From theoretical construct to learning material, from learning to teaching and learning, and the bottom lines: perceived and measured quality

The KiDM-project (Quality in Danish and Mathematics) was a large-scale intervention project (172 schools) that aimed to develop, operationalize, and test inquiry-based approaches to teaching literature and mathematics. In Danish (L1) an inquiry-based approach was developed based on a phenomenological framework and existing research on various aspects of literary teaching, inferences, dialogues, and literary interpretation. The approach was tested in three rounds of randomized controlled trials (RCT), and to gain a deeper understanding of teachers’ and students’ use of the learning materials created for the intervention interviews, observations and surveys were carried out. In this presentation, we wish to reflect on different aspects and perspectives of designing learning materials for teaching literature in grades 7-8 i Denmark. First, we will present the principles of our approach to teaching literature. Secondly, we will present a series of dilemmas. The dilemmas are associated with designing learning materials for teaching interpretation of open works of fiction and the logic of the RCT: • How can we scaffold students’ inquiry of ambiguous texts without closing the texts? • How do we support the teacher in facilitating student inquiry and classroom dialogue in ways that are sensitive to both the ambiguity of the texts but also respects the text base? • How can we establish a rather homogeneous intervention that is implemented with a high degree of fidelity for the measurement of effect in the RCT-study, whilst giving room for teacher scope of action and reflection? Our answer to these dilemmas we will term guided openness. Thirdly, we will present the results of the RCT-study.