A Self-Study of My Parallel Journey of Unlearning and Relearning Using Blackout Poetry in a Literature Didactics Module

Abstract

ABSTRACT As a teacher educator of literature methodology in Mauritius, this arts-based self-study is rooted in the need to improve my professional practice. It emanated from a critical incident during the COVID pandemic when I used blackout poetry during an online synchronous session with in-service teachers for a Postgraduate Certificate in Education. The data production tools for this self-study include my own blackout poem, a reflection on the critical incident and an autobiographical resume. In addition, I engaged in dialogic discussion with the in-service teachers who served as critical friends. These tools empowered me to reflect on how I use blackout poetry as a creative writing activity and as a form of poetic inquiry with in-service teachers as andragogic learners. It also provided me with the opportunity to learn how I could become more empathetic to the learning experiences of in-service teachers. The thematic analysis revealed that the blackout poetry activity had not been fully optimized for creative and reflective purposes. First, there was the misassumption that this activity would interest the in-service teachers and intrinsically motivate them to engage in deep reflection and dialogic discussion. Second, I had overlooked temporal and technological challenges faced by in-service teachers. Lastly, the inability to align andragogic (adult learning) theory and practice and renegotiate learning expectations impeded the in-service teachers’ learning experiences. This study thus valorizes how reflexive blackout poems, alongside other data production tools, can contribute to the unlearning and relearning of teacher educators to better teach adult learners.