Teaching poetry using Instagram: An international, interdisciplinary study with adolescents mobilizing literacy and the arts

Authors

  • Dr. Amélie Lemieux University of Montreal
  • Dr. Georgina Barton University of Southern Queensland, Australia
  • Dr. David Lewkowich University of Alberta
  • Dr. Boyd White McGill University
  • Dr. Stephanie Ho St. George's School of Montreal

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.20360/langandlit29694

Keywords:

adolescents, Instagram, InstaPoetry, Museums, art galleries, literature, arts, COVID-19

Abstract

Young people engage daily with various social media platforms to communicate with each other across the globe. Adolescents not only share text, but also use images and sound to express themselves on platforms such as Instagram and TikTok to provide access to user-created content. The recent emergence of InstaPoetry—poetry with images on Instagram—has been part of such communication and provides a good entry point into adolescents’ engagement with literature and the arts. Limited research exists, however, on how this literate practice, paired with virtual and in-person museum visits, influences young people’s self-expression. In this article, we offer ways of integrating and involving these dynamic dimensions into research projects based on four sites of inquiry located in Canada and Australia. Funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, this research project provides concrete avenues to investigate teachers’ methods to foster adolescents’ engagement with literature and the arts (i.e., contextual design, procedures, environment) in (post) COVID-19 times.

Author Biographies

Dr. Amélie Lemieux, University of Montreal

Amélie Lemieux, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor at the University of Montreal’s Faculty of Education, in the Department of Teaching and Learning. Her research interests include: reading research, literature teaching, and multimodality, all informed by critical social justice epistemologies and posthumanist perspectives. Her work has been published in such journals as Reading Research Quarterly. Literacy, Professional Development in Education, Discourse, Language Arts, and British Journal of Educational Technology

Dr. Georgina Barton, University of Southern Queensland, Australia

Georgina Barton is a Professor in the School of Education at the University of Southern Queensland, Australia. At USQ, she is the discipline lead for literacy and pedagogy and has experience as an Acting Head of School and Deputy Head of School as well as Associate Head - Research and Program Director in education. She has taught English, literacy, and arts education courses in both primary and secondary pre-service teacher programs. Research areas include literacies, modalities, arts education and international education. She has utilised a number of research methodologies and methods including ethnography, arts-based research methods, case study and narrative. She has over 150 publications including 14 books, 40 book chapters, 70 peer-reviewed journal articles, and a number of reports impacting policy development.

Dr. David Lewkowich, University of Alberta

David Lewkowich is Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Alberta, Canada. His research interests include teacher education and identity, adolescence, popular culture, cultural studies, young adult literature, psychoanalytic theory, noise-making, comics and graphic novels, and the emotional, affective lives of education.

Dr. Boyd White, McGill University

Boyd White (Ph. D. Concordia University), Associate Professor in the Department of Integrated Studies in Education, Faculty of Education, McGill University (retired as of Aug 31, 2023). Teaching and research interests are in the areas of philosophy and art education, particularly on the topic of aesthetic engagement, both within and beyond formal education. While his particular focus continues to be on the visual arts, Dr. White has broadened the scope of his research into the other arts areas as well, such as in fiction and poetry and their potential to inform and respond to visual culture. Dr. White is the author of numerous journal articles, has chapters in various texts, and has authored, co-authored or co-edited six books, including Mapping Reactions for Holistic Learning: An Introductory Guide to Aesthetigrams. Peter Lang. Co-author: Amélie Lemieux (2017).

Dr. Stephanie Ho, St. George's School of Montreal

Stephanie Ho, PhD, is a practicing English Language Arts teacher at a Montreal independent school. She completed a Bachelor of Arts with a specialization in English Literature from The University of British Columbia, and a Master of Arts in Teaching and Learning with a focus on ELA education from McGill University. Her research interests include qualitative research, arts-based pedagogies, critical pedagogies, and literature studies.

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Published

2024-10-22

How to Cite

Lemieux, A., Barton, G., Lewkowich, D., White, B., & Ho, S. (2024). Teaching poetry using Instagram: An international, interdisciplinary study with adolescents mobilizing literacy and the arts. Language and Literacy, 26(3), 52–74. https://doi.org/10.20360/langandlit29694

Issue

Vol. 26 No. 3 (2024): Special Issue: Literacy Teachers Navigating Turbulent Times in Canada.

Section

Article

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