The Intervention – Synthesising Theory into Practice
The first part of the AR methodology cycle consisted of a development phase that produced an age appropriate Intervention building on the theories underpinning SR encounters as described in the previous Chapters. It considered the findings from my school-based reconnaissance investigation which I undertook before the start of this research project. The Intervention design was developed in collaboration with the
Cambridge Interfaith Programme who have delivered SR programs amongst adults in the UK for over a decade and are key stake holders in this research project. Working
together provided a mutually supportive collaboration which drew on the skills and insights from practitioners in both the delivery of SR programs and primary RE. Together we were able to combine the theory and translate it into activities suitable to match the interests and abilities of primary pupils. A copy of the first Story Tent
Intervention can be found in Appendix B. It has also been reported in more detail in RE Today (Moseley, 2017a) and also on the CIP website in the form of a blog entry
(Moseley, 2017b)
We wanted to ensure the scripture texts reflected an accurate interpretation of the stories being used. To this end we drew on the experience of other faith representatives who were consulted in this developmental stage to ensure the texts maintained the integrity of the faith tradition. Since initial work carried out by the CIP revolved around the
Abrahamic traditions it was a natural extension to build the Intervention around the Christian, Jewish and Muslim faith traditions. We initially wanted to choose a story that would be significant to the different perspectives and which would provide a context for pupils to explore the differences and similarities found in the three sacred texts. There were many different stories we could have selected that would have been suitable, but
Noah was the one voted most popular amongst my class before the Intervention took place.
The name “Story Tent” was selected as it reflected the Jewish concept of “Mishkan” or
tabernacle; a portable sanctuary and spiritual centre for the community. We planned to use a gazebo tent to create a focal point for telling the stories as a physical representation of a portable shared sacred space.
The Intervention reflected the recommendations of the RE Council outlined in the RE Review (Religious Education Council, 2013) and particularly aimed to address two of its objectives:
Aii) to help pupils to identify, investigate and respond to questions posed, and responses offered by some of the sources of wisdom found in religions and worldviews and
Cii) to enquire about what enables different individuals and communities to live together respectfully for the wellbeing of all. (Religious Education Council, 2013: 14-15)
I also drew on the concept of Story and Narrative as a basis to deliver the Intervention. Mayer in his book “Narrative Politics”, had suggested that there was a strong cognitive dimension to learning through narrative. The story structure enabled pupils to relate the familiar with the unfamiliar and create meaning from the process.
Narrative turns out to be a powerful cognitive tool. By translating experience into the code of a story - with plot, and character and meaning – we make the unfamiliar familiar, the chaotic orderly, and the incomprehensible meaningful. (Mayer, 2014: 66)
He suggested that as people apply basic narrative constructs they overlay these on personal experiences. Through the hermeneutical process of interpretation, pupils apply new information to past experiences and extract meaning from the story. The story becomes more than just the words expressed externally and takes on a new form
internally as pupils look out for features that match their experiences, fill in the gaps in their imagination, and expand their understanding. Mayer hypothesises that this creates a mental codification or schema which encompasses details beyond the literal description. Each new piece of information refines the plot, context and characters in the mind through the process of relating similarities and differences and applying them to the new. It is through this process of relating and interpreting he argues, that new meanings and understandings can be constructed. This hermeneutical dimension makes it useful in developing ICC, particularly those skills involved with interpreting and relating new insights.
Whilst this schema formation can provide a helpful aid to learning, it can also present challenges as prejudiced attitudes and stereotypes can become embedded if left
unchallenged. To address this issue, we provided a faith representative to act as a guide to the story, which not only ensured an authentic representation of the story but also challenged such stereotypes.
This model of working alongside another to support learning and understanding has been developed by Vygotsky (1978). He argues that whilst some knowledge is innate, higher order learning takes place through social interaction. When pupils work alongside another who knows more about the subject under investigation they can be led into a place of deeper understanding than they could working alone.
Vygotsky identifies the Zones of Proximal Development (ZPD) as the optimal point of learning. Through a structured encounter with someone with additional knowledge, often a teacher or adult, he argued that pupils could be supported in developing new understanding at a point which is just beyond their comfort zone but not too far outside to feel uncomfortable or stressed. If pupils were too familiar with the learning material, they do not gain new knowledge; alternatively, if material is too demanding pupils feel
stretched and stressed and do not engage with the learning. The ZPD was entered through a process of scaffolding, where pupils are taken out of their comfort zone and challenged by another to expand their understanding whilst remaining in a receptive state. The use of faith representatives as facilitators provided the pupils with this type of supportive scaffolding.
Bartlett (1932) made a link between narrative and memory indicating that the use of narrative can help embed new information in the memory. In his UK-based research, he asked participants to read a story and then rewrite it based on memory over a period of months. What he found was that over time participants remembered the main ideas but in a shorter form and that elements were both lost and gained. He also found that elements that were unfamiliar were changed to make sense of it within their own culture. His schema theory suggested that memory was an active reconstructive process
influenced by past experiences and understanding of personal worldviews which had an impact on attitudes.
Bartlett demonstrated that we most readily recall our “attitude” towards past events, not just the
actual events. We then construct a story whose point and meaning justifies our remembered
attitude. What we remember, it seems, is the story that “should” have happened, not what really
did. (Mayer, 2014: 68)
This might suggest that the use of story has the potential to impact attitudes; that, if challenged in sensitive ways, the story could help reframe attitudes and prejudices to bring about change.
Stories also provided a place for identity to be explored as they can help us to locate ourselves in the world; as we relate to the characters, we become more self-aware of our relation to others. We identify with some characters and imagine what it would be like to
respect to the self and trying to see the world from a different perspective. This enables a review of who one is, with possibility of repositioning oneself to take on a different view. This can pose a threat to personal identity if the subject matter creates too much
dissonance between the imagined and the real, but the reflexive cycle of interacting with a different position can enhance identity negotiation as described by Ting-Toomey (2015).
This concept of identity can be taken beyond the space of the personal and into the wider public spaces of local communities, religions, ideologies and culture. Cultures are not static organisations and, whilst functionalists may argue that history is being
constantly reinvented and those with a more conservative outlook hold on to the notion that culture is timeless and independent of any institutional accommodation, SR allows the free space to move beyond the dualistic viewpoint and find a third way which can allow “both/and” to be held together. These spaces provide opportunities to explore
“who we are” and “who I am.”