engage in self corrections and self-improvement. Analysis of sentences

into their constituent parts was easily executed through this strategy.

With regard to the Sociolinguistic competence, the table shows that the

Problem-Solving group had a comparatively higher gain performance (220%)

over their counterparts in Concept-Mapping group (140%) and Portfolio group

(70.9%). This increase in gain performance of teacher educands with respect

to the sociolinguistic component could be attributed to the emphasis that

Problem-Solving strategy places on its twin processes of functioning namely,

‘problem raising’ and ‘problem solving’ in a social context and not independent

of the social milieu. This could have ultimately led to the production and


275

comprehension of language tasks and resulted in suitable output/input

coordination.

The third component namely, ‘Discourse Competence’ was found to be

slightly higher among teacher educands in the Portfolio group (gain score

160%) than in the Concept-Mapping group with 100% and Problem-Solving

group with 100.4%. The higher performance in the Portfolio group may be

due to the emphasis the strategy lays on selecting relevant matter, organizing

them and connecting them into coherent discourse structure. This has helped

the teacher educands to recognise main ideas, identify supporting materials,

establish explicate relationship between ideas and produce appropriate

information mouldings.

Finally, the opportunities for developing ‘Strategic Competence’ were

found to be equally high in the Concept-Mapping and Problem-Solving group

with gain scores of 87.5% each. More of divergent thinking and searching for

different means to connect speech could have been provided by the Concept-

Mapping and Problem-Solving strategies.

The descriptive analysis of the gain scores of experimental groups

(Concept-Mapping 122%, Problem-Solving 120.8% and Portfolio 80%) and

control group (27.8%) support the general conclusion that the set reflective

teaching strategies could affect the dimensional aspects of communicative

competence and help overcome the processing difficulty with regard to

sentence comprehension, syntactic patterning, morphological processing,


276

discourse coherence and inferencing in general, and the consequent

language processing in particular.

ANALYSIS BASED ON THE STRATIFIED VERSION OF THE SAMPLE:

GENDER/TYPE OF MANAGEMENT/LOCALE OF INSTITUTION

While analysing the communicative competence of teacher educands

in general, it was found that the educands were deficient with regard to

articulating important concepts in language with accuracy and precision. And

in such a context, it is usual to think of factors like gender, urban and rural

settings or even the type of management as having a contributory role in

strengthening the language processing modes of teacher educands in

general. Therefore, the investigator deemed it appropriate to find out whether

such stratifications could throw deeper insight into understanding the pertinent

dimensions of the language processing modes of teacher educands at

Primary Level. Three stratification of the sample have been considered and

are detailed in Sections 5.6, 5.7 and 5.8 respectively as under:

- ‘Gender-wise comparison’;

- ‘Management-wise comparison’; and

- Locale-wise comparison

5.6 GENDER-WISE ANALYSIS OF TEST SCORES

In the onset of this section, the investigator firstly analysed gender-wise

differences in the enhancement of communicative competence of teacher


277

educands while being exposed to reflective practices. The analysis in this

regard are being presented under four subsections:

5.6.1 Analysis of test scores of Control group based on ‘Gender’;

5.6.2 Analysis of test scores of Concept-Mapping group based on ‘Gender’;

5.6.3 Analysis of test scores of Problem-Solving group based on ‘Gender;

5.6.4 Analysis of test scores of Portfolio group based on ‘Gender’.

5.6.1 Analysis of Test Scores of Control Group based on Gender

The performance of male and female teacher educands in the Control

group with regard to their attainment of communicative competence were

ascertained by comparing the mean pre and post test scores of the two

subsamples. The comparison of scores of teacher educands in this regard is

being presented here:

Comparison of pre test scores of the subsample of teacher educands in

the Control group based on ‘Gender’

The mean and standard deviation of the pre test scores of male and

female teacher educands in the control group were computed to find out

significant differences, if any. The critical ratio was also calculated. Table

5.25 gives details in this regard.


278

Table 5.25

Results of the Test of Significance of Pre test Scores of Teacher

Educands in the Control Group based on ‘Gender’


Educands Mean

Standard Deviation

Critical Ratio

Male 7 7.29 2.93 0.12

Female 43 7.14 3.31

From the table it is evident that as the critical ratio (CR =0.12;

p > .05) is not significant even at .05 level of significance, the two groups do

not differ significantly in their pre test scores. Both male and female teacher

educands were equitable in their attainment of communicative competence.

Comparison of Post test Scores of the Subsample of Teacher Educands

in the Control Group based on ‘Gender’


sample in the control group were computed to assess significant difference, if

any, in their performance with regard to their attainment of communicative

competence in English. Table 5.26 gives details in this regard.

Table 5.26

Results of the Test of Significance of Post test Scores of Teacher

Educands in the Control Group based on ‘Gender’


Educands Mean

Standard Deviation

Critical Ratio

Male 7 9.00 2.94 0.19

Female 43 8.77 3.41


279

It is evident from Table 5.26 that the male and female groups show no

significant difference in their post test scores too. The critical ratio was not

significant at any level (CR = 0.19; p > .05). Without any specific treatment, it

was noted that the male and female teacher educands of control group

followed an equitable pattern of language processing modes. The prevailing

activity-oriented strategies have advocated a uniform line-of-action.

5.5.7 Analysis of Test Scores of the Concept-Mapping Group based on

‘Gender’

In order to find whether the select reflective teaching strategy namely,

Concept-Mapping had any significant influence on the male and female

teacher educands exposed to this strategy in enhancing their communicative

competence in English, the mean pre and post test scores of the two

subgroups were computed and analysed as shown:

Comparison of Pre test Scores of the Subsample based on ‘Gender’ of

Teacher Educands in Concept-Mapping Group

The mean pre test scores of male and female teacher educands of the

Concept-Mapping group were computed to ascertain initial differences in their

communicative performance. The critical ratio was also calculated.


280

Table 5.27

Results of the Test of Significance of Pre test Scores of Teacher

Educands in Concept-Mapping Group based on ‘Gender’


Educands Mean

Standard Deviation

Critical Ratio

Male 6 5.67 1.75 1.07

Female 44 6.61 3.49

As the table shows, the critical ratio is not significant at any level (CR =

1.07; p > .05). This implies that the sample of male and female teacher

educands in the Concept-Mapping group were equated with respect to their

attainment of communicative competence in English prior exposure to the set

experimental treatment.

Comparison of Post test Scores of the Subsample based on ‘Gender’ of

Teacher Educands in the Concept-Mapping Group

The mean post test scores of the subsample based on ‘Gender’ of

teacher educands in the Concept-Mapping group were calculated in order to

find out if they differed in their acquisition of communicative competence when

exposed to the select reflective teaching strategy. The critical ratio was also

computed and the details are given in Table 5.28.


281

Table 5.28

Results of the Test of Significance of the Mean Post test Scores of

Teacher Educands in the Concept-Mapping Group based on ‘Gender’


Educands Mean

Standard Deviation

Critical Ratio

Male 6 10.33 2.16 3.52

Female 44 14.64 5.60

Significant at .01 level

The critical ratio 3.52 (CR = 3.52; p < .01) is observed to be significant

at .01 level. That is, the subgroups based on ‘gender’ differed significantly in

their post test scores. It is seen that the female teacher educands have been

influenced greatly than their male counterparts when exposed to the Concept-

Mapping strategy. It appears that the lexical processing and literal

interpretation was greater among female teacher educands. Their semantic

representations were activated to a great extent.

5.5.8 Analysis of Test Scores of the Problem-Solving Group based on

‘Gender’

In order to find whether the select reflective teaching strategy namely,

Problem-Solving had any significant influence on the subsamples of teacher

educands based on ‘Gender’, the mean and standard deviation of the pre and

post test scores were calculated and the critical ratios computed. The

comparison done in this regard is given in detail here.


282

Comparison of Pre test Scores of the Subsample of Teacher Educands

of Problem-Solving Group based on ‘Gender’


Problem-Solving group were computed to identify significant differences, if

any, in their performances. The critical ratio was also calculated and the

details in this regard are furnished in Table 5.29.

Table 5.29

Results of the Test of Significance of Mean Pre test Scores of Teacher

Educands in the Problem-Solving Group based on ‘Gender’


Educands Mean

Standard Deviation

Critical Ratio

Male 7 5.86 2.97 0.91

Female 43 6.95 2.89

The obtained value of critical ratio (CR = 0.91; p > .05) is not

significant. Therefore, the male and female teacher educands in the Problem-

Solving group showed equitable performance with regard to their

communicative ability prior exposure to the experimental treatment.

Comparison of Post test Scores of the Subsamples based on Gender of

Teacher Educands in the Problem-Solving Group


educands stratified according to their gender were calculated to identify

significant difference in their performance after exposure to the select

reflective teaching strategy. Critical ratio was also calculated and the details

are given in Table 5.30.


283

Table 5.30

Results of the Test of Significance of Mean Post test Scores of Teacher

Educands in the Problem-Solving Group based on ‘Gender’


Educands Mean

Standard Deviation

Critical Ratio

Male 7 10.57 3.60 2.92

Female 43 15.12 4.95

The table reveals that there exists significant difference in the mean

post test performance of teacher educands of Problem-Solving group

classified according to their gender. The critical ratio (CR = 2.92; p < .01) is

significant at .01 level. As in the previous case, the female teacher educands

seemed to be influenced significantly more than their male counterparts when

exposed to the set strategy. There was enhanced intellectual experience for

female teacher educands and a steady increase in their critical and creative

thinking skills. They showed a greater degree grasp of syntactic arrangement

and word recognition, moving from initial understanding to developing multiple

interpretations.

5.5.9 Analysis of Test Scores of the Portfolio group based on ‘Gender’

In order to find whether the third select reflective teaching strategy

namely Portfolio, had any significant influence on the subsample of teacher

educands based on ‘Gender’, the mean and standard deviation of the pre and

post test scores of the two subgroups were calculated. The critical ratios were

also computed. The comparison done in this regard is given in detail here.


284

Comparison of Pre test Scores of the Subsamples of Teacher Educands

of Portfolio Group based on Gender


Portfolio group were calculated to identify significant difference if any, in their

initial levels of communicative competence. The critical ratio was also

calculated and the details in this regard are given in Table 5.31.

Table 5.31

Results of the Test of Significance of the Pre test Scores of Subsamples

of Teacher Educands of Portfolio Group based on ‘Gender’

Group No. of

Teacher Educands

Mean Standard Deviation

Critical Ratio

Male 8 5.63 1.77 1.82

Female 42 7.12 3.44

The critical ratio (CR = 1.82; p > .05) was observed to be insignificant

at both levels of significance. The mean scores of male and female are

therefore, not significantly different, implying that, both Male and Female

teacher trainees were equated as far as their level of attainment of

Communicative Competence in English was concerned prior to their exposure

to the experimental treatment.

Comparison of Post test scores of the subsample based on Gender of

Teacher Educands in Portfolio Group

In order to find out whether any significant difference exists between

Male and Female groups after the treatment was given, the mean and


285

standard deviation were computed and the results of the test of significance of

difference between means were calculated. The critical ratio was also

computed.

Table 5.32

Results of the Test of Significance of the Post test Scores of

Subsamples of Teacher Educands of Portfolio group based on ‘Gender’

Group No. of

Teacher Educands


Critical Ratio

Male 8 9.50 2.98 2.64

Female 42 12.81 4.44

The critical ratio (CR = 2.64; p < .01) is significant at the .01 level of

significance. That is, the mean post test scores of the two groups differ

significantly. The female group was seen to outperform the male group. The

Portfolio strategy was thus found to be effective for the Female group more

than the Male group in the enhancement of their Communicative Competence

in English.

As in the case of the Concept-Mapping and the Problem-Solving

groups, the Portfolio strategy too seemed to exercise more influence on

female teacher educands than on their male counterparts. The female

teacher educands could explore ideas beyond the constraints of form and

diverge into more creative patterns of thinking. A comparison of pre and post

assessments indicated significant improvement of female teacher educands in

textual analysis and analytical reading skills.


286

To conclude, the analysis undertaken in this section specifies how

female teacher educands had an enrichment in:

- questioning skills,

- providing supportive evidences from the content area,

- in synthesising a conclusion, and

- in formulating suitable word patterns, syntax, etc., when exposed to

the select reflective teaching strategies.

In order to capture the extent of impact that the set strategies could

exercise on the teacher educands classified according to their ‘gender’, a

graphical representation is presented in Figure 5.5.

287

0.00

2.00

4.00

6.00

8.00

10.00

12.00

14.00

16.00

Control Concept-Mapping

Problem-Solving

Portfolio

Me

an

Sc

ore

Groups

Figure 5.5 Mean Post test Scores of Teacher Educands belonging to

the Four Groups Classified according to 'Gender'

Male

Female


288

From the figure, it is clear that female teacher educands could perform

better than male teacher educands when exposed to the select reflective

teaching strategies. Learner characteristics like a positive task-orientation,

goal-orientation, ego-involvement, and need-achievement may have been

greater among the female teacher educands. Female students would have

expressed greater tolerance and patience which a second language learning

generally calls for and were thus emotionally in a better position to cope with

ambiguities that arose, in a Problem-Solving frame of mind. On the basis of

the finding, it can be suggested that female teachers are best suited to build

the foundation of language learning at schools in the primary level. The

primary stage of education does require an atmosphere of trust, patience, and

tolerance to encourage each individual to rise to the expected level.

5.7 MANAGEMENT-WISE ANALYSIS OF TEST SCORES

In order to ascertain if the ‘Type of Management’ from which the select

sample of Teacher Educands hailed has had a pivotal role to play in

enhancing the communicative competence in English of teacher educands, an

analysis of test scores of the experimental and control groups were

undertaken in the manner shown:

5.7.1 Comparison of test scores of the subsamples of teachers educands in

the Control group based on ‘Type of Management’


the Concept-Mapping group based on ‘Type of Management’


289


the Problem-Solving group based on ‘Type of Management’


the Portfolio group based on ‘Type of Management’

The detailed analysis of the pre and post test of the experimental and

control groups from Aided, Unaided and Government sectors are presented

through the analysis done under the aforementioned sections.

5.7.1 Comparison of Test Scores of the Subsamples of Teacher

Educands in the Control Group based on ‘Type of Management’

In order to assess the impact that institutions run by aided, unaided

and government sectors could have on teacher educands enrolled therein and

exposed to prevailing classroom transaction modes, the mean, standard

deviation and critical ratio of these subsamples were compared. A detailed

analysis done in this regard is being presented in this section.

Pre test Scores of Teacher Educands in Control Group from Government

and Aided Sector: A Comparison

The mean pre test scores and the standard deviation of the

subsamples of teacher educands from Government and Aided sectors were

calculated to find significant difference, if any. The critical ratio was also

computed. Table 5.33 gives details in this regard.


290

Table 5.33

Results of the Test of Significance of the Mean Pre test Scores of

Subsamples of Teacher Educands in the Control Group from

Government and Aided Sectors

Group No. of

Teacher Educands


Critical Ratio

Government 20 0.30 3.54 0.00

Aided 20 7.30 3.05

The critical ratio thus obtained (CR = 0.00; p > .05) is not at all

significant. The mean scores of both the groups are the same. Therefore,

there is no significant difference between the teacher educands in the control

group from the government and aided sectors with regard to their level of

communicative competence.

Post test Scores of Teacher Educands in Control Group from

Government and Aided Sectors: A Comparison

The mean, standard deviation and the critical ratio of the post test

scores of teacher educands in the Control group from Government and Aided

sectors were computed to identify significant difference, if any, in their

attainment of communicative competence. The details are furnished in Table

5.34.


291

Table 5.34


Subsamples of Teacher Educands in Control Group from

Government and Aided Sectors

Group No. of

Teacher Educands


Critical Ratio

Government 20 8.85 3.70 0.00

Aided 20 8.85 3.05

The critical ratio obtained as an outcome of the analysis undertaken

reveals insignificant difference between the two select groups (CR = 0.00;

p > .05). This implies that there is no significant difference in performance of

teacher educands in the control group from the government and aided

schools.

Pre test Scores of Teacher Educands in the Control Group from

Government and Unaided Sectors: A Comparison

In order to find out the influence of the prevailing classroom modes on

teacher educands of control group hailing from Government and Unaided

sectors, the mean pre test scores and standard deviation of the select

subsamples were computed and the critical ratio found out. Table 5.35 gives

details in this regard.


292

Table 5.35

Results of the Test of Significance of the Mean Pre test Scores of


Government and Unaided Sectors

Group No. of

Teacher Educands


Critical Ratio

Government 20 7.30 3.54 0.54

Unaided 10 6.60 3.24

The critical ratio (CR = 0.54; p > .05) is not significant even at .05 level

of significance. Therefore, there is no significant difference in the means of

the two select subgroups. The level of communicative competence in English

of student teachers in the Control group from the government and unaided

sectors is the same or is equated.

Post test Scores of Teacher Educands in the Control Group from


In order to find out the influence of the prevailing activity-oriented

modes on the teacher educands hailing from Government and Unaided

sectors, the post test scores of teacher educands in the control group were

compared. The mean, standard deviation and the critical ratio were

calculated and Table 5.36 gives details in this regard.


293

Table 5.36

Results of the Test of Significance of the Mean Post test Scores of the



Group No. of

Teacher Educands


Critical Ratio

Government 20 8.85 3.70 0.18

Unaided 10 8.60 3.14


of significance. Therefore, there is no significant difference between the

mean post test scores of the two groups. The type of management has had

no positive impact in developing or enhancing the communicative competence

of the select sample from the two groups when exposed to the prevailing

classroom transaction modes.

Pre test Scores of Teacher Educands in the Control Group from Aided

and Unaided Sectors: A Comparison

The impact, if any, of Aided and Unaided sectors on the communicative

competence of teacher educands of Control group was assessed by

analysing the pre test scores of student teachers in the Control group from the

aforementioned sectors. Table 5.37 gives the details.


294

Table 5.37

Results of the Test of Significance of the Mean Pre test Scores of the


Aided and Unaided Sectors

Group No. of

Teacher Educands


Critical Ratio

Aided 20 7.30 3.05 0.57

Unaided 10 6.60 3.24

The critical ratio (CR = 0.57; p > .05) is not significant. The mean pre

test scores of the two groups do not differ significantly, implying that, the two

groups (Aided and Unaided of Control group) were equated with respect to

their level of communicative competence in English.

Post test Scores of Teacher Educands in the Control Group from Aided


The mean, standard deviation and test of significance of the mean post

test scores of student teachers of Control group from Aided and Unaided

sectors were computed. Table 5.38 shows the analysis done in this regard.


295

Table 5.38




Group No. of

Teacher Educands


Critical Ratio

Aided 20 8.85 3.05 0.20

Unaided 10 8.60 3.41

The critical ratio as observed (CR = 0.20; p > .05) is not significant at

.05 level. Therefore, there is no significant difference between the mean post

test scores of student teachers in the two groups. The type of management,

namely, aided or unaided sectors has had no significant impact on the

treatment (prevailing classroom modes) for the enhancement of

communicative competence in English of student teachers at the Teacher

Training Institutes.

The analysis of the scores of teacher educands in the Control group

with regard to the impact of the type of management has shown that the

communicative performance of teacher educands is almost equitable in all the

subgroups irrespective of the type of management they represent.


296

5.7.2 Comparison of Test Scores of the Subsamples of Teacher

Educands in the Concept-Mapping Group based on ‘Type of Management’

In order to assess the impact of ‘Type of Management’ on teacher

educands exposed to the select reflective teaching strategy, namely,

Concept-Mapping, the pre and post test scores of the subsamples were

computed to find significant differences, if any. The analysis done in this

regard is being presented in this section.

Pre test Scores of Teacher Educands in the Concept-Mapping Group

from Government and Aided Sectors: A Comparison

In order to find out whether the type of management affected the

student teacher when exposed to the reflective teaching treatment, the pre

test scores of student teachers from Government and Aided sectors were

analysed and the critical ratio found out. The data are given in Table 5.39.

Table 5.39


Subsamples of Teacher Educands in the Concept-Mapping

Group from the Government and Aided Sectors

Group No. of

Teacher Educands


Critical Ratio

Government 20 6.25 3.27 0.24

Aided 20 6.50 3.30

The critical ratio (CR = 0.24; p > .05) is not significant at the .05 level of

significance. Therefore, the mean scores of the two groups are not


297

significantly different. Student teachers from both the government and aided

sectors were equated in their attainment of communicative competence in

English, prior administering the Concept-Mapping treatment.

Post test Scores of Teacher Educands in the Concept-Mapping Group

from Government and Aided Sectors: A Comparison

The mean, standard deviation, and test of significance of the difference

between the mean post test scores of twenty student teachers each from

Government and Aided sectors were calculated and are given in Table 5.40.

Table 5.40




Group No. of

Teacher Educands


Critical Ratio

Government 20 13.85 5.66 0.06

Aided 20 13.75 5.33

The critical ratio (CR = 0.06; p > .05) is not significant. It means that

there exists no significant difference between the mean post test scores of

student teachers of Concept-Mapping group from the Government and Aided

sectors, indicating that the ‘Type of Management’ has little impact on the

treatment administered in order to enhance communicative competence in

English.


298

Pre test Scores of Teacher Educands in the Concept Mapping Group

from the Government and Unaided Sectors: A Comparison

In order to find out if any significant difference existed between teacher

educands from the Government and Unaided sectors who were exposed to

the Concept-Mapping strategy, the mean and standard deviation of the pre

test scores were calculated. The critical ratio was also computed. Table 5.41

gives details in this regard.

Table 5.41



Group from the Government and Unaided Sectors

Group No. of

Teacher Educands


Critical Ratio

Government 20 6.25 3.27 0.53

Unaided 10 7.00 3.80

The critical ratio (CR = 0.53; p > .05) is not significant even at .05 level.

Therefore, the mean pre test scores do not differ significantly. That is, the

communicative competence of the select sample was equated with respect to

‘Type of Management’ prior to the experimental treatment.



The mean, standard deviation, and the test of significance of the

scores of the select sample from the Government and Unaided institutions


299

were calculated to assess the impact of the Type of Management on their

communicative competence when exposed to the treatment. The results are

given in Table 5.42.

Table 5.42




Group No. of

Teacher Educands


Critical Ratio

Government 20 13.85 5.66 0.70

Unaided 10 15.40 5.80

It is observed that the critical ratio (CR = 0.70; p > .05) is not significant

even at the .05 level of significance. Therefore, there is no significant

difference between the mean post test scores of teacher educands in the two

select groups. This leads to the inference that ‘Type of Management’,

namely, Government and Unaided sectors has had little impact over the

experimental treatment administered for fostering communicative competence

in English of the student teachers of the Teacher Training Institutes.

Pre test Scores of Teacher Educands in the Concept-Mapping Group

from the Aided and Unaided Sectors: A Comparison

In order to assess the impact of ‘Type of Management’ in improving the

communicative competence in English of teacher educands from Aided and

Unaided Teacher Training Institutes, the pre test scores of the select sample


300

were analysed for their test of significance. The results are given in Table

5.43.

Table 5.43



Group from the Aided and Unaided Sectors

Group No. of

Teacher Educands


Critical Ratio

Aided 20 6.50 3.30 0.36

Unaided 10 7.00 3.80

The critical ratio (CR = 0.36; p > 0.05) is not significant. This implies

that the two groups under comparison, namely, Aided and Unaided groups

exposed to Concept-Mapping strategy do not differ in their initial

communicative performance and are therefore equitable.




educands of Concept-Mapping group from Aided and Unaided Teacher

training Institutes were calculated and the critical ratio was also found out to

find out if any significant difference existed between them. The details are

given in Table 5.44.


301

Table 5.44




Group No. of

Teacher Educands


Critical Ratio

Aided 20 13.75 5.33 0.76

Unaided 10 15.40 5.80

The critical ratio (CR = 0.76; p > .05) is not significant at .05 level. The

mean post test scores of the two groups do not differ significantly implying

that the increase in mean post test scores was equal in both groups hailing

from Teacher Training Institutes belonging to different management.

Therefore, Type of Management has had little impact on the treatment

administered in order to increase the communicative competence in English

of the student teachers in the Concept-Mapping group.

The analysis done in this section points towards the conclusion that

teacher educands at Primary Level, irrespective of the type of institution they

represent, are benefited by the Concept-Mapping strategy to an equal degree.

The strategy has given them a comprehensive picture, not just of the

sentence but of grammar itself.


302

5.7.3 Comparison of Test Scores of the Problem-Solving Group based

on the ‘Type of Management’

The test scores of the Problem-Solving group have been compared to

ascertain if the teacher educands hailing from different institutions differed in

their attainment of communicative competence. The analysis of test scores

have been executed and presented in this section with comparisons being

made between the subgroups in the manner shown:

Government vs Aided sectors

Government vs Unaided sectors

Aided vs Unaided sectors

Pre test Scores of Teacher Educands of the Problem-Solving Group

from the Government and Aided Sectors

The mean and standard deviation of the subsamples of teacher

educands from the Problem-Solving group were calculated to find significant

difference, if any, in the communicative competence of teacher educands

from the Government and Aided sectors. Table 5.45 gives the details in this

regard.


303

Table 5.45


Subsamples of Teacher Educands in the Problem-Solving


Group No. of

Teacher Educands


Critical Ratio

Government 20 7.40 3.15 1.18

Aided 20 6.30 2.74

The critical ratio obtained is not significant at any level (CR = 1.18; p >

.05). This implies that the two groups under consideration do not differ

significantly in their pre test performance and are equitable.

Post test Scores of Teacher Educands of the Problem-Solving Group

from the Government and Aided Schools: A Comparison

In order to find if there existed any significant difference in the mean

post test scores of teacher educands from the Government and Aided sectors

when exposed to the Problem-Solving strategy, the mean and standard

deviation of the two subgroups were calculated. The critical ratio was also

found out. The details are given in Table 5.46.


304

Table 5.46




Group No. of

Teacher Educands


Critical Ratio

Government 20 15.20 5.73 0.89

Aided 20 13.75 4.51

The obtained value of critical ratio (CR = 0.89; p > .05) is not

significant. Hence, the teacher educands were not affected by the type of

management (Government or Aided sectors) in imbibing the language

elements through the Problem-Solving strategy.

Pre test Scores of Teacher Educands of the Problem-Solving Group


The test of significance between mean pre test scores of teacher

educands of the Problem-Solving group from the Government and Unaided

sectors were computed to find out if any significant difference existed between

the two subgroups. Table 5.47 gives the details in this regard.


305

Table 5.47




Group No. of

Teacher Educands


Critical Ratio

Government 20 7.40 3.15 0.72

Unaided 10 6.60 2.72

The critical ratio (CR = 0.72; p > .05) is not significant. Therefore, the

mean pre test scores are not significantly different. The two subgroups of

Problem-Solving group were thus equated with regard to their level of

communicative competence in English prior exposure to the treatment.




sample from the Problem-Solving group were computed to find out the effect,

if any, of the ‘Type of Management’ on their level of communicative

competence. The critical ratio was also calculated. The details are given in

Table 5.48.


306

Table 5.48




Group No. of

Teacher Educands


Critical Ratio

Government 20 15.20 5.73 0.36

Unaided 10 14.50 4.74

The critical ratio obtained (CR = 0.36; p > .05) is not significant. The

mean post test scores of teacher educands of the Problem-Solving group and

hailing from the government and unaided Teacher Training Institutes are not

significantly different. This implies that the ‘Type of Management’ has had

little impact on the treatment given for the enhancement of communicative

competence.

Pre test Scores of Teacher Educands in the Problem-Solving Group from

the Aided and Unaided Sectors: A Comparison

The mean, standard deviation, and the test of significance of the pre

test scores of the student teachers from Aided and Unaided Teacher Training

Institutions and belonging to the Problem-Solving group reveal the data given

in Table 5.49.


307

Table 5.49




Group No. of

Teacher Educands


Critical Ratio

Aided 20 6.30 2.74 0.28

Unaided 10 6.60 2.72

It is evident that the critical ratio (CR = 0.28; p > .05) is not significant.

It implies that the two groups, namely, aided and unaided groups of Problem-

Solving strategy were equated in their level of communicative competence

prior exposure to the treatment.



The mean, standard deviation, and test of significance of the post test

scores of teacher educands of the Problem-Solving group from the Aided

sector and the Unaided sector were calculated to identify the impact that the

type of management could have on the communicative competence of

teacher educands from these subgroups.


308

Table 5.50




Group No. of

Teacher Educands


Critical Ratio

Aided 20 13.75 4.51 0.42

Unaided 10 14.50 4.74

The critical ratio (CR = 0.42; p > .05) is not significant. The mean post

test scores are also not significantly different, implying that the Type of

Management, namely, aided and unaided sectors, has had little impact on the

treatment given to the two groups in enhancing their communicative

competence.

Here again it can be noted that the teacher educands are benefited by

the Problem-Solving strategy irrespective of the type of management they

represent. The findings reiterate the fact that the select strategy can be

practised in any type of institution where an enhanced cognitive framework to

address the language task effectively is built.

5.7.4 Comparison of Test Scores of the Portfolio Group based on the

‘Type of Management’

The test scores of teacher educands hailing from different types of

management system were compared to identify significant difference, if any,


309

in their pre and post test performances. Two subgroups were compared at a

time in the manner shown:

Comparison between : Government and Aided sectors

Government and Unaided sectors

Aided and Unaided sectors

Pre test Scores of Teacher Educands of the Portfolio Group from the


In order to assess the effect of the Government and Aided Teacher

Training Institutes on the communicative competence of teacher educands of

these institutions who represented the Portfolio group, the mean, standard

deviations were calculated and critical ratio was found out. The details are

presented in Table 5.51.

Table 5.51


Subsamples of Teacher Educands in the Portfolio


Group No. of

Teacher Educands


Critical Ratio

Government 20 6.30 2.94 1.21

Aided 20 7.55 3.56

The critical ratio (CR = 1.21; p > .05) is not significant at .05 level. The

mean pre test scores of the two groups therefore, do not differ significantly,


310

implying that the subgroups were equated with regard to their level of

communicative competence prior exposure to the experimental treatment.

Post test Scores of Teacher Educands in the Portfolio Group from the


The mean, standard deviation and test of significance of twenty student

teachers from Government sector and twenty student teachers from Aided

sector of the Portfolio group were calculated to ascertain the impact that the

type of management would exercise on the communicative competence of

teacher educands when exposed to the Portfolio strategy.

Table 5.52




Group No. of

Teacher Educands


Critical Ratio

Government 20 10.75 3.43 2.38

Aided 20 13.80 4.61

It is observed that the critical ratio (CR = 2.38; p < .05) is significant at

.05 level and not significant at .01 level of significance. The mean post test

score of the subgroups differ significantly. The mean post test scores of

teacher educands from Aided Teacher Training Institutes (M = 13.80) is

higher than that of the mean post test scores of groups from Government

Teacher Training Institutes (M = 10.75) when exposed to the Portfolio


311

strategy. This disparity in the post test performance of the two groups points

to the fact that the exposure to activities like camps, exhibitions, club

activities, seminars, interviews with experts and the like, on a regular and

systematic basis has helped the teacher educands representing the Aided

sector to a greater extent in documenting events systematically and in

presenting the same through poster presentations, brochures and similar write

ups. Such collections, selections and presentation of varied artefacts were

accelerated greatly when they were exposed to the Portfolio strategy.

Therefore, the frequent organisation of scholastic activities is strongly

recommended to build a reflective culture and ensure the subsequent

enhancement of one’s communicative skills.

Pre test Scores of Teacher Educands of Portfolio Group from the


The mean and standard deviation of the sample comprising of twenty

student teachers from the Government sector and ten student teachers from

the Unaided sector of the Portfolio group were computed and are presented in

Table 5.53.


312

Table 5.53




Group No. of

Teacher Educands


Critical Ratio

Government 20 6.30 2.94 0.32

Unaided 10 6.70 3.37

The critical ratio (CR = 0.32; p > .05) is not significant. The two

subgroups of teacher educands from Government and Unaided sectors were

equated in their initial performance of communicative competence as their

mean pre test scores have shown no significant difference.

Post test Scores of Teacher Educands of the Portfolio Group from the


The mean and standard deviation of the select sample were computed

to find out the effect, if any, of the Type of Management, namely, Government

and Unaided sectors, on the level of communicative competence of teacher

educands exposed to the Portfolio strategy.


313

Table 5.54




Group No. of

Teacher Educands


Critical Ratio

Government 20 10.75 3.43 0.89

Unaided 10 12.30 4.97

It is to be noted that the critical ratio (CR = 0.89; p > .05) is not

significant at any level of significance. The mean post test scores of the

subgroups are not significantly different. The type of management has had

little impact on the Portfolio treatment in the enhancement of communicative

competence of teacher educands of these subgroups.

Pre test Scores of Teacher Educands of the Portfolio Group from the


The mean, standard deviation, and test of significance of the pre test

scores of the aforementioned sample was calculated to find out whether the

subgroups based on type of management were equated in their attainment of

communicative competence prior to the experimental treatment.


314

Table 5.55




Group No. of

Teacher Educands


Critical Ratio

Aided 20 7.55 3.56 0.64

Unaided 10 6.70 3.37

The critical ratio (CR = 0.64; p > .05) is not significant. Therefore, the

two subgroups of Portfolio group were equated with regard to their level of

communicative competence as their mean pre test scores were not

significantly different.

Post test Scores of Teacher Educands of Portfolio Group from the Aided


The mean, standard deviation and test of significance of the post test

scores of the teacher educands from the Aided and Unaided Teacher Training

Institutes representing the Portfolio group were calculated to find out if any

significant difference existed in their performances.


315

Table 5.56




Group No. of

Teacher Educands


Critical Ratio

Aided 20 13.80 4.61 0.80

Unaided 10 12.30 4.97

The critical ratio (CR = 0.80; p > ,05) is not significant, implying that the

mean post test scores of the two groups are significantly different. The type

of management, namely, Aided and Unaided sectors, has had little effect on

the treatment given to the groups with regard to enhancing their

communicative competence in English.

The analysis of test scores of Teacher Educands hailing from

institutions run by different management have revealed that no significant

difference existed between the groups in both the pre test or post test scores

with regard to their attainment of the levels of communicative competence.

Disparity was however observed in the Portfolio group with the Aided stream

excelling the Government stream. It may, however, be concluded that the

select Reflective Teaching Strategies have a positive effect on individuals in

enhancing their communicative competence and the Type of Management

they represent does have some influence in accelerating that skill. Except in

one case all the other groups equally assisted by the Type of Management


316

they represented. The activities conducted in these streams of management

were supportive or favourable in assimilating the essence of Concept-

Mapping, Problem-Solving and Portfolio strategies. Though the same type of

activities were being carried out in the same institutions when the comparison

of test scores of the Control group was being made, no such enhancement in

the communicative performance of teacher educands was noticed and this

emphatically points to the fact that a reflective approach can make all the

difference. The type of management that has the essential support system

seems to be benefited more by such practices.

It can be hoped that reflective practices can flourish in any institution

where individuals are willing to understand that change is inevitable if one has

to keep in par with the growing demands of the present era. What institutions

need is a strong networking among teachers and students and a supportive

curriculum that addresses the cognitive demands of second language

requirements.

5.8 LOCALE-WISE ANALYSIS OF TEST SCORES

In the context of the study, it was necessary to find if the type of locale

had a significant role to foster reflective practices leading towards enhanced

communicative competence in English of Teacher Educands at Primary Level.

The analysis of the test scores with this focus is presented under the following

heads:


317

5.8.1 Analysis of test scores of the Control group based on Locale of

Institution

5.8.2 Analysis of test scores of the Concept-Mapping group based on

Locale of Institution

5.8.3 Analysis of test scores of the Problem-Solving group based on Locale

of Institution

5.8.4 Analysis of test scores of the Portfolio group based on Locale of

Institution

The detailed analysis of data are being presented in the sections that

follow.

5.8.1 Analysis of Test Scores of the Control Group based on Locale of

Institution

The analysis under this section have been presented as given:

Comparison of pre test scores of subsamples of teacher

educands of control group on ‘Locale of Institution’

Comparison of post test scores of the subsamples of teacher

educands of control group based on ‘Locale of Institution

Pre test Scores of the Subsamples of Teacher Educands in the Control

Group based on ‘Locale of Institution’: A Comparison

The mean and standard deviation of the pre test scores of teacher

educands of the Control group from Urban and Rural locale were computed to


318

check whether they differed in their attainment of communicative competence

in English.

Table 5.57


Subsamples of Teacher Educands in the Control Group

based on the Locale of Institution

Group No. of

Teacher Educands


Critical Ratio

Urban 20 7.50 3.17 0.12

Rural 30 6.93 3.31

The critical ratio (CR = 0.12; p > .05) is not significant at any level of

significance. It is seen that the mean pre scores of Urban (M = 7.50) and

Rural (M = 6.93) groups do not differ significantly. That is, the two subgroups

were equated prior to ascertaining their impact on the communicative

competence of teacher educands when not exposed to the experimental

treatment.

Comparison of Post test Scores of the Subsample of Teacher Educands

in the Control Group based on ‘Locale of Institution’: A Comparison


sample in the Control group were computed to assess whether the type of

locale influenced their attainment of communicative abilities.


319

Table 5.58


Subsamples of Teacher Educands in the Control Group

based on the Locale of Institution

Group No. of

Teacher Educands


Critical Ratio

Urban 20 8.85 3.12 0.09

Rural 30 8.77 3.51


of significance. The results show that the type of locale has had no influence

on the enhancement of communicative competence of teacher educands at

primary level as the mean post test scores of the Urban (M = 8.85) and Rural

(M = 8.77) groups did not show any marked difference.

5.8.2 Analysis of the Test Scores of the Concept-Mapping Group based

on ‘Locale of Institution’

The analysis of test scores of the Concept-Mapping group based on

the Locale of Institution have been presented under the following sections:

Comparison of mean pre test scores of the subsamples of teacher

educands from Concept-Mapping group based on the Locale of

Institution


320

Comparison of mean post test scores of the subsamples of teacher

educands from Concept-Mapping group based on the Locale of the

Institution

The detailed analysis is given below:


from the Concept-Mapping Group based on the Locale of Institution

The mean pre test scores of teacher educands in the Concept-Mapping

group from the Urban and Rural areas were computed and are presented in

Table 5.59.

Table 5.59



Group based on the Locale of Institution

Group No. of

Teacher Educands


Critical Ratio

Urban 20 6.80 3.55 0.50

Rural 30 6.30 3.23

The results reveal that there is no significant difference in the pre test

scores of the teacher educands of Concept-Mapping group from the Urban or

Rural areas. The critical ratio obtained (CR = 0.50; p > .05) is not significant

at the two levels of significance. Thus the two subgroups were equated with

respect to their level of communicative competence prior exposure to the



321

Comparison of Mean Post test Scores of the Subsamples of Teacher

Educands from the Concept-Mapping Group based on the Locale of

Institution

The mean post test scores of the subsamples of teacher educands in

the Concept-Mapping group based on the Locale of Institution were computed

to ascertain if the area where the institutions were situated has any impact on

enhancing the communicative competence of teacher educands.

Table 5.60




Group No. of

Teacher Educands


Critical Ratio

Urban 20 15.70 5.52 1.68

Rural 30 13.07 5.28

The critical ratio obtained (CR = 1.08; p > .05) is not significant

implying that the mean post test scores of the Urban and Rural groups do not

differ significantly. Thus, it is seen from the table that for the Concept-

Mapping strategy to be effectively implemented in classrooms, the locale of

the institutions has little contribution in this regard.


322

5.8.3 Analysis of Test Scores of the Problem-Solving Group based on

the Locale of Institution

The analysis of test scores of the Problem-Solving group based on the

Locale of Institution have been presented as shown:

Comparison of pre test scores of the subsamples of teacher educands

of the Problem-Solving group based on the Locale of Institution


educands of the Problem-Solving group based on the Locale of

Institution.

The analysed done under these subsections are given in detail below.


of the Problem-Solving group based on the Locale of Institution

As an initial step to find if teacher educands of the Problem-Solving

group from the Urban and Rural areas differed significantly, the mean pre test

scores were computed and they are presented in Table 5.61.

Table 5.61




Group No. of

Teacher Educands


Critical Ratio

Urban 20 6.80 2.97 0.00

Rural 30 6.80 2.89


323

The table data reveal that the Urban and Rural groups classified on the

basis of Locale of Institution show no difference in their mean pre test scores.

The critical (CR = 0.00; p > .05) is thus not significant at any level of

significance. The two groups were equated prior to being exposed to


Comparison of Post test Scores of the Subsamples of Teacher

Educands of Problem-Solving Group based on Locale of Institution

An analysis of the mean post test scores of teacher educands from the

Urban and Rural areas reveal the following:

Table 5.62



Group based on Locale of Institution

Group No. of

Teacher Educands


Critical Ratio

Urban 20 14.60 5.09 0.14

Rural 30 14.40 5.05

The table results reveal that the critical ratio obtained (CR = 0.14;

p > .05) is not significant at any level of significance implying that the mean

post test scores of teacher educands in the Problem-Solving group from the

Urban area (M = 14.60) does not differ from their counterparts of the Rural

area (M = 14.40). This is to state that the influence of Problem-Solving


324

strategy on teacher educands’ communicative competence in English is

similar irrespective of the area from where the educands hail.

5.8.4 Analysis of Test Scores of the Portfolio Group based on Locale

of Institution

The results of data gathered under the aforementioned criteria have

been presented under the subsections titled:

Comparison of pre test scores of the subsamples of teacher educands

in the Portfolio group based on the Locale of Institution


educands in the Portfolio group based on the Locale of Institution

The detailed analysis is given below.


in the Portfolio Group based on the Locale of Institution

In order to ascertain whether communicative competence of teacher

educands in the Portfolio group hailing from institutions in the Urban and

Rural areas were different, the mean pre test scores were computed and the

critical ratio was tested for significance.


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Table 5.63




Group No. of

Teacher Educands


Critical Ratio

Urban 20 6.60 3.14 0.49

Rural 30 7.07 3.39

The results of data reveal that the mean pre test scores of the Urban

group (M = 6.60) and Rural group (M = 7.07) are not significantly different as

the critical ratio obtained (CR = 0.49; p > .05) is not significant at both levels

of significance. The subgroups based on Locale of Institution were thus

equated prior to the experimental treatment.

Comparison of Mean Post test Scores of Teacher Educands in the

Portfolio group based on the Locale of Institution

The mean post test scores of teacher educands in the Portfolio group

were computed along with the critical ratio and are presented in Table 5.64.


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Table 5.64




Group No. of

Teacher Educands


Critical Ratio

Urban 20 12.10 4.06 0.24

Rural 30 12.40 4.65

The critical ratio (CR = 0.24; p > .05) shows that the two subgroups

exposed to Portfolio strategy did not differ significantly which means that the

communicative competence of teacher educands from the Urban area was

not higher than the communicative competence of the teacher educands from

the Rural area.

The locale-wise stratification of the sample was analysed because

there is a common belief that students from institutions in Urban sectors fair

better than students from Rural sectors. But it is interesting and surprising to

note that no such disparity among learner performance was evidenced when

the select reflective teaching strategies were employed with an intention to

enhance the communicative competence of teacher educands. This finding is

justified on the ground that the teacher educands admitted to all the training

institutes are selected on the basis of a centralised allotment scheme whereby

teacher educands representing different institution types and language

background are admitted to any of these training institutions. The result


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points to the fact that it is the culture that is built up in institutions which is

more essential in fostering reflective practice and not the area of the institution.

5.9 ANALYSIS OF THE SELF-WORTHINESS TO ACCOMMODATE THE

COMPONENTIAL ASPECTS OF COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE

BY TEACHER EDUCANDS AT PRIMARY LEVEL THROUGH THE

SELF-ASSESSMENT RUBRIC

In order to find the change in the attainment level of teacher educands

exposed to the select reflective teaching strategies with regard to their

communicative ability, the Communicative Competence Self-Assessment

Rubric was re-administered on the select sample of teacher educands

employed for the experimental study (n = 200). The results obtained formed

the basis for grouping them into the ‘Proficient’, ‘Advanced’, ‘Intermediate’ and

‘Novice’ levels. Table 5.65 gives a bird’s eye view on the percentages of

teacher educands under each category during the pre and post administration

of the Rubric.

Table 5.65

Comparison of the Change in Perception of Teacher Educands

regarding their own Attainment of Communicative Competence

Level of Performance

Components

NOVICE INTERMEDIATE ADVANCED PROFICIENT

Pre- Post Pre- Post Pre- Post Pre- Post

Grammatical 75% 25% 23% 67% 2% 6% Nil 2%

Sociolinguistic 84% 29% 15% 64% 1% 6% Nil 1%

Discourse 86% 27% 13% 64% 1% 8% Nil 1%

Strategic 96% 27% 3% 68% 1% 4% Nil 1%

Total 85% 27% 13.5% 60.7% 1.2% 6% Nil 1.2%

328

0.00

10.00

20.00

30.00

40.00

50.00

60.00

70.00

80.00

90.00

100.00

Pre Post Pre Post Pre Post Pre Post

NOVICE INTERMEDIATE ADVANCED PROFICIENT

Pe

rce

nta

ge

Level of Communicative Competence

Figure 5.6 Change in Perception of Teacher Educands regarding their Own Attainment of Communicative

Competence

Grammatical

Sociolinguistic

Discourse

Strategic


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From Table 5.65 and the graphical representation (Figure 5.6), it

becomes evident that a noticeable change has taken place among the

teacher educands with regard to their attainment of communicative

competence on the four select components, namely grammatical,

sociolinguistic, discourse, and strategic competencies.

It is to be noted that a small proportion of teacher educands (27%) got

categorised under the lowest level of communicative competence, namely

‘Novice’ level unlike in the previous case when 85% of the teacher educands

came under this category (vide Section 5.2). The change in percentages

reveal that teacher educands who were initially facing several constraints with

regard to their communication; in conveying ideas, in linking sentences

meaningfully, in stating them unambiguously, have gained sufficient

confidence to make literal interpretations and think more divergently on the

language task. The select reflective teaching strategies seem to have

equipped them for this transition. The small proportion of teacher educands

at the Novice level may be the representatives of the Control group treatment.

What appeared remarkable during the re-administration of the Rubric is

that a greater proportion of teacher educands (65%) could rise beyond their

basic level to the ‘Intermediate Level’. The teacher educands felt greater

confidence in conveying ideas in English though errors crept in frequently.

They felt that they could engage in dialogues effectively and consider the

contextual demands too. If given more assistance these teacher educands


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could move to a higher level where they can independently think of multiple

solutions, give suggestions and develop discourses sequentially.

In comparison to the pre scores on the Rubric, the post scores on the

‘Advanced’ and ‘Proficient’ levels too show the increase in confidence level of

several teacher educands. The teacher educands, even though negligible in

proportion (6% and 1.2% respectively) could use more vocabulary accurately,

search for its lexical meanings effortlessly, use better organizational and

revision strategies and communicate with their teachers and peers, and

receive the vitality to use English in their daily classroom transaction.

The results of such a comparison invariably points to the suitability of

Rubrics as an assessment tool to track the movement of learners towards a

more desirable level of competency. The ease in administering and scoring

the Rubric make it an economical tool capable of yielding deeper insight into

the problem area. With its pre-established indicators, the tool can serve in

classifying teachers’ performances and in spelling out their grade levels so

that enrichment programmes can be provided accordingly.

In order to examine how reflectivity followed through the select

strategies could be internalised by teacher educands, three cases were

closely monitored by the investigator. The analysis of the Case Studies

undertaken is being presented in the next section.


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5.10 PRAXIS OF REFLECTIVITY THROUGH CASE STUDIES

The importance of developing reflection among teacher educands so

as to enhance professional competence and communicative competence has

been substantiated through the analysis of the quantitative data gathered in

this regard. But in order to gain a comprehensive vision of the entire process

involved and identify gaps in the acquisition of reflective capabilities, close

observation of certain select cases was felt imperative. To assess them from

their grammatical, sociolinguistic, discourse, and strategic standpoints and to

find out how well they could integrate theory and practice and experience and

understand the activities undertaken by them to promote reflection, three

specific cases were explored in the manner shown:

5.10.a Analysis of Case 1 exposed to Concept-Mapping

5.10.b. Analysis of Case 2 exposed to Problem-Solving

5.10.c Analysis of Case 3 exposed to Portfolio

In the present study, individual cases representing the lower strata with

regard to their attainment of communicative competence in English were

identified through the administration of the Self-Assessment Rubric, the Test

for English Language Competence and Participation Observation made by the

investigator while the experiment was on the anvil.

The select cases have been referred to as C1, C2 and C3 to keep their

identities hidden. They were monitored by their Principal, teacher educators,

school mentors and the investigator herself in terms of their ability to:

identify the central issue in the lesson;


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arrange events in a hierarchical order;

generate cross links showing correct relationship between episodes;

identify sub-issues and relate them to the current ideas;

prepare and use facilitative aids;

generate discussions on the content area;

emphasise analytical and interpretative reasoning;

establish a purpose, and maintain clear focus;

use varied sentence structures; and

reveal depth and complexity of ideas supported by rich or pertinent

details.

Each of the cases selected were observed teaching a Unit from the VII

standard text. The analysis has been reported in a narrative form here.

5.10.a Analysis of the Case Exposed to the Concept-Mapping Strategy

The first case C1 exposed to the Concept-Mapping strategy was a Plus

two holder with a second class (minimum requirement mentioned by the

authorities) from a Government school in Kayamkulam. As a learner of

English, C1 could not be considered proficient in conceptualising the

intricacies of language processing effectively. She relied heavily on social

guides to help her put together the blueprints of text (or composition or

conversation). But C1 seemed to display commendable fortitude and control

while transacting the lesson ‘Mischief’ to her pupils at school.


333

The phases of the strategy adopted by her required integrated

knowledge and an active approach to learning that leads to understanding

and the linking of new knowledge to existing knowledge. C1 was seen to

allow her pupils to begin with a concept map of their favourite programme

before embarking on the select unit ‘Mischief’. They were encouraged to think

of all possible dimensions in connection with the programme. This enabled

pupils to identify a simplified model of experience. They were then gradually

shifted to focus on real life situations where mischief by young children led to

a series of subsequent reactions from all corners. C1 was in a way creating

the kind of speech situations in which and through which pupils were

compelled to open themselves to their lived worlds, to one another and to

themselves.

Progression of Lesson

All throughout the interactive session, C1 was observed to pose

thought-provoking questions, probing queries so as to build a climate of

mutual investigation into a problem or idea worthy of attention and thereby

develop reflective abilities in her learners. Prompts like ‘what are the

consequences of mischief’, ‘who are the people involved’ and the like were

asked. Students were thus encouraged to think of appropriate lexical terms

and their suitability in the context of the map structure.

Later, they were made to organise their thinking and plan how the

concepts could be integrated. This phase challenged learners to reach logical

conclusions regarding the syntax to be included and develop their discourse


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skills. Learners gained opportunities to explore the understanding of their

own actions and experience, and the impact of these on themselves.

Learners could maintain critical control over the more intuitive aspect of their

experiences.

While constructing their maps, her pupils were compelled to scan the

passage of the prescribed text and add or delete words, phrases or sentences

that had no direct link with the text. The whole class was thus actively

involved in surveying text, comparing and contrasting information, linking

ideas with joining words, and thereby developing grammatical accuracy and a

love for referencing and resourcing. The teacher educand C1 could slowly

minimise her intervention and scaffold pupils’ understanding as and when

required. She was seen to concentrate in allowing pupils to scan text,

integrate ideas, and develop discourses appropriate to the context.

Statements made by the teacher educand were focused towards leading

pupils to think divergently. The map generated by one group of students is

shown (Figure 5.7).


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7

because

Mischief of Jimmy

Why I think Jimmy is naughty?

Likes sweets

No freedom at home

Feels lonely

Parents are very strict

Parents are given advice

be friendly

Buy things and give Jimmy duty

Give good advice

he is afraid

his parents will scold

asked him what happened

Understood his fear

Somehow helped him

Have no siblings

I am also naughty

It is doing small naughty things

Make parents sad

Common to all children

can be corrected

make people mad

can be forgiven

then people will be happy

Can be solved if

Main reason for the problem

He ‘tiptoed’ to the kitchen

because

Mother called father immediately without telling him

should have

he was hungry

Father who was reading newspaper rushes immediately

Figure 5.7 A Sample Concept Map Generated by C1’s Pupils


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Feedback received

The performance of C1 as assessed by her own teacher educator and

mentors reveal the changes they evidenced in her performance. They

observed that C1 ‘has become focused’, ‘shows confidence’, ‘could make

class lively’, ‘could create interest among pupils’. Her pupils were quick to

give their opinions too. One of them stated, ‘I like it’, ‘I can think’, ‘I

understand well’.

Areas focused by C1:

On analysing the first case study, it is seen that the transacting modes

of C1 (Concept-Mapping strategy) laid emphasis on certain specific language

learning attributes essential for communicative competence, and they are as

given below:

i) the development of linguistic competence in English, with equal

emphasis on grammatical structure;

ii) information-paced processing by the reorganisation of the schematic

representations;

iii) the influence of connectives on sentence comprehension;

iv) syntactic and thematic processing;

v) mental representations of grammatical relationships;

vi) modularity in knowledge representation and natural language

processing;

vii) syntactic persistence in language production;

viii) systematicity in connectionist language learning;


337

ix) bootstrapping syntactic categories;

x) selective processing in text understanding whereby learners can

deliberately capitalise on their strengths in social interactions through

changing topics of focus to include words and structures familiar to

them.

Since the Concept-Mapping strategy leads to more structured

processing of ideas, it can be successfully implemented in all the subjects for

transacting curriculum.

5.10.b Analysis of Case C2 exposed to Problem-Solving

The second case C2 represented a strategy that permitted learners to

explore problems or interactions systematically in language classroom and

thereby catalyse deeper insight into their own practices so as to generalise

from one situation to another.

Case C2 too was a Plus two holder from a Government school with a

mere second class, a qualification set for placement. In order to support the

development of reflective thought among her pupils of standard VII, C2

recognised that adopting the linear step of presenting the topic is not

appropriate. So in order to open the thinking of her students to all

possibilities, she made them think of all the possible mischievous acts

committed by a seven-year old child and to rank them in their order of gravity.

Learners were then presented the text and made to identify how grave the

mischief committed by the protagonist – a seven-year old boy, was and


338

whether the punishments given to him could be justified or not. C2 was

deliberately leading her pupils to ‘identify the pertinent problem’ by focusing

on their experiences, their perspectives and gain deeper conceptual

understandings regarding their own line-of-thoughts and leading them through

formulation of linguistic-oriented problem.

Towards a Problem Solution Mode

Realising the initial difficulties of her pupils, C2 was seen to provide

extensive initial support and her students were observed to gradually assume

control over a larger portion of the complex task. C2 could tap into their

imaginations to create a richer learning and interactive environment by

making references to several anecdotes familiar to learners. Pupils were

being led through a temporal sequencing of events by focusing more strongly

on linguistic forms unconsciously. Brief exchanges in English were

encouraged. Lower-level processing was seen to unfold automatically in

response to higher-level decisions based on meanings. The identified

problem by students with regard to the protagonist of the story was reworded

so that it could be clear to them. Statements like “To find out ……”, “To help

the boy overcome ….” were used to bring clarity to their thoughts.

Several conjectures by the students were considered and they were

made to think of the solution too – to predict what the outcome should be. To

scaffold their understanding, statements with ‘if’ were introduced like, “If this is

the problem, what ……./ when/ how/where / by whom …..”.


339

Exploration of the Strategy

Finding a few pupils lost with this phase of Problem-Solving C2

explained, “My problem is that I love sweets just like the hero in the story.

what can I do to stop this? Is eating too many sweets good?” The kind of

stimulus provided by her made her learners express their unique suggestions.

What was remarkable is the way in which the class was being managed with

all students adorning ‘detective’ roles. The case C2 was thus employing

situational thinking to describe the problem and then move to deliberate

thinking. Through this reframing of the problem C2 was led to a better

understanding of her own classroom problem. She could identify the

restlessness and lost look on her pupils’ face, identify the problem as being

their inability to follow her instructions if they were not given examples from

real life. Such a reflection-in-action was seen to make C2 reformulate her own

statements, add enough stress, use gestures so as to drive the point home.

Plan Execution Phase

Through the mode of analogical thinking, the pupils were led to think of

similar situations as depicted in the problem and suggest the solution path-

ways. Pupils were automatically led to infer cause-effect relationship, give

reasons, generalise and move independently and progressively. Scope for

integrating knowledge from different sources come to play. C2 was seen to

employ suitable cues to make learners think of how their solution could have

its effect on society at large, on nature, in the realm of non-academic and the

like. The case C2, was extending pupils’ thoughts so that the learners did not


340

come to make quick judgements. More scanning of information, more

inquiries and deeper thoroughness of the task was the purpose behind C2’s

intentional delays in accepting the solutions suggested by students.

Further, learners were asked to think of the possible problems that are

likely to arise if the solution is adopted.

Lessons learnt

It could be evidenced from the classroom practices of C2 that pupils

were led through the stages of problem identification, problem refinement,

collection of evidences, chalking out a plan-of-action, designing discourses in

a meticulous manner under the facilitative supervision of C2. She was fulfilling

her role as an efficient teacher by monitoring discussions, asking questions,

helping the resolution of occasional conflicting situations, enabling the

participation of each group member to classroom discussions, giving

examples when required, preventing scatter of discussion and making

evaluations immediately.

The characteristics of the learning scenario that can be adopted in

language classrooms following a problem-solving approach should thus be:

- learner-centred;

- open towards problem situation;

- focused on a pertinent issue that is helpful;

- personified so as to make students feel as if it were their

problem.


341

Thus from C2’s classroom performance, it could be noted that the

teacher educand paid close attention to how her pupils intended their

utterances to be taken and to help them become conscious of the force of

their utterances. Questions such as “Is that truly the problem?” and “Are

these sentences meant as evidences for the claims made?” were the modes

of questioning that not only aided the teacher educand in understanding the

thoughts of her pupils but also provided the conceptual categories in terms of

identifying which pupils could come to see their own utterances as valid. C2

was intermittently alluding to what she herself ‘thought, ‘knew’, ‘expected’,

‘remembered’, ‘wondered about’, ‘had decided on’, ‘guessed’, ‘assumed’,

‘inferred’, ‘concluded’ and so on, and encouraged her pupils to do the same.

By consciously introducing and using such language about thinking in the

classroom, C2 could lead pupils to reflect on and articulate their own thinking

and its expressions. And as Phye (1997) has observed, “Teachers who make

more use of meta-cognitive and metalinguistic language will have students do

the same, and these students will be better able to understand their own and

others’ beliefs and intentions.”

Conclusion and Self-evaluation

It can thus be conclusively stated that this systematic handling of a

linguistic text leading from identification of the topic sentences to its

supportive details by hinging on one’s own previous knowledge and

connecting it to the new information so as to generate best modes of solving

problems is an essential feature not only to solve problematic situations in


342

language classrooms but also in life. This strategy with its emphasis on

independent thinking and acting can help develop autonomous learners

capable of communicating their ideas cohesively.

The feedback received from C2’s school mentor and teacher educator

too point towards the efficacy of the Problem-Solving strategy. As one

teacher remarked, “If problems are analysed in this manner, then there would

be no problems at all.” The school students however found the initial few

classes difficult to progress with as they were not accustomed to these

modes. But C2’s patient intervention could set the learners on the right track.

When C2 was herself interviewed, she said that planning the lesson

keeping the stages of Problem-Solving in mind enabled her to locate her

students’ difficulty immediately and also to think of solutions immediately. In

her words, “the strategy is very good but not so easy”. All throughout her

teaching session, active feedback sessions were arranged to get her focused

on the prominent elements of classroom transaction.

5.10.c Analysis of the Case Study in Praxis: Portfolio Strategy

The select Reflective Teaching Strategy, namely, Portfolio writing

which is meant for documenting and expressing the professional

competencies and the set professional standards to be acquired by teacher

educands in general was also observed while it was being implemented in

actual classroom practice by a teacher educand from the Portfolio group. She

has been referred to as C3 in this section.


343

The requirement of the portfolio preparation pivots around specific

phases of ‘collection’, ‘selection’, ‘reflection’ and ‘presentation’ wherein

learners make reasoned choice about the language task and specific linguistic

elements that get attached while developing an in-depth understanding of the

task-at-hand.

The classroom practice mode of the third case C3 representing the

Portfolio group was observed by the investigator both prior to and after the

experimental study procedures culminated. The scores of C3 on specific

pedagogic aspects of planning, executing the task, and evaluating her pupils’

performance were noted. The findings revealed that there were certain

inconsistencies in her transactional modes of curriculum and an apprehension

regarding correcting her pupils’ errors. Moreover, C3 felt less confident in

communicating in English even though her performance in transacting content

in mother tongue was exemplary.

Induction to the Strategy

Noting her problematic zones, the investigator inducted her to the

strategic modes of portfolio preparation that could specifically help her

develop connected speech in context. In order to identify her constraints, the

investigator interviewed C3’s teacher educator, school mentor and the teacher

educand herself. It was learnt from the observations made that C3 needed a

‘confidence punch’ to realise that she was on track.

One among her problem zones was the ‘writing skill’ especially with

regard to developing stories based on a theme.


344

In order to ground her with the basic principles underlying such

compositions, the investigator adopted a sequence of steps as shown in

Figure 5.8.

Figure 5.8 A Portfolio of thoughts supporting Composition Building

As each section of the portfolio generating process was considered, a

marked difference in the enthusiasm of the case C3 was noted.

Task Execution Phase

What added credibility to the entire process was the class C3 took for

her VII standard pupils at school. C3 was observed to be tactful in introducing

Not appropriate

Select idea/ topic for

story

Determine length/

scope for story

Select main points to be

included

Select an order for

representing major points

Prescribe best

sentence types to convey

meaning

Choose appropriate discourse markers/

punctuation marks

Brainstorming Alluding to examples

Illustrations – outlining

techniques

Collecting work samples

– seeking advice

Brushing of question patterns,

assertions

Repetition of activity and correction of

parallel process

Make modifications

Get peer opinion

Write rough draft

Reflection on the entire process

Setting up a criteria for evaluation

Prioritising

appropriate

proceed


345

the lesson. Her personal portfolio revealed the detailed plan she had chalked

out prior to introducing the lessons.

C3 moved at a leisurely pace to accommodate all her learners. Having

provided the essential advance organizer to assist learners link their previous

knowledge to the new context, pupils were provided with the textual passage

and their reading was scaffolded through certain emphatic statements made

by the investigator like, “It was not Jimmy’s fault to be termed mischievous”, “It

is sad that he has to be punished.”

Her pupils were made to collect evidences from the text that either

supported the proposition or rejected them. Pupils were directed to provide

the rationale for each evidence selected and thereby accommodate the

various connections which exist among linguistic features and grammatical

elements. For example, a pupil who supported the proposition said, “Jimmy’s

home was not a cordial one” … “there was fear of eating sweets” … “no open

communication existed.” The pupil picked out the word ‘tiptoed’ from the

passage and asserted, “only a thief tiptoed that none would notice him, why

should a ‘son’ do so?”

The pupils appeared to be expressing their beliefs, and their

experiences in a lively mode.

Very often C3 was observed to identify her pupils’ difficulty through their

facial expressions, and think immediately of possible causes and provide cues

or prompts accordingly.


346

The arguments generated by pupils were noted under two sections on

the blackboard. Pupils were made to prioritise these statements, combine

them through collaborative work and make their group presentations based on

in-depth analysis of the perplexing situation. Pupils were directed to assess

their peer’s work and give suggestions.

The result

The development of a portfolio encouraged the teacher educands to

shift from playing a passive role in assessment and evaluation to an active

role. She let her pupils engage in more complex thinking and self-evaluation

in choosing appropriate syntactic patterns, and discourse modes of what they

learned from the assigned unit.

It offered the opportunity for attaining language competencies and also

developed positive trends towards the acquisition of language skills. The

phased programmes through which the teacher educand progressed for

internalising the agenda behind the prescribed curriculum framework was

found to be effective in the acquisition of the four select components of

communicative competence.

Discussion on Case Studies Undertaken

The in-depth case study results reveal how the select reflective

teaching strategies namely, Concept-Mapping, Problem-Solving, and Portfolio

Writing facilitated the teaching-learning process of school students and

teacher educands themselves. The phased programme through which the


347

teacher educands were led to map linguistic forms onto everyday events and

social relationships enabled them to adjust and simplify their communication

patterns to correspond to their young pupils’ level of linguistic competence.

The analysis of their pattern of handling classes and the debriefing

sessions with teacher educators provided detailed descriptions of the

directions, cues, and activities employed by the select sample of teacher

educands for the case study in training their students to apply suitable

learning strategies in various types of language tasks.

The degree to which direct or embedded instruction was provided, and

the extent to which the specific reflective teaching strategies selected for

instruction assisted in the development of language competencies was

evidenced through the conduct of the case studies. The select strategies

have been noted to create enthusiasm among teacher educands and their

learners. The highlights of the three cases are given below.

Awareness of self, others, and the surrounding context;

Engaging learners and learner’s experience in the construction of

knowledge;

Providing opportunities for exploration and articulation of new ideas,

personal beliefs, knowledge, and experience;

Ongoing analysis of personal theory-in-use;

Designing activities that are collaborative in nature; and

Reflecting on personal practice to maximise student learning.


348

The select educands were seen to encounter difficulties with ease and

dexterity and to transform routine activities into lively interaction sessions with

systematic planning and implementation of the designed task. Since the

cases belonged to the lower strata of communicative competence the results

can be generalised on the bigger sample to a greater extent.

The conclusion derived from the analysis of the Case studies is that

reflective practices can be implemented in language classrooms and also that

it requires an atmosphere of trust, openness so that thoughts can be

generated and modified. The involvement and interest shown by teachers

reveal that these practices need to be made familiar to the teaching faculty so

that more effective learning and teaching can ensue. Also, teachers should

be encouraged to conduct several action research and case studies so as to

become more reflective in their teaching modes and identify the lacunae in

their students’ understanding.

TENABILITY OF THE HYPOTHESES

The hypotheses formulated for the study are being tested for their

tenability in this section.

Hypothesis 1

“Most of the Teacher Educands at Primary Level are deficient with

regard to their attainment of the expected level of communicative competence

in English.”


349

For the purpose of analysis, the above hypothesis was converted into

null hypothesis as:

“The Teacher Educands at Primary Level are not deficient with regard

to their attainment of the expected level of Communicative Competence in

English.”

The assessment of the performance of teacher educands with regard

to their attainment of the set levels of communicative competence in English

was made through the conduct of a semi-structured interview, the

administration of the Self-Assessment Rubric and the English Language Test

of Communicative Competence, and through participant observations.

The select sample of teachers comprising Experts in English language,

Teacher Educators and school practitioners while making an assessment of

the communicative competence of teacher educands (Item No. 1 of Section

5.1) reiterated that the prospective teachers were still novices with regard to

their communicative abilities showing their inability to focus on specific

linguistic components, in organising information according to its semantic

attributes, in analytically integrating language elements, in designing

contextualised discourses within the stipulated time, in applying problem-

solving modes and in conveying meaning with grammatical precision and

accuracy. They revise less often and less extensively, have limited goals and

are mainly concerned with reproducing textual matter as such.

Moreover, through the administration of the Self-Assessment Rubric –

a linguistic tool which was prepared to scale-down the various levels of


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communicative performance on the four prominent componential areas of

communicative competence (vide Table 5.5) – it was revealed that three

fourth of the select sample of teacher educands were at the lowest level

(Novice) with regard to their grammatical competence, 84% were deficient

with respect to their sociolinguistic competence, 86% with regard to their

discourse competence and 96% with respect to their strategic competence.

Comparatively, very few proportion of teacher educands could qualify

for the Intermediate level on the four set competencies.

Just a miniscule of them, around 1%, could qualify for the ‘Advanced’

level. These teacher educands could analyse problems, reflect on the tasks,

and set goals to actively rework thoughts to change both their text and ideas.

None could qualify for the ‘Proficient level. This analysis points towards the

dismal position to which the teacher educands are placed with regard to the

construction and expression of language in clear terms.

It is also found that the pre test scores of teacher educands in the

control and experimental groups vary significantly from their post test scores

(vide Tables 5.6 – 5.19). The mean pre test scores of the various groups are

as shown:

Control group with a score of 6.50; of Concept-Mapping group with

7.16; Problem-Solving group with 6.80; and Portfolio group with 6.88. The

post scores of the experimental groups showed remarkable changes. The

mean post scores of Concept-Mapping being 14.12, of Problem-Solving being

14.18 and of Portfolio being 12.28.


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The comparative analysis of gain scores of performance of the select

groups on the set components of communicative competence too reveal that

the pre performance of teacher educands was not up to the expected level

(Table 5.24).

In addition to this, the participant observations made by the investigator

when the experiment was on anvil and on several prior interactions have

revealed that the prospective teachers at Primary Level have difficulty with

regard to: sentence comprehension, syntactic patterning, morphological

processing, discourse coherence and inferring in general.

Therefore, from the above findings, it can be conclusively stated that

the prospective teachers at Primary Level are deficient with regard to the

attainment of the set competencies of communicative competence. Thus the

null hypothesis formulated is not accepted and the study hypothesis which

states that “Most of the Teacher Educands at Primary Level are deficient with

regard to their attainment of the expected level of communicative competence

in English” is sustained.

Hypothesis 2

The select Reflective Teaching Strategies are superior to the prevailing

classroom transaction modes in enhancing the communicative competence in

English of teacher educands at Primary Level.

For the purpose of statistical analysis, the above hypothesis was

converted to null hypothesis as:


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“There is no significant difference between the communicative

performance of Teacher Educands at Primary level taught through the select

Reflective Teaching Strategies and those taught through the prevailing

activity-oriented mode of curriculum transaction.”

The analysis of the test scores of the three select Experimental groups

namely, Concept-Mapping, Problem-Solving, and Portfolio Writing, and the

Control group exposed to the prevailing activity-oriented mode of curriculum

transaction reveal that there is significant difference in the mean post scores

of all the three select experimental groups when compared to the post scores

of the control group.

While considering the results of the comparison of test scores of the

Concept-Mapping group and the Control group, it was revealed that the mean

post test score of the Concept-Mapping group (M = 14.12) was significantly

higher than the mean post test score of the Control group (M = 8.80). The

obtained critical ratio (CR = 5.87; p < .01) vide Table 5.7 established the

superiority of the Concept-Mapping group over the prevailing mode of

curriculum transaction at Teacher Training Institutes in enhancing the

communicative competence in English of teacher educands at Primary Level.

This findings reiterates the premise that, a sequence of generation and

integration of concepts which the Concept-Mapping strategy emphasises can,

to a greater extent help learners to assimilate and accommodate interactive

activation networks useful for both comprehension and production in a

language environment.


353

Similarly, the results of the comparison of post test scores of the

Problem-Solving group and the Control group too revealed the superiority of

the experimental treatment in enhancing the communicative competence in

English of Teacher Educands at Primary Level. The critical ratio obtained on

the comparison of the mean post test score of the Problem-Solving group

(M = 14.18) and that of the Control group (M = 8.80) was CR = 6.67; p < .01,

vide Table 5.10, is significant at the .01 level of significance leading to

establish the superiority of the experimental strategy (Problem-Solving) which

has contributed to re-evaluation of core linguistic principles and enabled

teacher educands to retain accurate account of the textual information.

A similar development in the communicative competence of teacher

educands was revealed while comparing the test scores of the experimental

group exposed to the reflective teaching strategy, namely, Portfolio Writing,

and the Control group exposed to the prevailing activity-oriented modes of

curriculum transaction (Table 5.13). The mean post test score of the Portfolio

group (M = 12.28) and the mean post test score of the Control group

(M = 8.80) show the positive impact of the experimental treatment in attaining

the desired learner outcome. The critical ratio thereby obtained (CR = 4.47;

p < .01) signals towards the incorporation of a strategy, like Portfolio, that

suppresses inappropriate information and triggers the development of new

language substructures through its phased frames of discourse comprehension

and anaphor resolution.


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Moreover, the F ratio obtained in the Analysis of Covariance (Fy.x =

76.65, vide Table 5.16) is higher than the table value at .01 level of

significance thereby pointing towards the superiority of the experimental

treatments over the control group treatment.

Also, the adjusted means for the post test scores of Teacher Educands

in the three select experimental groups and the Control group as observed

through the results presented in Table 5.17 reveal that, the adjusted means

for the post test scores of the experimental groups, namely, Concept-Mapping

group (My.x = 14.54); Problem-Solving Group (My.x = 14.52)and Portfolio

group (My.x = 12.22) were higher than the adjusted means of the Control

group (My.x = 8.39) thereby emphasising the superiority of the experimental

treatments over the prevailing classroom pedagogic modes in enhancing the

communicative competence of teacher educands at Primary Level.

The comparative analysis of the gain scores of performance of the

three experimental and control groups on the four components of

communicative competence namely, grammatical, sociolinguistic, strategic,

and discourse competencies reveal the superiority of the reflective teaching

strategies over the prevailing classroom transacting modes. It was noted

(Table 5.24) that the gain score performance of the Concept-Mapping group

on the four components were greater than the performance of the control

group.


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Gain % on Grammatical component – 160%

Gain % on Sociolinguistic component – 140%

Gain % on Discourse component – 100% and,

Gain % on Strategic component – 87.5%

The gain percentage of scores of Problem-Solving group on the four

select components were 75.7%; 220%; 100% and 87.5% respectively, and

the gain percentage of scores of Portfolio group were 79.1%; 70.9%, 116.6%

and 53.8% respectively whereas the gain percentage of scores of Control

group was only 21.95% for grammatical competence, 53.49% for socio-

linguistic competence, 35.76% for discourse competence, and 8.91% for

strategic competence which is much less than that of the experimental

groups.

Several qualitative approaches too proved the efficacy of the select

reflective teaching strategies over the prevailing modes of curriculum

transaction.

Therefore, from the above findings, it can be conclusively stated that

the select Reflective Teaching Strategies namely, Concept-Mapping,

Problem-Solving and Portfolio Writing are effective linguistic frameworks to

episode contextually relevant language structures, and in organising

narratives through critical inquiry and reflective thinking-modes, and are more

effective than the prevailing classroom practices. Thus the null hypothesis

formulated in this context is not accepted.


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Therefore, the study hypothesis which states that “The select

Reflective Teaching Strategies are superior to the prevailing classroom

transaction modes in enhancing the communicative competence in English of

teacher educands at Primary Level” is sustained.

Hypothesis 3

“Significant difference exists between the subsamples of teacher

Educands at Primary Level (Subsamples based on Gender, Locale, and Type

of Management).”

The tenability of hypothesis with regard to the stratification of sample

taken individually are presented below.

Hypothesis 3 (a)

“The Female Teacher Educands at Primary Level will show better

communicative competence in English than their Male counterparts when

exposed to the select reflective Teaching Strategies.”

For the purpose of statistical requirements, the study hypothesis was

converted into null hypothesis as:


performance in English of Male and Female Teacher Educands at Primary

Level when taught through the select reflective teaching strategies.”

The analysis of test results that focused on the role of ‘Gender’ of

teacher educands in their attainment of communicative competence reveal

the following findings which have been highlighted in a table format:


357

Table 5.66

Summative Vision of the Results of the Performance of Teacher

Educands Classified on the basis of Gender Difference

Group Sex Mean

Post test Score

Critical Ratio

Level of Significance

Table Reference

Concept-Mapping

Male 10.33 3.52 .01 (5.28)

Female 14.64

Problem-Solving

Male 10.57 2.92 .01 (5.30)

Female 15.12

Portfolio Male 9.50

2.64 .01 (5.32) Female 12.81

Control Male 9.00

0.19 Not

Significant (5.26)

Female 8.77

The mean post test scores of the female teacher educands in all the

experimental groups were significantly higher than the male teacher educands

in these groups.

While considering the first experimental group which was exposed to

the Concept-Mapping strategy, it is noted that, the mean post test score of the

female teacher educands M = 14.64 is greater than the mean post test score

of the male teacher educands of the same group (M = 10.33), and the critical

ratio CR = 3.52; p < .01 is significant at the .01 level of significance (vide

Table 5.28) revealing that the female students benefited more in structuring

language elements appropriately by building up a network of language


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associations than the male students when instructed through the Concept-

Mapping reflective teaching strategy.

Likewise, the mean post test scores of the male and female students in

the Problem-Solving experimental group reveal significant difference between

their performance. The male teacher educands of the Problem-Solving group

got a mean post score of 10.57 only whereas, the female group showed a

mean post score of 15.12. The critical CR = 2.92; p < .01 is significant at the

.01 level of significance emphasising the fact that, the female teacher

educands showed greater skill in making decisions and in solving problematic

language tasks while progressing through the specific phases of the Problem-

Solving strategy than the male teacher educands exposed to this select

strategy.

Also, it is to be seen that the female teacher educands in the Portfolio

group outperformed the teacher educands in the male group when exposed to

the Portfolio strategy. The mean post test score of the female group M =

12.81 was greater than the mean post test score of the male group M = 9.50,

and the critical ratio CR = 2.64; p < .01 (vide Table 5.32) is significant at the

.01 level of significance. The results reveal the superior performance of

female students of the experimental group exposed to the Portfolio strategy.

But while analysing the post test scores of the male and female teacher

educands in the Control group, it is noted that there was no significant

difference in their test scores (MMale = 9.00; and MFemale = 8.77) and the critical

ratio thus obtained; CR = 0.19; p > .05 was not seen to be significant at any


359

level of significance implying that the superior performance of female students

in the experimental group can be solely attributed to the impact that the select

reflective teaching strategies has had on them than it has had on the male

teacher educands.

From the above research findings, it can be conclusively stated that all

the select reflective teaching strategies namely, Concept-Mapping, Problem-

Solving and Portfolio Writing has had greater impact on female students and

that the communicative competence of female students was at a higher level

than the male teacher educands.

Therefore, the study hypothesis which states that “The Female

Teacher Educands at Primary Level will show better communicative

competence in English than their Male counterparts when exposed to the

select Reflective Teaching Strategies” is sustained and the null hypothesis is

not accepted.

Hypothesis 3 (b)

The second hypothesis formulated for the stratified sample was:

“The Teacher Educands of Government Teacher Training Institutes will

have greater level of communicative attainment in English than their

counterparts in aided and unaided sectors when exposed to the select

reflective teaching strategies.”

For the purpose of statistical analysis, the null hypothesis formulated in

this regard was:


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performance of Teacher Educands from a) Government and Aided sectors; b)

Aided and Unaided sectors and c) Government and Unaided sectors taught

through the select reflective teaching strategies.”

The results of the analysis done in this regard are given below.

Table 5.67

A Summary of the Results of the Post test Scores of Teacher

Educands under different Types of Management

Group Managements Mean

Post test Score

Critical Ratio


Table reference

I. Concept-Mapping

i) Government Aided

13.85 13.75

0.06 Not significant (5.40)

ii) Government Unaided

13.85 15.40


iii) Aided Unaided

13.75 15.40


II. Problem-Solving

i) Government Aided

15.20 13.75



15.20 14.50


iii) Aided Unaided

13.75 14.50


III. Portfolio i) Government Aided

10.75 13.80

2.38 .05 (5.52)


10.75 12.30


iii) Aided Unaided

13.80 12.30


IV. Control i) Government Aided

8.85 8.85



8.85 8.60


iii) Aided Unaided

8.85 8.60



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The summarised results reveal that nearly all the test scores of teacher

educands classified under various ‘Type of Management’ show no marked

difference in any of the combinations. Significant difference was however

noted when teacher educands from the Portfolio group were classified under

Government and Aided streams. The critical ratio CR = 2.38; p < .05 shows

significant difference between the mean post test scores of teacher educands

from the Government (M = 10.75) and the Aided (M = 13.80) sectors. This

may be attributed to the opportunities that the Aided stream has provided for

its learners to document their learning systematically. It has been observed

that unlike in the Government stream, the Aided institutions conduct a lot of

programmes like camps, club activities, seminars, field trips, exhibitions and

several interactive forums and each activity is reported in a systematic

manner. Such a trend seemed to be bolstered when the concept of portfolio

was introduced. Therefore, from the above findings, it can be stated that the

study hypothesis stands rejected and the null hypothesis is partially accepted.

That is, except in one combination, there is no difference in the level of

communicative attainment of teacher educands coming under Government,

Aided and Unaided sectors.

Hypothesis 3 (c)

The third hypothesis for the stratified sample formulated was:

“The Teacher Educands of Teacher Training Institutes in urban area

will show better communicative competence in English than their counterparts

in rural area when exposed to the select reflective teaching strategies.”


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For the purpose of statistical analysis, the null hypothesis formulated in

this regard was:

“There is no significant difference in the communicative performance of

teacher educands from institutions in Urban and Rural areas when taught

through the select reflective teaching strategies.”

The results of the analysis of test scores of teacher educands reveal

the following findings:

Table 5.68

A Brief review of Results of the Post test Scores of Teacher

Educands from Institutes in the Urban and Rural Areas

Group Locale Mean

Post test Score

Critical Ratio


Table reference

Control Urban 8.85

0.08 Not

significant (5.58)

Rural 8.77

Concept-Mapping

Urban 15.70 1.68

Not significant

(5.60) Rural 13.07

Problem-Solving

Urban 14.60 0.14

Not significant

(5.62) Rural 14.40

Portfolio Urban 12.10

0.24 Not

significant (5.64)

Rural 12.40

From the results presented in a nutshell in Table 5.68, it can be seen

that the Locale of institution has very little effect in developing the

communicative competence of teacher educands through the adoption of

reflective modes. No subsamples based on the locale of institutions showed


363

significant difference in the critical ratios at any level of significance (at .05

and .01 levels of significance).

Thus, from the results captured in Table 5.68, it can be conclusively

stated that there is no significant difference in the communicative performance

of teacher educands from institutions in the Urban or Rural areas. In the light

of these findings, the study hypothesis formulated is rejected and the null

hypothesis is sustained which states that “There is no significant difference in

the communicative performance of teacher educands from institutions in the

Urban and Rural areas when exposed to the select reflective teaching

strategies.”

DISCUSSION OF RESULTS

The results of the study have revealed that the select reflective

teaching strategies, namely, Concept-Mapping, Problem-Solving and Portfolio

Writing have a positive effect on the teacher educands’ attainment of

communicative competence in English than the prevailing classroom

transaction modes.

Though several innovative practices like ‘shared reading’, and

‘collaborative groupings’ have been introduced in training colleges to make

teacher educands more competent in transacting curriculum, the teacher

educands are found to experience difficulty in wielding the language elements

effectively and appropriately. They are found deficient in internalising the


364

essential metacognitive skill for developing appropriate functional planning,

selective attention, and self-evaluation.

The study has proved that even though there did not exist any initial

difference in performance of teacher educands in the experimental and

control groups, the subsequent exposure to reflective practices provided a

framework to build organisational knowledge through sharing, observation

and reflection. Besides, the study has demonstrated that reflective teaching

strategy training can be effective in a natural classroom set up too where their

learners at school were also benefited by an exposure to these select

strategies.

An exposure to the set strategies has proved effective in developing

academic language skills with a promise for improving the ability of teacher

educands as language instructors and learners of the second language.

It is true that teacher educators are familiar with several innovative

practices but often paucity of time and dearth of resources prevent them from

translating their constructive thoughts into fruitful actions. The analyses of the

retrospective interview data revealed that though teachers were receiving

adequate training with regard to the teaching-learning strategies to be

employed in classrooms, they had yet to develop appropriate instructional

designs to promote student use of reflective learning strategies.

The results of the analysis via the use of the self-assessment modes

have revealed that it is time to boost the confidence level of teacher educands


365

with regard to their ability to use language grammatically and contextually

well.

The study points towards the efficacy of the select reflective teaching

strategies in encouraging teacher educands to be open-minded, responsible,

and wholehearted about their interactions with the discourse situation and

follow a definite plan-of-action in executing linguistic tasks.

The success of the Concept-Mapping strategy lay on the emphasis it

laid on integrating one’s prior knowledge coherently with new knowledge in a

hierarchical mode and through a wider exploration of connections.

The Problem-Solving strategy developed the teacher educands’ sense

of discovery and conscious, deliberate insight that encourages them to

become students of their own learning.

The interpretation of data with regard to the effect of the Portfolio

strategy on a sample of teacher educands at Primary level reveal that the

introduction of such a reflective approach was successful to the extent that

the teacher educands appeared confident in communicating in English than

their counterparts in the Control group. The entire process of portfolio

construction has proved useful in enhancing their language processing skills

and for the rational acquisition of the components of communicative

competence.

The three select strategies enable teacher educands to link the theory

of linguistic processing of language elements and practices and thereby

empower teacher educands to examine both success and failures in a


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language construction environment and thereby promote self-awareness and

knowledge through personal experience.

On the basis of the findings of the study, it can be emphatically stated

that reflection can be taught although it does require much energy from the

teacher. Once the teacher educands become empowered in their profession

with a good command over the language, there develops in young learning

minds an urge to communicate effectively in a coherent manner.

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