Practitioner Inquiry and Ethnodrama in a High School Classroom: A Methodological and Pedagogical Approach for Fostering Critical Literacy With Adolescents

• In Event: Roundtable Session 121
  In Roundtable Session: Drama-Based Pedagogies in Teacher Education and Classroom Learning

Abstract

In contrast to individualistic notions of adolescent identity development (Kagan, 1984; Kohlberg, 1984; Piaget, 2001), the relational developmental approach Nakkula and Toshalis (2006) propose is that we are “in a constant state of co-creating who we are with the people with whom we are in closest connection and within those contexts that hold the most meaning for our day-to-day existence” (Ibid., p. 6). In short, adults contribute to the meanings youth make of their lives and vice versa.
In this study, which took place during the 2009-2010 school year, literacy is conceptualized as a critical social practice (Street, 1984; Barton et al., 2000; Ellsworth, 2005; Thompson & Giltin, 1995; Freire, 1970). Literacy as a social practice derives from New Literacy Studies and refers to the cultural uses of literacy (Street, 1984; Barton et al., 2000). Literacy as a critical social practice refers to student and teacher reflection on whom or what they are privileging with their in and out of school literacy practices. New Literacy Study research has revealed adolescent literacy practices to be multiple, multimodal, contextually situated, and sophisticated (Elkins & Luke, 1999; Young et al., 2002; Ito, 2008; Vasudevan, 2007; Alvermann, 2008).
Adolescents use their literacies to navigate their relationships and their identity development. They also experience many pulls on their lives. Media producers and teachers often impose narratives about race, class, gender, and sexual orientation that are harmful to adolescents. By engaging youth in critical reflection on their social practices with texts in and out of school, teachers can assist adolescents in navigating the many pulls on their identity construction.
This paper addresses the value of ethnodrama for co-constructing critical inquiry with adolescents, a process which permits teachers to design pedagogy with adolescents. Ethnodrama is ethnographic research reported in the form of drama (Mienczakowski, 1995; Saldana, 2005; Goldstein, 2003). It includes the study of social issues from multiple perspectives and the challenge of telling a broader story about the causes of social conflict using these perspectives. This pedagogy is an evolving pedagogy, meaning the goals, texts, frameworks, and invitations continually shifted as the teacher engaged in critical reflection on the implications of any given move for student and teacher knowledge generation.
Data sources included audio files for each class, video tapes of all drama work, transcripts from the audio and video tapes, student writing, and field notes and a research and teaching journal for 95% of classes. Using the critical incident technique (Flanagan, 1954; Preskill, 1997), the teacher identified where the seven students caused her to expand upon her goals and frameworks. She then used grounded theory (Strauss & Corbin, 1990) to code and compare each critical incident and the nature of student and teacher inquiry during each incident.
Findings reveal that drama continued to be a catalyst for students, helping them form meaningful connections with each other; locate a hunger for more information; sustain collaborative data collection, analysis, and representation; and reflect on the connections between their social practices and larger societal injustices.

Author

• Sarah Reed Hobson, SUNY - College at Cortland