How can interpretive discussion improve learning in various settings? At an alumni event for the Master of Science in Education program on July 14, four alumni shed light on the effectiveness of interpretive discussion in schools and the workplace.
The panel for "The Art of Turning the Soul: Utilizing Interpretive Discussion in Your Practice" consisted of Jenny Burkholder (MS04), a high school English teacher at Abington Friends School in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania; Betsey Frank (MS99), the director of staff training at a Chicago law firm; Aviva Pearlman (MS03), a seventh grade science teacher in Denver; and Demetrius Sajous-Brady (MS00), a third grade teacher in Chicago. They described their experiences with interpretive discussion as an valuable method for learning to understand the meaning of a text.
Sophie Haroutunian-Gordon, director of the Master of Science in Education program and a professor in the program, told the panel: "It's wonderful to hear your stories and the way this ‘art' has made sense to you." Addressing the audience, she continued, "I would encourage all of you to prepare clusters of questions." Haroutunian-Gordon is the author of several books and articles about interpretive discussion, the most recent of which is Learning to Teach Through Discussion: The Art of Turning the Soul.
In her panel presentation Burkholder, who teaches at a Quaker college preparatory school, maintained that interpretive discussion complements Quakerism, which holds that "truth is continually revealed and accessible to the seeker." With interpretive discussion, active questioning of the text takes on a near-spiritual aspect, she noted.
"Interpretive discussion has been helpful to open discussion" in her classroom, she said, although teens in the midst of finding their place in the world provide challenges. "I'd love to say this is clean and neat and beautiful, but as we all know, it's messy," she reflected. "It's a challenge that keeps me coming back to the classroom."
In markedly different settings, Frank draws on interpretive discussion to make an impact on adult learning in the corporate world and in university higher education programs. "It's a new frontier for interpretive discussion to move into the adult learning field in organizations," she asserted. "It takes some time to get comfortable with interpretive questions" rather than evaluative or factual questions, she pointed out.
"Interpretive discussion has a chance to infiltrate into an organizational setting," she noted, citing internal book clubs that are becoming popular as a way to focus on books selected by management.
In the SESP Higher Education and Administration Policy program, Frank is a research coach. She works with students to explore their "deepest point of doubt" as they read research literature, and she emphasizes that as "consumers of research" readers need to question. "Are you buying what the author is saying, and how does that apply?" she asks.
Pearlman reported on her experiences with interpretive discussion in a middle school science classroom. This spring she co-led with Haroutunian-Gordon a discussion of a Konrad Lorenz text about why rats eat each other. "From interpretive discussion they learned about the predatory-prey relationship. They got a whole new perspective," she noted.
Overall in her classroom Pearlman aims for one interpretive discussion per unit. In addition, she regularly integrates the benefits of interpretive discussion by having students generate questions, create goals of the day, develop reading strategies, use evidence to support their claims, practice teamwork and build on background knowledge.
Sajous-Brady explained how he draws on the interpretive discussion method with his third grade class at Lincoln Elementary School. "Much of what I do as a third grade teacher has to do with what I learned here," he said, displaying a video of his class. "I've been able to give my students deeper engagement with the text. ... It's something I value."
"I had the joy of being in all three classrooms that were referred to," Haroutunian-Gordon commented at the conclusion of the panel presentation. A book signing followed in the Allen Center.