Dramaturgy of dialogue in the literature classroom and literary learning

Submitted by: Simone Depner
Abstract: Theoretical underpinnings
Dealing with literature plays an important role both for cultural education and the personal development of the individual.
However, after the controversial discussion about the results of the PISA study, the importance of reading literacy has taken the role of a key qualification. In contrast to this aims in literature education are broader. There is a general concern about personal and social development via encounters with literature as well as getting insights into literature in a historical, current and formal perspective. Because of their aesthetical structure poetical texts enable the reader to experience reality in many different complex ways (Humboldt 1830; 1963; Schrijvers et al. 2016; Witte & Sâmihăian 2013).
Despite the general appreciation of the meaningfulness of literature little attention has been paid to how literary texts are actually dealt with, to their position und significance in German literature education, and to the related orientations of teachers. It can be assumed that literature education is under pressure because of the literacy debate. Nevertheless, we do not know what the exact role of literature is in the current literature education in German speaking Switzerland and Lower Saxony (Bertschi-Kaufmann et al. 2018). Furthermore, little is known about the students experiences in dealing with literature and about how teachers aims and procedures relate to students perceptions and motivations.
It is difficult to measure the outcome of literary education in school, for several reasons: Different actors interact with each other in the classroom, the teacher with the students, the students among each other. Besides, personal development is difficult to assess. Additionally, literary reading includes the individual attitudes and different motivations of the teenagers. That is why it is interesting to focus on the literature classroom as a space where literature is deployed. While the obvious structure of the school lessons can be determined distinctly, the reconstruction of the literary didactics is a challenge, considering it is hardly possible to measure the negotiation of literature (Scherf 2017).

Description of the project
The binational research project TAMoLi – Texts, Activities, and Motivations in Literature Education – is an empirical study working with a mixed-method-design to find out about the relevance of literary education in the teaching curricula of all kinds of lower secondary schools in Germany and German-speaking Switzerland. The study mainly focuses on the teachers‘ orientations and objectives in teaching literature, the kind of texts they read in the classroom, the learning activities the teachers apply, the students‘ reading interests and motivations in different school forms. In each of these areas teachers‘ and students‘ views are assessed. The interaction of these different parts is analyzed by looking at the connections between the selections of texts and the curricula on the one hand and the teachers´ and pupils´ interests in literature on the other hand. The different aspects of school lessons and the role of teachers and pupils will also be looked at.
Methods and modus operandi / Methods and approach
In our TAMoLi-study we use a mixed-methods sequential explanatory design, in which a quantitative phase is followed by a qualitative phase (Ivankova 2006).
My PhD is linked to the third step, the qualitative part of the study. On the basis of results of teachers’ and students’ questionnaires we picked a random sample of classes. Most important were orientations of teachers with regard to literature and/or reading literacy. We also considered the different school types of secondary schooling in German speaking Switzerland and Germany (CH: N = 9; D-NDS: N = 12) and the students’ reading motivation. In these classes a literature lesson was video-recorded. The teachers were asked to present a literature lesson dealing with one out of four given short stories or a fictional text of their own choice. Because we assume that negotiations of literature in the class are particularly important the teachers had the task to discuss the story with the whole class at some stage of the lesson. Finally, the teacher and four pupils were interviewed about the lesson. The interviews concentrated on how the teacher experience literature education, the texts that have been converged in the current school year, as well as their general attitude towards reading. The students were asked how they perceive reading and literature instruction.

Research questions
My research follows the question of how the literary text is constituted in the recorded lesson . In this context the focus will be on the structure of the literary discussion within the dramaturgy of the lesson: Which concepts of literature do the teachers implement? How do the teachers address the pupils? What do they do to activate their students for explicate literary dialogues and for reflecting upon texts? How are the students positioned towards the texts and what are the students positions regarding the text? Which negotiation processes and which intermediation processes can be reconstructed?
Moving beyond single cases, I ask: To what extent can the way of arranging dialogue around literature in class be systematized? Can we reconstruct particular techniques or strategies? Can we reconstruct a dramaturgy or choreography of shaping these dialogues? Apart from that, the teachers` statements from the interviews are supposed to show connections between their way of teaching literature and the concept of their own literary preferences, their attitudes towards literature and teaching literature and their aims for the lessons.

For discussion at the SIG-seminar
Part of the qualitative data are still being transcribed. I have started to assess some of the lessons more thoroughly. At this stage, I would like to discuss possible approaches to the data, mainly how to reconstruct the dramaturgy respectively the choreography of the literary lesson. Therefore, I plan to analyse certain sequences by using discourse analysis. Overall, my approach is a reconstructive one – which is labour-intensive. Questions at this stage are: What are suitable procedures to select sequences for in-depth-analysis? A plausible aim of the study could be a systematic concept to categorize literature staging from the perception of the teachers on the one hand and positions and attitudes students adopt towards the particular text on the other hand. By relating sequences from the lessons with data from the interviews, the study wants to examine the influence of teachers` attitudes and beliefs on the way the lessons are carried out. Furthermore, I would also like to discuss how the data can be used to further explore the topic. How can tasks and text-based discussions from the recorded lessons be related to the teachers´ aims and intentions mentioned in the interviews to gain insights into quality in literature education? What can we learn from this in order to improve dialogue about literary texts in particular and teaching literature in general?
The projects TAMoLi Lower Saxony and TAMoLi Switzerland are supported in the Program
*Pro Niedersachsen/ Niedersächsisches Vorab als well as the Nationalfonds of Switzerland SNF.


References

Abraham, Ulf; Bremerich-Vos, Albert; Frederking, Volker; Wieler, Petra (2003): Deutschunterricht und Deutschdidaktik nach PISA. Freiburg/Br.: Fillibach.

Bertschi-Kaufmann, Andrea; Pieper, Irene; Siebenhüner, Steffen (2018): Literarische Bildung in der aktuellen Praxis des Lese- und Literaturunterrichts auf der Sekundarstufe I. In: Scherf, Daniel (Hrsg.): Ästhetische Rezeptionsprozesse aus didaktischer Perspektive. Weinheim: Beltz Juventa, S. 194 - 217.

Humboldt, Wilhelm von ([1830] 1963): Über die Verschiedenheit des menschlichen Sprachbaus und ihren Einfluss auf die geistige Entwicklung des Menschengeschlechts. In: Flitner, Andreas; Giel, Klaus (ed.): Werke in fünf Bänden. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Band III, S. 368-756.

Ivankova, Natalyia V.; Creswell, John W.; Stick, S. (2006): Using Mixed Methods Sequential Explanatory Design: From Theory To Practice. Field Methods. http://wtgrantmixedmethods.com/sites/default/files/literature/Ivankova%20etal_2006_mixed%20methods%20sequential%20design.pdf (last access: 12.02.2018).

Scherf, Daniel (2017): Inszenierungen literalen Lernens: kulturelle Anforderungen und individueller Kompetenzerwerb. Baltmannsweiler: Schneider.

Schrijvers, Marloes; Janssen, Tanja; Fialho, Olivia; Rijlaarsdam, Gerd (2016). The Impact of Literature Education on Students’ Perceptions of Self and Others: Exploring Personal and Social Learning Experiences in Relation to Teacher Approach. L1 – Educational Studies in Language and Literature, 17, 1-37. https://l1.publication-archive.com/publication/1/1592 (last access: 12.02.2018).

Witte, Theo, & Sâmihăian, Florentina (2013): Is Europe open to a student-oriented framework for literature? A comparative analysis of the formal literature curriculum in six European countries. L1-Educational Studies in Language and Literature, (13), 1–22. https://l1.publication-archive.com/publication/1/1437 (last access: 12.02.2018).