5. “Afternoon in School” by DH Lawrence 6. “Hereby” by UA Fanthorpe
Poems were selected on the basis of theme. For example, in “Mrs Krikorian”, questions are raised about the role of the teacher and the archetype of the teacher as hero. “The Choosing” touches on the sometimes difficult choices faced by working class girls in continuing their education. Afternoon in School explores burnout and disillusion among teachers.
Discussion in the poetry group was facilitated by the tutor and prompted by a series of open-ended questions. These were intended to be evocative rather than analytical and deliberately put questions which might foreclose discussion (e.g. about whether students liked or disliked the poem) at the end of the list (included for reference at the end of the article). Questions were scattered about the tables for students to consider or reject as they saw fit. Examples included: 'What do you see, hear or smell as you read this poem? Does this poem say anything to you?' The group discussion was recorded, transcribed and analysed for themes. Individual interviews also took place at the end of the project to investigate the impact that taking part in the research had on individuals. From this a series of tentative conclusions can be drawn about the value of poetry in supporting reflection.
Poetry as application A search of education and health journals shows there have been many diverse uses of poetry, for example, to support critical thinking amongst managers (Hiley, 2006), explore group work (Malekoff, 2006), and support qualitative data analysis (Raingruber, 2009). It seems that its concise form lends poetry a particular sort of power: the use of figurative language, metaphor and imagery supports loose and associative thinking. Moreover poetry requires slow and careful reading and facilitates a view of lives and experiences of others. Poetry opens up “secondary worlds” (Benton, 1985). Following Reader Response Theory, reading fiction
has the same structure as experience, to the extent that our entanglement has the effect of pushing our various criteria of orientation back into the past, thus suspending their validity for the new present (Iser,1980:132)
In this sense a main aim of the research was to find out whether poems could provide a sufficiently distanced yet intimate space to explore the complexities of judgements made and feelings experienced during teaching experiences. Might students be able to scaffold their own experiences in relation to the themes and dilemmas expressed in the poems? The researchers hoped also to test the idea that the poetry group itself would provide a supportive space, what Holton and Thomas cited in Clarke (2001) have referred to as a “zone” of “reciprocal scaffolding.” We wanted to see if students would discuss their experiences and the decisions made (or not made) during their teaching practice without judgement, and whether the interaction of the group and the activity of open discussion might lead to new ways of thinking.
Conceptualising reflection There is a large body of literature on the concept of reflection, and since the 1990s familiarity and use of the term reflection on teaching training programmes has grown significant (Atherton, 2012).
For the purposes of this research the framework offered by Hatton and Smith (1985) was used. This describes a hierarchy of reflective types of thinking: at the lower end reflection is conceptualised as a descriptive exercise often concerned with “fixing faults”. Thinking at this level seeks to identify and perhaps change behaviours but is unconcerned with critical or ethical considerations. Evidence of more sophisticated reflective thought can be seen when practitioners weigh alternative outcomes and deploy value judgements
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