In this course the student learns, on a critical, systematic and theoretical basis:
to demonstrate knowledge and insight into educational research methods with respect to their empirical and scientific theoretical bases
to analyse and assess selected educational studies and development projects
to explain, discuss and assess research design
to discuss and assess the design of educational research and development work within a relevant academic field.
How can the students discover for themselves that literary texts are read differently depending on the scientific theoretical approach taken – rather than the teacher just telling them that this is how it is? This is the motivation for using scientific theoretical approaches in text interpretation, which will create alternatives to the university’s traditional forms of instruction.
Activity | How | Why |
|---|---|---|
Introduction: A 10-minute summary of the content of the previous joint lecture: phenomenology, hermeneutics, methodical approaches to case studies and interviews. | Lecture with slides. The last slide shows the objectives of the session/activity and a programme outlining how the objectives are achieved. | Repetition of the scientific theoretical approaches creates a joint basis and a shared platform for reflection. |
| I show clips from a fictional film (Magnolia with Tom Cruise: the interview scene) and read extracts from The Seducer’s Diary by Søren Kierkegaard. | In the film clip the main character is interviewed. The character shares archetypical features with the Don Juan character. So does the character Johannes in The Seducer’s Diary. In this teaching context, the two types of fiction are paratexts. | The film clip sets the scene for a discussion of methodical considerations regarding case studies and interviews, as well as of phenomenology and hermeneutics. The Seducer’s Diary is an obvious example to include in a hermeneutic approach in which a historical eye for the Don Juan character is included in the hermeneutic partial/total discourse. |
| Division into groups: Assignment of a particular task for each group. | Group 1: Connect the interview with a phenomenological perspective or an actual phenomenological case study. | The students must use the scientific theoretical approach actively in a very concrete context. This creates a didactic key point in which academic conventions are brought into play in a creative manner. The students are instrumental in this, as is the cultural and trained experience they bring to the class. |
| Joint conversation. | The individual groups present their work in class, followed by a joint discussion. | In their joint exchange of reflections, the different ways of reading a text result in collective “aha” moments. The students experience how the same text is read differently from the perspectives of the other groups. |
The students themselves are the creators of the use of the Danish subject in a theoretical context. At the same time, they enter into dialogic reflection with the other students in class, and the interpretation examples of the other groups contribute to creating an understanding of the correlation between theory and subject – in accordance with the objective of the activity.
The students acquire an understanding of key concepts and uses of hermeneutics in humanities research, with a special focus on educational studies. They learn to connect hermeneutics with their studies of Danish and discover that the same literary text may be read differently, depending on the scientific theoretical framework applied when reading it. The activity may be used in many different methodical contexts. I chose a dialogic approach with group work as including several voices increases the level of reflection.
