Experience of reading fiction for graduate professional education

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to discover the experience of graduate students who read fiction as part or all of the curriculum materials for a course in their program. This use of fiction has received attention in recent years as being an effective way to teach the ethical frameworks of individual professions and constructs such as empathy toward customers. While some results of quantitative course evaluations have been reported by professors who have used fiction in the classroom, this study seeks to examine the students' experience more closely.

Phenomenology is a research paradigm where the goal is to discover the essence of a particular experience for those who live it. A phenomenological research and analysis model defined by Clark Moustakas (1994) was used as the methodological basis for this study. Data for the study was generated from five in-depth interviews with students in a graduate library and information management program, and the interviews were transcribed and analyzed according to the steps outlined by Moustakas. These steps provided a very useful structure to the phenomenological research method.

Essences of the experience revealed through the data analysis process include the following six common themes: students identified with characters in the stories and thus learned from those characters' experiences; students made connections from theory to practice through events in fiction; students experienced a heightened emotional response to the material being studied through the use of fiction; students enjoyed reading the fiction; students felt the classroom discussion of the story was very important; and, students felt their learning was enhanced through the use of fiction.

The results of this study support increased use of stories in professional education. Through careful selection of fiction appropriate for the class topics and effective classroom discussion, professional learning can be extended and enhanced with this pedagogy.