Research Project V: Inclusive Multilingual Creative Writing

Creativity is a central competence for shaping the future and was first measured by the OECD in 2022. However, how can linguistic creativity as a future competence be promoted among students?

For this purpose, Sara Hauser worked on a multilingual and multimodal Poetry Suitcase. This contains numerous materials that enable (prospective) teachers to design innovative and inclusive literary learning and writing processes with students in non-gymnasial contexts. Young people should be encouraged to express themselves artistically by contributing all their (linguistic) potential. Thus, the project Inclusive Multilingual Creative Writing aims to promote and appreciate the linguistic competencies of multilingual students (KMK 2013:3).

The development of the Poetry Suitcase has been part of Sara Hauser's design-based research promotion project since May 2024, which aims to initiate and reflect on multilingual creative writing processes by designing an inclusive writing setting in secondary education with the help of poetic scaffolds.

The goal was to differentiate a writing setting with didactic materials that were tested in several cycles and adapted – with the inclusion of feedback from students, students, and teachers.

Material drafts and exercises for the first prototype of the Poetry Suitcase were developed and tested by Sara Hauser from 2019 to 2024 as a writing coach with 224 students from various school types, with the two mini-books "Wo mein Herz ist" and "Fuck(ed) Up" already being created. These texts are part of the future suitcase.

Prof. Dr. Winnie-Karen Giera and Jas Veeh will transfer further material drafts in 2025 in a co-constructive process with students of the University of Potsdam, teachers, students, and graphic designers in school-university collaborations into a second prototype of the Poetry Suitcase.

The following research questions are the focus of the exploratory field study:

•          How should a poetry kit be designed with a manual for the guidance and implementation of a multilingual creative writing setting, so that students, teachers, and educational professionals can conduct the writing setting independently?

•          What adaptations of the suitcase and handbook, based on feedback from students and instructors, are necessary so that the material can be used by (future) instructors and educators?

•          What adaptation options for the manual can be derived from the students' feedback?

•          What adaptation possibilities of the manual can be derived from the lesson observations?

To answer the research questions, reflection journals from prospective teachers, student reflections, observation protocols from students and academic staff, as well as interviews with teachers will be evaluated using qualitative content analysis. Two cycles are conducted in the university context and in the school context.

The potential of the project Inclusive Multilingual Creative Writing and its Poetry Suitcase has also been recognized outside of the department: The idea of the Poetry Suitcase was awarded the FöWiTec Innovation Fund in December 2024 (see gallery below). The funds provided by Potsdam Transfer and the UP Transfer GmbH enable innovative projects to transfer research work into practical application. In this context, the idea of the Poetry Suitcase was distinguished in the area of "Societal Transfer".

How can linguistic creativity be promoted as a future skill in students? For this purpose, Sara Hauserwas working on a multilingual and multimodal Poetry Suitcase. This contains numerous materials that are intended to enable (prospective) teachers to design innovative and inclusive literary learning and writing processes with students. Through the use of all their (linguistic) potential, adolescents should be encouraged to express themselves artistically and to feel empowered in their self-efficacy.

The potential of this project was also recognized outside the department. We are very pleased that the Poetry Suitcase was awarded within the framework of the FöWiTec Innovation Fund.

On 10 December 2024, Prof. Dr. Winnie-Karen Giera and Sara Hauser accepted the award from the President of the University of Potsdam, Prof. Oliver Günther, Ph.D., in the Science Floor of the Potsdam Education Forum.

The funds provided by Potsdam Transfer and the UP Transfer GmbH enable up to 5 innovative projects annually to transfer research work into practical application. In this context, the idea of the Poetry Suitcase was awarded in the "Societal Transfer" category.

Material drafts and exercises for the first prototype of the Poetry Suitcase were developed and tested by Sara Hauser from 2019 to 2024 as a writing coach with 224 students from various school types, with the two mini-books "Wo mein Herz ist" and "Fuck(ed) Up" already being created. These texts are part of the future suitcase. Prof. Dr. Winnie-Karen Giera and Jas Veeh will further material drafts in a co-constructive process with  students of the University of Potsdam, teachers, students, and graphic designers in school-university collaborations transfer into a prototype of the Poetry Suitcase in 2025. In addition to financing the material costs, the FöWiTec grant enables the employment of a student assistant who will support the project until March 2026.