Leaving the Abstract for the Concrete in Written Expression in Elementary School in Benin

Abstract

This article aims at analysing and influencing the pedagogical practices of six teachers involved in an action-research in written expression in the Elementary Course at the elementary school in Benin in order to optimize the learning capacities of the pupils. To this end, a research protocol was adopted that included a stage of identification of the problem, the establishment of an action plan, the implementation of the action, the evaluation of the effects of the action, the communication of the conclusions and the valorisation of the research. It was found that the teachers did not maximize the children's learning opportunities during the "chasse aux idées" phase; they did not get the children moving; they did not praise them properly; they remained in the abstract about the themes addressed. Several decisions were taken at each stage of the progression in the realization of the sequence II in written expression (first draft), the most important of which is the concretization based on clear and expressive images and reinforced by social writing.