Small-Group Discussion and the Development of Interpretive Strategies in Literature Classrooms: a Quasi-Experimental Study with 9th - Grade Students.

Agapi Dalkou, Evangelia Frydaki

Abstract


This article presents a quasi-experimental study exploring the effect of small-group discussion on students’ ability to develop interpretive strategies in literature classrooms. In the absence of such research in secondary education, we conducted a study with 9th-grade students, including one experimental group and one control group. The main hypothesis was that, when students approach literary texts by working in peer-led small groups, with a teacher facilitator, they develop interpretive strategies to a greater extent than when they approach texts within the context of teacher-centered instruction. Results indicated that, by the end of the academic year, a) students who studied literary texts in small groups developed interpretive strategies to a higher level than students who worked on texts alone, within the context of teacher-centered instruction and b) students of the experimental group demonstrated higher individual competence in the development of interpretive strategies, but the improvement was not statistically significant. Conclusions and implications for educational practice are being discussed.


Keywords


secondary education; literature classrooms; interpretive strategies; interpretation; small group discussion

Full Text:

PDF

References


Almasi, J. F. (1995). The nature of fourth graders’ sociocognitive conflicts in peer-led and eacher-led discussions of literature. Reading Research Quarterly, 30(3), 314-351.

Almasi, J. F. & Fullerton, S. K. (2012). Teaching Strategic Processes in Reading (2nd ed.). The Guilford Press, NY.

Alvermann, D.E. (2002). Effective literacy instruction for adolescents. Journal of Literacy Research, 34(2), 189-208.

Barab, S., & Squire, K. (2004). Design-based research: Putting a stake in the ground. The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 13(1), 1-14.

doi: 10.1207/s15327809jls1301_1

Bereiter, C. (1997). Situated cognition and how to overcome it. In D. Kirshner & J. A. Whitson (Eds.), Situated cognition: Social, semiotic, and psychological perspectives (pp.281-300). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

Bielaczyc, K., & Collins, A. (1999). Learning communities in classrooms: A reconceptualization of educational practice. In C.M. Reigeluth (Ed.): Instructional Design Theories and Models, II. Mahwah NJ: Laurence Erlbaum Associates.

Boscolo, P., & Carotti, L. (2003). Does writing contribute to improving high school students’ approach to literature? Educational Studies in Language and Literature, 3, 197-224.

Brown, J.S., Collins, A., & Duguid, P. (1988). Situated cognition and the culture of learning. Institute for Research on Learning (Report No IRL 88-0006).

Chinn, C. A., Anderson, R. C, & Waggoner, M.A. (2001). Patterns of discourse in two kinds of literature discussion. Reading Research Quarterly, 36(4), 378-411. doi: 10.1598/RRQ.36.4.3

Cohen, E. G. (1994). Restructuring the classroom: Conditions for productive small groups. Review of Educational Research, 64(1), 1-35.

Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2008). Research methods in education (5th ed.) Routledge.

Cross, P. K. (1998). Why learning communities? Why now? Speech presented to the conference of Transforming Campuses into Learning Communities, University of Miami.

Culler, J. (1975). Structuralist poetics. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.

Culler, J. (1997). Literary theory. A very short introduction. Oxford University Press.

Dilthey, W (1976). Selected writings. Ed. Prof Hans Peter Rickman, Cambridge University Press.

Dimaras, A. (1995). The limits of reform. In A. Kazamias, & M. Kassotakis (Eds.), Greek education (pp.73-83). Athens: Seirios (text in Greek).

Eckert, L.S. (2008). Bridging the pedagogical gap: Intersections between literary and reading theories in secondary and postsecondary literacy instruction. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 110-118. doi: 10.1598/JAAL.52.2.2

Fall, R., Webb, N.M., & Chudowsky, N. (2000). Group discussion and large-scale arts assessment: Effects on students’ comprehension. American Educational Research Journal, 37(4), 911-941.

Fish, S. (1980). Is there a text in this class? The authority of interpretive communities. Harvard University Press.

Fletcher, J. (2014). A review of “effective†reading literacy practices for young adolescent 11 to 13 year old students. Educational Review, 66(3), 293-310. doi: 10.1080/00131911.2013.772126

Genette, G. (1980). Narrative discourse: An essay in method. Oxford.

Gergen, K. (1985). The social constructionist movement in modern Psychology. American Psychologist, 40, 266-275.

Gillies, R. M., & Ashman, A. F. (2003). An historical review of the use of groups to promote socialization and learning. In: R. M. Gillies & A. F. Ashman (Eds), Co-operative learning: The social and intellectual outcomes of learning in groups. London, Routledge.

Hamel, F.L., & Smith , M.W. (1998). You can’t play if you don’t know the rules: Interpretive conventions and the teaching of literature to students in lower-track classes. Reading & Writing Quarterly: Overcoming Learning Difficulties, 14(4), 355-357. doi: 10.1080/1057356980140402

Hilttz, S. R. (1998). Collaborative learning in asynchronous learning networks: Building learning communities. WebNet ’98 Conference of the WWW, Internet, and Intranet Proceedings (3rd, Orlando, FL).

Johnson, D.W., & Johnson, R.T. (2009a). The instructional power of conflict. Educational Researcher, 38(1), 37-51.

Johnson, D.W., & Johnson, R.T. (2009b). An Educational Psychology success story: Social interdependence theory and cooperative learning.

Educational Researcher, 38(5), 365-379. doi: 10.3102/0013189X09339057.

Jonassen, D. H. (1999). Constructing learning environments on the web: Engaging students in meaningful learning. Educational Technology Conference and Exhibition 1999: Thinking Schools, Learning Nation.

Joyce, B. & Weill, M. (1986). Models of teaching (3rd ed.). Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.

Kintgen, E. (1990). Reconstructing Elizabethan reading. Studies in English Literature 1500-1900, 1, 1-18.

Kucan, L., & Beck, I. L. (2003). Inviting students to talk about expository texts: A comparison of two discourse environments and their effects on comprehension. Reading Research and Instruction, 42(3), 1-31. doi:10.1080/19388070309558388.

Law, Yin-Kum (2011). The effects of cooperative learning on enhancing Hong Kong ï¬fth graders’ achievement goals, autonomous motivation and reading proï¬ciency. Journal of Research in Reading, 34(4), 402–425. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9817.2010.01445.x

Lee, G.G., & Hughes, M.T. (2012). The interpretive strategies utilized by Elementary students with and without learning disabilities in comprehending poems. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 4(3), 489-506. Retrieved from: http://www.iejee.com/4_3_2012/IEJEE_4_3_489_506.pdf

Lloyd, C., & Beard, J. (1995). Managing classroom collaboration. Cassell.

Mayo, W. (2001). Collaborative learning and interpretation of Literature. Paper presented at the Annual International Meeting of the Lithuanian English Language Teachers and Lecturers Association (8th, Vilnius, Lithuania, December 8).

Nussbaum, M. (2010). Not for profit. Why democracy needs the Humanities. Princeton University Press.

Nystrand, M., Gamoran, A., & Heck, M.J. (1993). Using small groups for response to and thinking about Literature. The English Journal, 82(1), 14-22.

Nystrand, M. (2006). Research in the role of classroom discourse as it affects reading comprehension. Research in the Teaching of English, 40, 392-412.

Orlando, V. P., Caverly, D. C., Swetnam, L. A., & Flippo, R. F. (2003). Text demands in college classes: An investigation. In E. J. Paulson, M. E. Lame, S. A. Biggs & T. L. Bullock (Eds.), College reading research and practice: Articles from the Journal of College Literacy and Learning (pp. 118-125). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

Pratt, M.L. (1983). Interpretive strategies/strategic interpretations: On Anglo-American reader response criticism. Boundary 2, 11(1/2), 201-231.

Purves, A. C., & Rippere, V. (1968). Elements of writing about a literary work: A study of response to Literature. National Council of Teachers of English, Champaign, Ill.; Research Report No 9.

Puzio, K. & Colby, G.T. (2013). Cooperative learning and literacy: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 6(4), 339-360.

Rogoff, B. (1998). Cognition as a collaborative process. In D. Kuhn & R. S. Siegler (Eds.), Handbook of Child Psychology: Vol. 2 Cognition, Perception, and Language (5th ed., pp. 679-744). New York: Wiley.

Rosenblatt, L. M. (1995). Literature as exploration (5th ed.). New York: Modern Language Association.

Sawyer, R. K. (2004). Creative teaching: Collaborative discussion as disciplined improvisation. Educational Researcher, 33(2), 12-20. doi: 10.3102/0013189X033002012

Scott, V. M., & Huntington, J. A. (2007). Literature, the interpretive mode, and novice learners. The Modern Language Journal, 91(i), 3-14. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-4781.2007.00506.x.

Skourtou, E., & Kourtis-Kazoullis, V. (2003). The step from traditional pedagogy to transformative. International Journal of the Humanities, 1, 1323-1337.

Slavin, R. E. (1995): Cooperative learning (2nd ed.). Allyn & Bacon.

Slavin, R., Chamberlain, A., Daniels, C. & Madden, N.A. (2009). The Reading Edge: a randomized evaluation of a middle school cooperative reading program. Effective Education, 1(1), 13-26, doi: 10.1080/19415530903043631

Smagorinsky, P. (2001). If meaning is constructed, what is it made from? Toward a cultural theory of meaning. Review of Educational Research, 71(1), 133-169.

Smith, K.A., Johnson, D.W., & Johnson, R.T. (1981). Can conflict be constructive? Controversy versus concurrence seeking in learning groups. Journal of Educational Psychology, 73, 651-663.

Stevens, R.J. (2003). Student Team Reading and Writing: A cooperative learning approach to middle school literacy instruction. Educational Research and Evaluation: An International Journal on Theory and Practice, 9(2), 137-160.

Tunkle, R. E., Anderson, K., & Evans, C. (1999). Literature groups: their definition, supporting research, components, and benefits. Reading Improvement, 36(1), 40-48.

Vaughn, S., Klingner, J.K., Swanson, E.A., Boardman, A.G., Roberts, G., Mohammed, S.S., Stillman-Spisak, S.J. (2011). Efficacy of Collaborative Strategic Reading with Middle School Students. American Educational Research Journal, 48,(4), 938–964. doi: 10.3102/0002831211410305

Webb, N. M. (1995). Group collaboration in assessment: Multiple objectives, processes, and outcomes. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 17(2), 239-261.


Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


e-ISSN: 1694-2116

p-ISSN: 1694-2493