"Feeling" as a Core Practice in Literary Reading? Testing a Hypothesis in a Research-Practice Partnership

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 25
  In Roundtable Session: The Roles of Cognition and Emotion in Literacy Praxis

Abstract

In previous small-scale studies of an affect-based approach to literary interpretation, students learned to attend to their affective and emotional responses to literary texts, and then interrogate and reflect on those responses. Students using this approach were more likely to move from summary to literary interpretation than comparison groups. In the current study, researchers partnered with a professional development program working with teachers across the U.S. and using a “core practices” model. This partnership enabled us to test the findings of previous small-scale studies and to hypothesize that affect is itself a core practice. Fourteen teachers implemented the approach in varying contexts. Results indicate that the affect-based approach supports student interpretation and is accessible and flexible—characteristics of core practices.

Authors

• Sarah Levine, Stanford University

• Karoline R TREPPER, Stanford University

• Rosalie Hiuyan Chung, Harvard University