Collaborative, Multi-perspective Historical Writing: The Explanatory Power of a Dialogical Framework

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Published: Sep 12, 2019
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5195/dpj.2019.245
Keywords:
collaborative learning collaborative text writing Humanities dialogical theory discourse analysis mastery/appropriation dialogic relationship

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Yifat Ben-David Kolikant
Seymour Fox School of Education, Hebrew University, Israel
Sarah Pollack
Davidson Insitiute of Science Education, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel

Abstract

There is an increased interest within the history education community in introducing students to the multi-perspective and interpretative nature of history. When these educational goals are pursued within collaborative contexts, what are the relationships of individuals from conflicting groups with historical accounts that they produced as a group? How does the joint writing influence their historical understanding?  We analyzed the joint accounts produced by high-school Israeli students, Jews and Arab/Palestinians, who collaboratively investigated historical events related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Employing a thematic analysis and a Bakhtinian-inspired discourse analysis, we found that the joint texts were constructed of themes from both in-groups’ perspectives. The students constructed a dialogic relationship between these themes, which enabled them to legitimize the other’s voice, yet keep the voices unmerged. Additionally, although they never abandoned their in-group narratives, the joint account reflected a new, multi-perspective historical meaning of the historical event.

Article Details

How to Cite
Ben-David Kolikant, Y., & Pollack, S. (2019). Collaborative, Multi-perspective Historical Writing: The Explanatory Power of a Dialogical Framework. Dialogic Pedagogy: A Journal for Studies of Dialogic Education, 7. https://doi.org/10.5195/dpj.2019.245
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Vol. 7 (2019)
Section
Articles

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Author Biographies

Yifat Ben-David Kolikant, Seymour Fox School of Education, Hebrew University, Israel

Yifat Ben-David Kolikant is an associate professor in the Seymour Fox School of Education at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Dr. Ben-David Kolikant’s research focuses on examining the tripartite relationship of students, school learning, and technology in the information era. Mainly, her research revolves around two inter-related questions: (1) How does students’ knowledge of subjects outside of school impact on their school learning? And, (2) what pedagogies are suited to the information age and the needs of students and what role does technology play? Dr. Ben-David Kolikant holds a Ph.D. degree in science teaching from the Weizmann Institute of Science, received in 2002

Sarah Pollack, Davidson Insitiute of Science Education, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel

Sarah Pollack received her PhD from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. Her research interests focus on understanding learning processes in an ethno-politically based environment in order to devise an instructional model suitable in an age of pluralism, multiculturalism, and digitalism.

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