Verse and voice: A guide for poetic inquiry in transformative educational research

Abstract

Our study offers an example of teaching poetic inquiry. This arts-based methodology employs poetry for data generation, analysis, and representation in a doctoral-level introduction to qualitative research class. By illustrating this process through two student projects, we present poetic inquiry as a pedagogical tool, integrating conventional methods with innovative approaches. Poetic inquiry uniquely captures the emotional and affective dimensions of human experience that often elude conventional academic prose, offering researchers a powerful tool to explore and communicate lived experiences. By engaging both the intellect and emotions, poetic inquiry addresses complex, affective domains with a depth and resonance that conventional methods may miss. Our study first provides an overview of poetic inquiry, including the history, form, theoretical underpinnings, purpose, and criticism. We then illustrate how the the qualitative methods course facilitated poetic inquiry through two separate research projects: one focused on participating in robotics-based extracurriculars as a girl and the other on the career success of a black man. We highlight the pedagogical strategies employed to help students explore this methodology by detailing the facilitation process. Finally, we situate our work within the broader discourse of poetic inquiry. Through the reflection on the learning experience in poetic inquiry of two doctoral students, we demonstrate and advocate for the transformative potential of poetic inquiry in capturing and expressing the nuances of human experience, demonstrating its transformative potential in both teaching and research contexts.