Apprenticing Towards Deeper Learning in the ELA Classroom: Using Young Adult Literature to Support Students’ Mastery, Identity, and Creativity

This weeks contributors

At Dr. Bickmore's YA Wednesday we love it when professors work together with there students to produce interesting work. Today Dr. Julianna Lopez Kershen from Oakllahoma University demonstrates work with three Undergraduate students. What great work. 

Her students: Nynke Wimp -- Undergraduate researcher
Evie Kershen -- Undergraduate researcher
Katy Rodger -- Undergraduate researcher

l to r: Nynke Wimp, Julianna Kershen, and Evie Jackson

​Julianna Lopez Kershen is an Assistant Professor at the Jeannine Rainbolt College of Education at the University of Oklahoma in the Instructional Leadership and Academic Curriculum department. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on the topics of English language arts and literacy education, instructional improvement, and curriculum studies.
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Dr. Kershen earned her Ed.D. in Education Policy, Leadership, and Instructional Practice from Harvard University. As editor of the Oklahoma English Journal, Julianna was awarded the journal affiliate editorial award as a National Council of Teachers of English Journal of Excellence. Previously, Julianna has worked as a researcher, university lecturer, high school English language arts teacher and district-level administrator in Oklahoma and Massachusetts. Julianna is a National Board Certified teacher in Adolescence/Young adult English language arts and received a Fulbright Teacher Scholar Fellowship for study in Tanzania and Kenya
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Apprenticing Towards Deeper Learning in the ELA Classroom: Using Young Adult Literature to Support Students’ Mastery, Identity, and Creativity
by
Nynke Wimp, Julianna Kershen, Evie Jackson, and Katy Rogers

​In their book, In Search of Deeper Learning: The Quest to Remake the American High School, Jal Mehta & Sarah Fine (2019) explore how innovative public schools in the United States are attempting to engage students in sustained, deep, and meaningful learning. Mehta and Fine compare their findings to the typical learning interactions experienced by high school students around the country: test-driven coursework and assignments, discreet and siloed content learning, and a lack of connection between learning in school and learning within local communities. Their research drew inspiration from and expanded the American Institutes for Research Study of Deeper Learning (SDL) investigation, began in 2012 and funded by the Hewlett Foundation, to compare student and teacher experiences between schools identified as “deeper learning” schools and a set of “traditional” control schools. The Study of Deeper Learning collected data between 2012-2020 with teams of researchers producing a series of studies, reports, and policy papers, and later partnering with the American Educational Research Association in support of research fellowships for early career education scholars. 

Similarly, Mehta and Fine interviewed teachers and administrators, shadowed students, and spent over 750 hours inside 30 different high schools, collecting data to inform their work. Ultimately, their book focused on four different schools (all identified through pseudonyms): No Excuses High, Dewey High, IB High, and Attainment High School. Of the many standout findings from both studies, our team notes this one: researchers have yet to discover a high school that is a perfect example of deeper learning. However, within many schools there are pockets of learning opportunities, crafted by teachers and community partnerships, in which students experience the three identifying characteristics reflective of deeper learning: (1) mastery driven, interdisciplinary and content-rich inquiry; (2) student-centered, collaborative study that supports students’ identities as capable scholars; and (3) authentic, critical- and creativity-based projects. 

​Taken together, the many investigations into the Study of Deeper Learning data set and the work of Mehta and Fine advocate for policy and practice shifts that would expand deeper learning opportunities. Our own work has focused on extensive reading of published literature investigating the three aspects of deeper learning (i.e., mastery, identity, and creativity), in particular, studying project-based learning and the ways in which pre-service teachers can learn how to engage future students in project- and problem-based inquiry. To achieve more deeper learning opportunities for all students, schools must move away from traditional rote learning and explicitly adopt inquiry-driven models of learning. School schedules must shift to accommodate more flexible learning opportunities, create and support interdisciplinary teams, revise grading practices, and create more than cursory partnerships with community partners. These kinds of institutional and instructional changes are challenging. Indeed, state and district responses to recent NAEP scores wherein declines in reading and math were steep (National Assessment Governing Board; National Assessment of Educational Progress) serve as data for policy decisions to double down on testing preparation and “personalized” learning. 

​Those decisions often translate into more rote learning and individual, and increasingly screen-based interactions, in which students are less likely to collaborate on weeks-long projects driven by their own research questions and immersed in reading, writing, creating, making, and solving. Under the Common Core, students are more likely to be engaged in reading short-form text excerpts (Sacks, 2019), answering discreet-answer questions, and focused on practices aimed at “skill-building,” but divorced from in-depth collaborative learning involving creative making and critical thinking. In addition, in many states, recent legislation and censorship efforts highlight the precarity educators face when provisioning instruction and learning opportunities that forward students’ identity development. We know from decades of research (e.g., Bondy & Ross, 2008; Esteban-Guitart & Moll, 2014; Mohammad, 2020; Ware, 2006) that students are more likely to succeed academically when they feel their identities are valued as assets in the classroom, and when their funds of familial, linguistic, cultural, and community knowledge are leveraged as strengths. As educators, we should not retreat from the progress we have made towards accessible, culturally relevant and responsive education (Ladson-Billings, 1995; Saucedo & Jimenez, 2021) that partners with learners, parents, and guardians. We should continue to change as teachers to shift from information providers to mentors and facilitators of learning.

What does transformative change in American High Schools have to do with YA Literature?

​If you’ve read this far, then you may be asking, why are we writing about deeper learning and our belief that educators must continue to push for transformative change in American high schools for Dr. Bickmore’s young adult literature blog?

​Really, it’s simple. As English language arts teachers we are positioned with the enormous power and responsibility to be the brokers of literature and philosophy, of creative writing and rhetorical study. It is in our classrooms that we can place poems that inspire in the hands of youth. We can challenge students to identify the issues that matter to them, teach them how to research ethically and carefully, and to write arguments that are sent to elected officials, community newspapers, and blogposts. And, importantly: we are equipped to push back against the war for attention being waged by our digital lives and screen-based technologies. In our classrooms we can invite students to rebuild their attention through face-to-face engagement and the reading of novels, collections of poetry and short stories, important speeches, plays, and nonfiction of all forms. 

Mehta and Fine (2019) emphasize that meaningful learning is both cognitive and emotional, and that it requires both short- and long-term engagement. Deeper learning is the result of meaningful, interactive learning that thrives in both individual and social contexts. Mehta and Fine assert that deeper learning flourishes in environments where students are encouraged to take ownership of their education and apply their knowledge in meaningful ways. They also acknowledge that to be successful in the 21st century world it requires a lot more than basic academic knowledge and skills. Since the release of generative artificial intelligence platforms in November 2022 this acknowledgment is even more true. We argue that to “AI-proof” ELA assignments, teachers need to design and implement more project-based learning with authentic performances and assessments. This won’t be easy, and we can’t do it alone. But by embracing these principles, schools can create richer, more engaging educational experiences that prepare students not just for tests, but for life.

Metha and Fine challenge us to build humanities classrooms that move beyond passive knowledge acquisition. Teachers must develop student’s knowledge and skill in a content domain (mastery), become deeply and personally invested in that domain (identity), and actively construct and create something new in that domain instead of receiving knowledge passively (creativity) (Metha & Fine, 2019, p. 366). How might we go about doing this? As mentioned earlier our team is studying how preservice teachers develop the skills, confidence, and dispositions to engage in ambitious teaching. In addition to this work, our peers have been using project-based learning and inquiry-based learning approaches to frame text selection and lesson planning. 

Listed below are popular, commonly known YA novels, along with essential questions that can be utilized to guide planning as well as classroom discussion, and ideas for companion projects.

The Suggestions

Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley (identity & creativity)

How do we reclaim stories and artifacts to protect cultural identity and prevent erasure?
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Project ideas: Interview community members about cultural heritage and preservation/create a digital exhibit about indigenous artifacts and their journeys

​The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (identity)

How can young people use their voices to challenge injustice and create change?
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Project ideas: Create something about youth activism (poem, short film, podcast)/design a social justice campaign addressing a local issue

​Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes and Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans by Don Brown  (identity, creativity, mastery)
How can individuals and communities transform adversity into strength and empowerment?
Project ideas: Studying urban development and environmental justice, history of redlining and neighborhood segregation (Kershen, 2024)

​Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (mastery & creativity)

How do books, ideas, and knowledge shape our identities and understanding of the world?
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Project ideas: Create a portfolio of the ideas and knowledge they have gained from books, films, music, and people

​The Giver by Lois Lowry (mastery & identity)

How can we use our knowledge, point of view, and resources to combat adversity, and encourage others to do the same?
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Project idea: Have students work on visual art projects throughout the unit, slowly allowing them more colors and mediums as the main character learns more

​Nimona by N.D. Stevenson (identity & creativity)
How can we embrace complexity and contradictions within our own identities?
Project ideas: Create a project that highlights the many intersectionalities of our identity 

​Superman Smashes the Klan by Gene Luen Yang (identity & creativity)

How can we confront hate and celebrate identity through storytelling?
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Project idea: Create a graphic novel that highlights real world superheroes (activists, historical figures) who fought racism

References:

Bondy, E., & Ross, D. D. (2008). The teacher as warm demander. Educational Leadership, 66(1), 54-58.
Esteban-Guitart, M., & Moll, L. C. (2014). Funds of identity: A new concept based on the funds of knowledge approach. Culture & psychology, 20(1), 31-48.
Kershen, J. L. (2024) Exploring the Complexities of Environmental Disaster, Justice, and Racism in Ninth Ward. In K. M. Hinton & K. Chandler (Eds.). Teaching Black Speculative Fiction (pp. 1-15). Routledge.
Ladson-Billings, G. (1995). Toward a Theory of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy. American Educational Research Journal, 32(3), 465–491. https://doi.org/10.2307/1163320
Mehta, J., & Fine, S. (2019). In search of deeper learning: The quest to remake the American high school. Harvard University Press.
Muhammad, G. (2020). Cultivating Genius. Scholastic Incorporated.
National Assessment of Education Progress.
National Assessment Governing Board.
Ware, F. (2006). Warm demander pedagogy: Culturally responsive teaching that supports a culture of achievement for African American students. Urban education, 41(4), 427-456.