Part II. Principles of an inquiry-based approach to the teaching of literature
Submitted by:
Thomas I. Hansen
Abstract:
This paper presents a model of literary and aesthetic-analytical interpretation.*
Through a systematic review and a mapping of practice, we aim to answer the following research questions:
• What characteristics could an inquiry-based approach to the teaching of literature have and to what extent is the teaching of literature in Denmark currently inquiry-based?
• How could such an approach inform interventions in practice in Danish secondary education and principles of inquiry-based course designs?
General reading comprehension strategies are not suitable for aesthetic texts, because they are characterized by their unique aesthetic form, hence requiring a particular process of semiosis and production of meaning on the part of the reader.
The systematic review provides a preliminary answer to the research questions drawing on cognitive, socio-cognitive and sociocultural studies. A set of empirically substantiated, cognitive strategies that show a positive effect on students' literary reading comprehension have been identified (Langer, 1995; Applebee et al, 2003; Olson & Land, 2007). Furthermore, research in literary inferencing and non-literal interpretation points towards a bottom-up approach involving online inferencing where the reader continually constructs local coherence and meaning (Zwaan, 1993; Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Buch-Iversen, 2010). In turn, readers are rarely involved in the construction of global coherence and meaning context in their online inferencing. These processes generally come into play when readers metacognitively rise above the continuous activation of cognitive schemata and make inferences in continuation of the immediate reading, i.e. offline inferencing. The strategies and knowledge of literary comprehension are the base of our proposed model of designing literary comprehension in education.
References
Applebee, A.N., Langer, J-A., Nystrand, M., & Gamoran, A. ((2003). Discussion-Based Approaches to Developing Understanding: Classroom Instruction and Student Performance in Middle and High School English. American Educational Research Journal, fall 2003, Vol. 40, No. 3, pp. 685-730.
Buch-Iversen, I. (2010). Betydningen av inferens for leseforståelse. Effekter av inferenstrening (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Universitetet i Stavanger, Nasjonalt senter for leseopplæring og leseforskning, Humanistisk fakultet.
Graesser, A. C., Singer, M., & Trabasso, T. (1994). Constructing Inferences During Narrative Text Comprehension. Psychological Review, 101(3), 371-395.
Langer, J.A. (1995). Envisioning Literature: Literary Understanding and Literature Instruction. Teachers College Press, New York.
Olson, C.B. & Land, R. (2007). A Cognitive Strategies Approach to Reading and Writing Instruction for English Language Learners in Secondary School. Research in the Teaching of English, Vol. 31, No. 3.
Zwaan, R. A. (1993). Aspects of Literary Comprehension: A Cognitive Approach. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
* The presentation is related to another presentation: Improving the Quality of Teaching Literature in Danish Secondary Education: Towards an Inquiry-based Model for Interventions. Part I/II: Background, research design, and findings from the mapping of practice.