One goal of engaging in social justice education is to recognize how systems of inequity and injustice are perpetuated in our world, how each individual’s intersecting identities position them along the spectrum of power and privilege, and how individuals can affect inequality within society. At the onset of this lesson study cycle, our team decided to focus on the social justice standard related to empathy and respecting diversity. The fifth grade class where we conducted the lesson were in the midst of a memoir project in which they were writing about their experiences within their school. The lesson study team saw an opportunity for students to reflect on their own and others’ identities and understand how our experiences are related to our various intersecting identities. Furthermore, we wanted to support students in using this understanding of difference to build connection, develop empathy and recognize power and privilege associated with some identity markers. Our hope was that at the end of the lesson, the students would have begun to develop some critical consciousness about how identity and experience are related. Throughout our research, two key themes emerged related to social justice education and developing empathy, including (1) Storytelling as a means to engage with social justice topics, and (2) Dialogical learning as an opportunity for students to co-construct meaning. I will discuss each of these themes in this paper.
Storytelling Kesler et al. (2020) posit that an ideal way to teach social justice within an elementary classroom is through storytelling. Choosing stories that deal with topics related to identity and equity can increase students’ understanding of social justice issues and increase their awareness of social inequities. Students develop a critical consciousness of injustice as they reflect on characters whose experiences differ from their own because of inequitable systems of power and privilege (Kesler et al. 2020; Hibbin 2016). Social justice read alouds are also an opportunity to engage students in dialogue, questioning, perspective taking, and role playing as ways to build empathy and awareness across identity groups. By selecting books about social justice issues related to the students’ own experience, students are able to grapple with what is fair and unfair in our world. Additionally, when students are given opportunities to retell stories in their own way, they are given the chance to renarratarize their lives, meaning that students can draw parallels between the character’s struggles and their own experiences, thus allowing “children to utilise an ‘averted gaze’ to address emotional issues” (Hibbin, 2016, p. 223). There are also opportunities for students to build empathy through storytelling. According to Hibben, “emotional literacy is fostered by oral storytelling through ‘empathy with the characters, identification’ and having to perceive the story through the eyes of all the different protagonists” (Hibbin, 2016, p.224).
While Kesler et al., promote book read-alouds as the ideal way to engage students in social justice topics, others suggest that oral storytelling not only offers an access point to delve into social justice, but also offers additional benefits for identity formation and empathy building (Hibbin, 2016). Oral storytelling is more interactive and communicative because it is inherently social (Hibbin, 2016). Whereas, reading from a book is scripted and static, oral storytelling is dynamic and the storyteller adapts and responds to feedback from the listeners. The listeners in turn can ask questions and participate in the story. This is important because it engages the students as active participants in their learning and disperses the power within the classroom (Hibbin, 2016). One thing is clear: through both oral storytelling and social justice read-alouds, students explore their own identities as they hear about characters with similar experiences and struggles (Kesler et al., 2020; Hibbin, 2016). When utilized properly, storytelling provides opportunities for elementary students to better understand themselves and others, grapple with their feelings about difficult topics, and reflect on where they fit into society. Aside from introducing social justice issues, one of the primary benefits of storytelling is that they create opportunities for dialogic discourse about important topics (Kesler et al., 2020).
Dialogic Learning
Stories and storytelling provide opportunities for students to engage in dialogue with each other about social justice issues and build empathy (Kesler et al., 2020; Hibbin, 2016) Learning is social in nature and dialogic structures support the cognitive development of young children due to the relationship between language and cognition (Alexander, 2018; Vygotsky, 1978). Similarly, Friere (1970) claims that a person cannot think or learn without others. We bring our understanding of the world to every piece of text we encounter and interpret that text based on our individual prior knowledge (Freire, 1970). It is precisely this unique understanding of the world that allows for a rich co-construction of knowledge to take place during dialogic learning. According to Nagda et al. (2007), dialogue is unique from other forms of common classroom communication such as discussion and debate in that “dialogue aims to foster empathetic connection, understanding through inquiry, and mutual respect,” (Nagda et al., 2007, p. 37). Through dialogue, students are pushed to think more deeply and understand others’ perspectives, as well as the underlying assumptions of those perspectives (Nagda et al., 2007). There is immense value in the co-construction of knowledge. Exploratory talk is a form of dialogic learning where students engage “critically but constructively with each other’s ideas” (Kesler et al., 2020, p.210). As they verbally process social justice topics together, they practice interthinking, or collective thinking, that ultimately leads to deeper understanding of the issues and each other. This was demonstrated during our lesson as students discussed the themes that they noticed in the stories they had listened to. Utilizing dialogic learning structures also shifts the power dynamic of the classroom and places more agency in the hands of the students. Some of the most important and meaningful learning happens when students are able to express their interpretations as they arise and teachers respond genuinely and build off of students in-the-moment interactions. (Kesler et al., 2020). During dialogic exchanges, “teachers genuinely share authority with children, promoting reciprocal, conversational exchanges that generate new perspectives, active listening, and collaborative thinking with the text” (Kesler et al., 2020, p. 208). Utilizing dialogic structures where students’ contributions are valued in the classroom creates a strong, connected class community, a key facet of any culturally responsive teaching practice (Hammond, 2014). Similarly, Alexander (2018) presents dialogic teaching as the inverse of I-R-E or the initiate-respond-evaluate structure of talk common in classrooms, that inevitably places the focus on the teacher. Alexander (2018) notes that the ways in which the teacher engages and facilitates talk is important as it decides whether students are expected to take ownership over their own thinking and learning. The democratization of the classroom that takes place when students are given a real voice is empowering and leads to deeper learning.
Conclusion
This research has solidified the importance of dialogue in my own classroom. We have to not only “let” kids work collaboratively and construct meaning together, but ensure that we are creating opportunities for them to interact with each other on a deep level. Our students arrive in our classrooms with diverse backgrounds and experiences. While engaging with social justice topics through dialogic learning, not only do they learn to unpack their own ideas, they have opportunities to see the differing perspectives and viewpoints of those with different identities and experiences than their own. Through these interactions, students build connection, and develop empathy. We as educators are able to guide students to deeper conversions about why our experiences and perspectives might differ and ultimately to recognize the power and privilege at play in our society.
Reference List
Alexander, R. (2018). Developing dialogic teaching: Genesis, process, trial. Research Papers in Education, 33(5), 561-598. Hammond, Z. (2014). Culturally responsive teaching and the brain: Promoting authentic engagement and rigor among culturally and linguistically diverse students (pp. 142-151). Corwin Press.
Hibbin, R. (2016). The psychosocial benefits of oral storytelling in school: developing identity and empathy through narrative. TECHNOLOGY, PEDAGOGY AND EDUCATION, 34 (4), 218–231.Kesler, T., Mills, M., & Reilly, M. (2020). I hear you: Teaching social justice in interactive read-aloud. Language Arts, 97(4), 207-222.
Nagda, B. R. A., & Gurin, P. (2007). Intergroup dialogue: A critical-dialogic approach to learning about difference, inequality, and social justice. Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.