Poetry and dialogic learning

Abstract

This case report discusses the poetry initiative Poetry and Social Justice designed for a group of second-graders in an Austrian school to enhance their democratic, dialogic learning. The process involved collaboratively writing poems in 10 lessons of a semester. Students were encouraged to experience the sensory forms of learning and tacit knowledge and perform dialogically with their different voices. By experiencing poetry in multimodal ways, writing poems, and sharing them, they were able to modify the dialogs, responding to committed; respectful; and joyful communication. Students considered the multiple meanings the poems evoked through distinctive words and phrases, and the listening part of the process enabled them to get deeply acquainted with each other. These young poets explored trust and new modalities to express themselves through their words. Therefore, the classroom transformed into a space where the students and teachers engaged in the co-creation of democratic exchange and learning.