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Τιχκλινγ α Σλεεπινγ ∆ρα

γον
Τηε Λιτεραχψ ανδ Λεαρνινγ Πραχτιχεσ
οφ Ηαρρψ Ποττερ Φανσ

Anna Henning
TE 407 - Petrone
December 12, 2005
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Introduction
In 1997 the Harry Potter phenomenon began with the publication of Harry Potter and the
Philosopher’s (Sorcerer’s) Stone. Eight years, six books and four movies later the following of
Harry Potter and J. K. Rowling, his creator, has reached originally unthinkable proportions.
Children, teenagers and adults alike have become engrossed in the world of Harry Potter (HP)
and subsequently created a sub-culture of HP Fans.
Realizing the immense social impact the Harry Potter series has had here in America and
across the globe drove me to focus on teenaged HP Fans. One of the things that intrigued me
about the idea of focusing my mini ethnography on teen HP Fans was that fans who are teens
today were a part of the original child audience back in 1997. In many ways these kids have
grown-up on Harry Potter, which, at least for me, explained why some of the strongest HP Fans
are ages 15-19. Be that as it may this research will include all teenagers, ages 13-19, to get a true
sampling of the spectrum of teenagers who remain dedicated HP Fans.
The goal of this ethnographic research was to discover the literacy practices of HP Fans,
what one needs to acquire in order to be considered a “true” HP Fan and how new fans acquire
these necessities. To this end I pursued teen fans who gathered in the theater lines for “Harry
Potter and the Goblet of Fire.” I observed, interviewed, and participated in these movie-going
activities, always with the goal to define the literacy used by HP Fans. As I’ve delved further
into the literacy and learning practices of these fans, I’ve realized that I have, quite innocently,
disobeyed the motto of Hogwarts, which reads in English: “Never Tickle a Sleeping Dragon.”
Indeed the culture of HP fans is a much larger dragon than I could ever have imagined possible,
but then again dragons usually are.
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Research Methods
Research Site
The research for this ethnography took place at NCG Cinemas. This theater is a recent
addition to the suburban neighborhood, only about 5 years old. It boasts – “state of the art
screens, stadium seating, high back rocker seats, surround Dolby & DTS digital sound systems,”
and reasonable rates. Movies cost $7.50 for adults, $6.50 for students, $5.50 for seniors and
children, and $5.50 for matinees. There are two entrances into the theater, the main and the back
entrance. The main entrance faces the huge parking lot that can hold hundreds of vehicles. The
“back” entrance approaches the theater from the shopping center that blocks NCG from the main
road. This shopping center hosts stores and restaurants aimed at the middle to upper-middle
classes, featuring walkways and fountains that seem to give it a “resort town” sort of feel. The
theater matches the expectations set by this shopping center with its modern technology and
“cartoon-esque” facades.
Coming through the parking lot entrance one immediately encounters an empty area about
20 ft wide and 50 ft long. This space anticipates long ticket lines and room needed while parties
assemble their members. There are three benches in-between the doors and two rather large
aquariums full of tropical fish for waiters to observe. Since this entrance deals with most of the
customer traffic it presents patrons with 6 different ticket lines. Above the ticket counters (which
are not enclosed) stretch high boards that display banners of the movies “Now Showing” and,
below these, lists of show times. Just behind these counters, and into the main waiting area, are
two display ledges that sport huge movie ads that are usually 3-D. Other movie posters and 3-D
ads grace the walls of the rest of this waiting area, as well as two red-roped lines (one near each
wall) for especially long new releases lines. (These lines are where HP fans gathered for the
midnight showings.)
In the main waiting area patrons are met with a huge concession stand the size of a small
island. Patrons cannot help but see glass cases full of candy, freshly popping popcorn, pretzels,
cotton candy, etc. There are six lines in the front of the concession stand, and two in the back.
Customers are presented with high menus that display special combos in large print and colorful
pictures, while the prices of other items are considerably smaller and harder to locate. Moving
around the curving sides of the concession island are stations where people can flavor their
popcorn and fill their fountain drinks.
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Past the concessions one arrives at another open space. Here patrons face (directly in front
of them) the smaller “back entrance” that provides special theater-style seats for waiting patrons.
Directly above this smaller entrance (which is accessed by elevator or stairs) is a game room that
includes arcade games and picnic-style tables.
To either side of this entrance are the restrooms and past the restrooms on either side are
two halls, which lead to the theaters. Down each hallway there are 11 theaters. The walls of
these halls are lined with movie posters and 3-D ads, 25-cent candy machines, and restrooms.
The theaters themselves are two sizes, to accommodate for different size crowds. All have
stadium seats that customers reach by ascending stairways. There are also seats in front of the
stadium section (which is always at least 3 times bigger). These seats are closer to the screen
and but not stadium style.

Focal Group
It was in NCG that I pursued teen HP fans the night of the first-ever, midnight showings
since I knew this would be one of the rare time I would have public access to such a large
number of them. In general these are teens who have grown up reading the Harry Potter series,
seeing that the books first came out when they were the target age of roughly 10 years old. Most
have read the books numerous times, their dedication to the books ranging from talking excitedly
about the world of Harry Potter with friends before another book (or movie) comes out, to
writing fan fiction. The group I observed and surveyed ranged from 13-19, although there were
many fans older and younger present, which allowed me to see that I was focusing on a small
segment of the Harry Potter fan population. All but two of the fans I interviewed seemed to be
Caucasian, and considering the socioeconomic class that NCG tends to attract, I can assume they
were generally middle class. (These labels, by the way, could generalize about 99% of the fans
standing in either of the lines.)
I was surprised at how few costumed fans there were present—at the most a dozen were
fully decked out, wearing Hogwarts uniforms, dressed as particular characters, carrying brooms,
etc. There was a slightly larger percentage of the fan population sporting lighting “scars” on
their foreheads, or wearing H.P.-like glasses, or Gryffindor colored scarves (maroon and gold
striped). Interestingly enough the majority of the fans “dressed-to-impress” were among the
teenagers.
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Things that I found all fans had in common, minus the fact that most were from the same
racial and socioeconomic class, included a love of mystery, using their imaginations, reading,
magic (of course) and fantastical things in general. All seemed to love the escape into this
imagined world and enjoyed the animated discussions and debates it spurred. Finally all seemed
very much impressed with the talent of J.K. Rowling, her creativity and ability to write being
what most fans seemed to mean by “talent.”

Data Collection
It was thus, within the context of the NCG theater (my research site) and the gathering of
HP fans (my focal group) that the following data was collected. This data can be categorized
into three major types—field notes, interviews and outside research. In the context of this study
field notes were considered to be observations jotted down in a small notebook while observing
the focal group; interviews were considered to be brief question and answer sessions conducted
with members of the focal group; and outside research was considered to be any interaction with
the focal group outside of the research site, in this case most of this research was conducted
online. The outline below catalogues the data that was collected throughout the project.

Field Notes
- observations of the theater
o Nov. 11th I went to the movies and I took down notes later – 2 pages
o 30 minutes after interviewing on 11-17 – 2 pages
- observation of fans waiting in line
o 30 minutes before interviewing on 11-17 – 4 pages
- observation of fans during direct participation
o Nov.18th I went to see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and took down notes
after the experience – 3 pages
- total pages: 11 (in a small notebook)

Interviews
- asked teenagers and other fans a list of 12 questions (see Appendix A for a list of the
specific questions asked)
- I talked to a total of 40 fans. 32 of these fans were ages 11-19, 8 were 20-29.
- I spent about 2 hours interviewing fans.
- total pages: 14 (in small notebook and using “shorthand”)

Outside Research
- visited Harry Potter fan sites
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- websites included:
o www.mugglenet.com,
o www.jkrowling.com,
o www.hp-lexicon.org,
o www.floo-network.org,
o www.leakylounge.org/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi,
o www.dumbledoreisnotdead.com/introduction.html
- I spent a total of about 4 hours surfing these sites, reading the discussions, articles, facts,
etc.

Social Location of Researcher

The very first observations I made as a researcher took place simply when I scouted out
the theater. Although I’d been to NCG dozens of times before, observing and analyzing it from a
research perspective gave me a better sense of the atmosphere of the theater, and the social
requirements of the space. During this observation I was a part of the crowd, and wrote down
my thoughts after the fact.
During the first observation of the actual focal group I began as on outsider looking in. I
actually just sat on the edge of the display ledge, in front of the 3-D ad, and watched what people
were doing in line. After about 30 minutes, however, I decided to switch gears—I began
interviewing fans, inviting myself into their small circles on the floor. In general this switch to
interviewing made me seem like a reporter, although once conversations began I was able to join
in some of the fun as a “fan.” The final role that I took on was a patron myself when I went to
see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” at the same theater.
In general it was fortunate that I could consider myself a “fan” of Harry Potter. This made
it much easier to introduce myself to fellow fans and helped conversations to seem more natural.
I also could easily navigate the “lingo” of the Harry-Potter-world, which gave me better access to
the literacy practices (seeing that I could participate in them).

Pedagogical Location of Researcher

While the social space I occupied during the research had a great impact on the findings
of this project, my pedagogical relationship to the research was perhaps even more important.
Since the driving goal of this research was to discover what types of learning and literacy
practices happened within the focal group, it becomes necessary for one to understand my initial
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assumptions about learning and literacy before tackling the research itself. The research, in the
end, becomes increasingly coherent, as one understands the lens and methods that were used, for
better or worse, to gather and understand the data.

LEARNING
To begin with I brought with me the idea that learning is the acquisition of a particular
knowledge or skill that one has the ability to reuse, build upon and apply again and again.
Although this definition of learning has been a part of my understanding for a long time, it is one
that I’ve had occasion to reaffirm throughout my pre-service training. At an early age this view
of learning was solidified when I heard the proverb “Give a man a fish, he eats for a day; teach a
man to fish, he eats for a lifetime,” and could identify the distinction between taking a fish
someone else caught and being able to catch one’s own fish. Thus, for me, learning has
continued to be the process by which someone acquires the ability to “fish”, whatever fishing
may be within different contexts.
While my definition of learning has remained stable over the years, I have acquired a
variety of theoretical perspectives about learning that have helped me to better understand how
people learn. One of the theories that has most impacted my understanding of learning, and the
entire field of education, is Vygotsky’s concept of the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). In
their A Vision of Vygotsky, Wink and Putney explain Vygotsky’s ZPD saying that it is “a way of
viewing what children are coming to know” and a theory that sought to take into account ways
children (or in our case HP Fans) could perform tasks that surpassed their development if they
were given the proper guidance and support (86). This thought of “support” leads me into
another Vygotskian theory – that is, the more capable peer. The more capable peer as a concept
suggests that students can develop more quickly if they work with a peer who is at a slightly
higher developmental level. This concept became important when viewing fans because it gave
me a way to think about the relationships among the fans from a developmental standpoint.
Another Vygotskian concept that influenced my perception of the interactions among HP fans
was the idea of “scientific” and “spontaneous” concepts. As Wink and Putney explain that
“scientific concepts are those that are developed in a more formal, schooled concepts,” while
“spontaneous or everyday concepts . . . are those that emerge from the child’s (or fan’s) own
observations and experiences,”(91, 93).
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I’ve also been heavily influenced by Vygotsky’s overall theory of social cognition and
those theorists that follow after this tradition of thinking. Funderstanding.com briefly sums up
social cognition saying “a child's learning development is affected in ways large and small by the
culture--including the culture of family environment--in which he or she is enmeshed.” In the
end the view that learning takes place within the context of culture, and is therefore affected by
it, was important since the research I collected aimed to understand the practices of a sub-culture,
suggesting that HP fans work within, and are affected by, a larger, broader set of cultural
practices. Understanding the placement of the fans socially was important to me, especially
since I researched through a largely Vygotskian perspective of learning.
Besides the theories created by Vygotsky I have also been influenced by other educational
theory such as Bloom’s taxonomy. In his taxonomy Bloom separates the levels of learning into
six major categories: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and
evaluation. This affected my research because the use of these specific categories helped me to
sift through the various types of thinking and learning displayed by the HP fans I observed.
While this hierarchy of thought can perhaps seem a little rigid, I thought that it worked well in
balance with Vygosky’s theory of social cognition, the influence of which has already been
explained.
The final way of viewing learning that affected my research, at least that I’m aware of,
comes from a book entitled How People Learn edited by John D. Bransford, Ann L. Brown, and
Rodney R. Cocking. Chapter Six of this study, “The Design of Learning Environments,”
describes four types of learning environments that helped me to better understanding the
environment fans created. These environments include those that are “learner-centered” (which
“refer to environments that pay careful attention to the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and beliefs
that learners bring to the educational setting”); “knowledge-centered” (which “take seriously the
need to help students become knowledgeable (Bruner, 1981) by learning in ways that lead to
understanding and subsequent transfer”); “assessment-centered” (which “provide opportunities
for feedback and revision and that what is assessed must be congruent with one's learning
goals”); and “community-centered” (which recognize “the degree to which environments are
community centered is also important for learning. Especially important are norms for people
learning from one another and continually attempting to improve.”). While the study recognizes
that these various components of learning environments are each vital to the experience of the
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learner, the specific categories help to discuss particular qualities that may be more prevalent in
certain learning environments.

LITERACY
Unlike my perspective of learning, which I was able to define early on in life, the way in
which I define literacy has transformed drastically over my pre-service training at the university.
Throughout this time my concept of literacy has broadened past “the ability to read and write”
and toward a more encompassing definition. Thus, going into this project I defined literacy as
the ability to determine and acquire the skills necessary to navigate and respond to a particular
text, where a text is defined as anything written, said, or created that requires a form of
interpretation to access its meaning. This broad definition of literacy and texts seeks to bring
literacy into the various socio-cultural contexts in which they can be observed.
Perhaps more subtly this definition of literacy provides a view into my intellectual
lineage which in many ways stems from the theories of the great socioculturalists, such as
Friere. More directly, however, Stephen Kucer's Dimensions of Literacy and Ernest Morrell's
Becoming Critical Researchers were my original introductions into this wider definition of
literacy. Kucer's definition of literacy goes far in its exploration of the various things affecting
literacy, saying "Becoming or being literate means learning to effectively, efficiently, and
simultaneously control the linguistic, cognitive, sociocultural and developmental dimensions of
written language in a transactive fashion," (Kucer 4). Morrell, on the other hand, looks
specifically at what he calls "critical literacy" which he defines, in step with Hull, as "the ability
to not only read and write, but to assess texts in order to understand the relationships between
power and domination that underlie and inform them," (Morrell 4,5).
Besides these definitions of literacy the perspectives of literacy laid out by Tozer and
Willis in their book, School and Society: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives, have also
affected me. Particularly Chapter 2, "Liberty and Literacy Today: Contemporary Perspectives,
outlines four perspectives of literacy, these being "conventional," "functional," "cultural" and
"critical." Within this text "conventional literacy" is defined as "the ability to read and write,"
while "functional literacy" is defined as "using printed and written information to function in
society, to achieve one's goals, and to develop one's knowledge and potential," (251, 252).
"Cultural literacy" is defined here as "the broader literacy needs for social and political practice,
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as determined by the needs of any truly praticipatory democracy," and finally "critical literacy" is
seen, much like Morrell, as "the ability to understand and act against the social relations of
oppression," (Tozer and Willis 260).
It is thus, from these various definitions of literacy that I've formed my own
understanding of what being literate really means and in the end these initial assumptions about
learning and literacy greatly affected how I viewed the focal group and the research site in that
they greatly affected what I would allow myself to consider data.

Findings of the Research

Keeping in mind these various theoretical perspectives, we can now move into a
discussion of the outcomes of this research. The practices observed within the sub-culture of
Harry Potter fans are, in many ways, two fold. The first type of practices are grouped under the
idea of “literacy.” These practices define what it takes to be a Harry Potter fan, and, keeping in
mind the assumed definition of literacy, include the interactions fans have around social, written,
filmed, physical, emailed, blogged, and posted texts. Although my assumed definition of literacy
does not reach its extremities within the HP fan culture, fans do create, read, experience, view,
discuss, evaluate, and critique a wide range of texts outside of the original Harry Potter books.
The second types of practices that this research attempts to document are grouped under the idea
of “learning.” These practices define the ways in which outsiders acquire the skills necessary to
be considered literate members of the fan community.

LITERACY: What it Takes to Be a Harry Potter Fan

Since literacy practices focus themselves around a particular text I've focused the
discussion of Harry Potter fan literacy around the texts these fans gather. Of course all literacy
practices of Harry Potter fans begin with the books themselves and so we will also begin our
discussion with the original series. The number one thing that I both observed and heard from
fans themselves was that one needs to have read and enjoyed these original books. Having read
the books gives the fan the proper background knowledge they need in order to converse about
the book's plot. I found through interviews and my research on the Internet that trying to guess
what will happen in the final book (due to come out next year) is one of the most common
discussions had by HP Fans. A group of 16-year-olds told me as they waited in line for the
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midnight showing that this was important because "she [J.K. Rowling] leaves clues" and that it
was the job of a fan to recognize and decode them. At Mugglenet.com whole discussion boards
are dedicated to the finding of clues throughout the past six books. Dumbledoreisnotdead.com
focuses it's whole conversation on proving that Dumbledore really doesn't die in the sixth book,
calling on textual evidence and "clues" from the book, such as character relationships, character
histories, what "isn't said" and imagery, in order to make a case. To enter these complex
discussions about the future of Harry Potter, one must have read the previous six books. Thus,
similar background knowledge was necessary, as is the case with many literacy practices, in
order to access this particular community.
The next thing that fans described as a necessity in order to become a fan, is that one needs
to "love" or "enjoy" (the phrasing changed from fan to fan, but the message was fairly the same)
the books. When asked to explain what allowed one to "love" or "enjoy" the books fans
responded by listing off character traits, these being: "a love of the fantastic," "a good
imagination," "wanting magic to be real," and in general "wanting the impossible to be
possible." While everyone does not possess all of these qualities, I've found that most people at
least want "the impossible to be possible" and so I was amazed to find that fans themselves saw
the first steps into their world as open to mostly anyone. Reading and enjoying the books
because they make the impossible, possible were not seen as difficult benchmarks to meet by
most fans. In fact, the accessibility of the books and fan culture was a source of pride for HP
fans, who were pleased that their community included diverse populations.
But as it is with most anything the deeper you delve, the more there is to discover - and so it
is with Harry Potter fan culture. While reading and enjoying the books seemed fairly accessible
to most people, gaining a knowledge of what I've called "Harry Potter lingo" or the "Harry Potter
lexicon" was presented by fans as a much more complex acquisition. During interviews teens
again and again responded by saying "well, you've got to know what a Muggle is." A Muggle, in
the world of Harry Potter, is a non-magical person. Each time I heard this phrase repeated I
became more and more aware that the phrase meant more than what it appeared to mean,
signifying that a Muggle is the most widely known HP term besides Potter himself. In essence
what they were saying was "if you don't even know what a Muggle is than you're really lost."
Although all fans agreed that the lexicon existed, they varied when it came to identifying
specific things that were necessary parts of the lexicon, showing that a discrepancy lies even
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amongst the wider culture. The most common answers to what was a necessary part of the
lexicon included "spells," "characters," "places," "magical creatures," “potions,” and "Quidditch
terms." But no matter what the answers were, the fact that fans knew there was a necessary
group of terms needed in order to participate in the fan culture showed me that they realized, in
part, the difference between what Vygotsky referred to as "scientific" versus "spontaneous
concepts." Indeed the lexicon was an entire list of "scientific concepts," that allowed fans from
around the world to communicate about similar ideas. The use of the “scientific concepts” was
also a key way in which fans were able to identify each other, giving the lexicon a very special
role within the community of fans.
Most important, and the culmination of the previously mentioned necessary fan skills, was
the fact that fans had to be able to converse with other fans about the books in order to be
deemed a part of the fan culture. I've previously eluded to spaces on the Internet created for the
sole purpose of having these necessary conversations, but fans were all in agreement that one did
not have to use those particular spaces. It was perfectly acceptable, for example, to simply
discuss the books with your friends in person - the important thing was that you discussed them.
There were various ways, however, besides in-person discussions that fans indicated were
important to their culture, such as websites, discussion boards, and the writing of fan fiction
(stories that fans have written using the world J.K. Rowling created as a starting point). This
showed that fans were aware that literacy in their context required the ability to respond, to
interact around, the texts of the books. Throughout these activities fans engage in fairly complex
ideas, in many ways concentrating on the higher levels of Bloom’s taxonomy such as analysis
and evaluation. Fans also seem aware of the cultural nature of their interactions, relying on the
community for feedback on their analyses, hypotheses, and opinions.
Finally fans were aware of various levels of fans, in other words that there were some fans
that were more HP literate than others. The biggest distinctions came in when considering how
many times one had read the books, how much of the lexicon one could understand and use, as
well as how often one conversed about the books with other fans. One 13-year-old told gave this
example - "if you've read the books more than 4 times each and if you can remember more of the
spells and stuff, then you're a bigger fan than someone who’s only read them once." Another 16-
year-old girl distinguished it saying, "if you've written fan fiction than you're a bigger fan than if
you just talk at school." Two 16-year-old boys, one dressed like Harry Potter and the other like
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Mad-Eye Moody, said that dressing up for the movies showed how big a fan you were. Standing
outside in freezing weather a 19-year-old girl said that dedication was measured by a fan's
willingness to stand outside to wait and see the movie. Thus, while there were minimum
requirements for initiation into the culture of HP fans, such as reading and enjoying the books,
fans saw themselves in relation to other fans based on their intensity and the depth to which they
interacted with the texts.
This understanding mirrors so well the various perspectives of learning described by
Tozer and Willis. Although the kids never said the words "functional" or "cultural" or "critical"
literacies, their responses to the question about levels of fans revealed that they placed fans in
these categories whether they realized it or not. In the context of HP fan culture “functional
literacy” means reading and enjoying the books; “cultural literacy” is defined as the ability to use
the scientific concepts of the lexicon in order to navigate fan discussions; and “critical literacy”
would mean being able to create and support theories about the books and produce texts in the
process.
Fans not only interact around the texts of the original books, they also discuss the
subsequent movies and even fan fictions. Other texts include the numerous websites inhabited
by HP fans. Mugglenet.com offers a great example of just how complex some of these on-line
texts can be, linking visitors to dozens of interviews, articles, regular newspaper like columns,
discussion forums, fan fiction, and other resources for fans such as their HP Encyclopedia. All
of these texts, although originally products recreated in response to the original books, have now
become texts that users rate, discuss, and analyze. Thus the texts linked to the world of Harry
Potter grow, literally, daily in numbers, and while one fan can never possibly interact with all of
these texts, their presence indicates the large amounts of literacy that are practiced within the HP
fan sub-culture.

LEARNING TO BE LITERATE: Becoming a Harry Potter Fan

After giving a brief outline of the literacy practices my research lead me to observe, it
seems only natural to discuss the ways in which teenagers learn to acquire these literacy
practices. From the various interviews I conducted with teen HP fans I discovered that kids have
mostly become fans because someone originally introduced them to the Harry Potter series.
Now in some cases this introducer was a parent or teacher, but in many cases the introducer is
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actually a friend, a peer. For example, when talking with one pair of 13-year-old girls I
discovered that one of the girls had been a HP fan for almost 7 years, while her friend was a
recent “convert” and had been a fan for about 2 years. The more matured fan had read all of the
books nearly 6 times each, while the newbie hadn’t made her way through books 5 and 6. As we
sat their on the floor of the waiting line the more mature fan brought her newbie friend along
through very complex discussions of the books, explaining to me the genius of J.K. Rowling and
her amazing ability to hide clues within the books. The conversation was much too advanced for
her friend since she hadn’t read enough books to understand half of what was said, but the
newbie joined in as much as possible.
This incident represents much of what I observed among groups of friends, and through
these observations I was able to conclude that HP fans in general rely on more capable peers to
bring them into their ZPD. As in the example the more mature, or capable, fan brought her
friend into discussions that were past here level of development. These discussions worked to
push the newbie’s HP literacy towards its potential by providing her with some scaffolding.
It is through this scaffolding created by interactions with more capable peers that fans mature in
their ability to analyze and critique the texts within the HP community.
Finally I was better able to understand the learning practices of HP fans by using the
categories of learning environments introduced in How People Learn. One of the reasons why
the HP fan culture seems so successful in producing complexly literate members is because the
environment in which these fans interact has been created by the fans themselves. This gives
fans a great sense of empowerment and ownership, and also provides them with a well-balanced
community that seems equally learner-, knowledge-, assessment-, and community-centered.
That the learning environment is learner-centered is seen mostly in the fact that the learners
themselves are in control of what happens within the space they’ve created. The only real reason
that the community even exists to begin with is because the fans, i.e. the learners, need these
spaces in order to mature in their literacy practices. Thus there is a major focus placed on what
the learner brings, since the learner brings most of what is produced to these websites and
conversations.
The learning environment for HP fans is also knowledge-centered in that the texts and the
ability to acquire the lexicon, or scientific concepts, is highly valued. Learners strive after the
acquisition of knowledge since they need this knowledge in order to more easily navigate
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through the culture and interact within it in more profound ways. Knowledge about the books,
movies and websites is thus a central component of the fan culture. Likewise the culture focuses
on assessment, using both self-assessments and the feedback given by more mature HP fans to
dictate where, when and how further learning will take place. This assessment usually comes in
response to something that a fan has produced, i.e. a hypothesis, a theory, an opinion, etc. When
the fan shares this thought in discussion s/he receives instant feedback from the other members
of that conversation. When the idea is portrayed through writing over the Internet the fan is also
given feedback – usually from a wide range of fans from around the world. This feedback can
come in actual posts to the discussion board, or through ratings. For example, fan fictions posted
to the web offer readers the option to rate the fan fiction. Getting such direct feedback from the
intended audience doesn’t seem to hinder fans from posting their ideas and responses to the
books. In fact most fans request feedback, craving the assessment of their peers with the goal to
improve their understandings of the HP world. Thus the community is filled with assessment
and fans within the culture view assessment as a positive experience.
Finally the HP fan culture is most definitely community-centered. In fact the fans as
learners have created their own community. They are also very aware of the world outside the
HP fan culture and freely share their backgrounds with each other over the Internet. Even the
fans at the theater were aware of the culture that surrounded them since they were, at that time,
inhabiting a space created for a wider group of people – the movie theater. Sensing this greater
community, fans were able to participate in community-appropriate behavior. Yes, they were all
excited to see the movie, yes they were all discussing the films and books, but they were also
following the socially appropriate codes of waiting in line, watching their noise levels, etc.
Thus, while the HP fan culture is a community in and of itself, fans were also ready to interact
appropriately within the wider community context of the movie theater.

Implications for Secondary Teachers

When reviewing the findings and data of this research project the connection to the
classroom and the implications for secondary teachers becomes fairly apparent since they
document the complex learning and literacy practices being executed daily, and voluntarily, in
the lives of teens we seek to teach. The first, and perhaps the most obvious, implication is that
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the teens in our high schools already know how to learn – indeed they’ve practiced the process of
learning for years. When teens want to learn something they learn it by seeking more capable
peers to push them toward their potential by working within their ZPD, assessments that will
provide the necessary information of where they stand within the learning community, and even
by creating healthy learning environments that balance learner-, knowledge-, assessment-, and
community-centered perspectives. This shows that students know how to learn, they know what
“steps” to follow to acquire the information and skills they want. This suggests that we, as
teachers, must begin by realizing that students walk into our classrooms as “professionals” in
some area of learning, whether it is guitar, Harry Potter, dance, rap, baseball or skateboarding.
Recognizing and treating them as professional learners can encourage them to transfer the
knowledge they have about the learning process from outside the classroom to inside the
classroom. This recognition could be the first major step in creating equally balanced learning
environments in the school setting.
Another major implication for teachers is that students become more motivated the more
they enjoy what they are learning. HP fans dedicate much time and effort interacting with the
Harry Potter series in complex ways, and the reason most gave for putting forth this effort was
that they like doing what they do – “it’s fun,” in the words of one 13-year-old girl. Taking this
example and applying it to the classroom begs teachers to consider how enjoyable their class is
for students and what appropriate there are to make classrooms more enjoyable. HP fans also
expressed a love of mystery and “making the impossible, possible,” – perhaps by including more
suspense within our classes, enjoyability will increase. Increasing suspense within the class
could include anything from reading more mystery or fantasy genre texts within the class,
offering students chance to create their own texts within this genre, or simply by creating
assignments that mirror the hide-and-seek character of “finding clues.”
Furthermore HP fans offer teachers a wonderful example of a well-balanced learning
environment, especially in the areas of community-centered and assessment-centered. The
community HP fans have created is, in many ways, the reason that assessment flourishes within
their culture. Because fans feel that they can trust each other within the context of the texts they
read and respond to, assessment from peers and mentors is welcomed with enthusiasm. Then
why is there such a blaring difference when it comes to classroom assessments? How is it
possible for students to crave assessment in one context and despise it in another? I think this
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partly goes back to the student’s motivation to learn whatever material is being assessed, but a
large part of it has to do with the amount of respect that members of a particular learning
community show each other. This respect and trust is so important because it allows students, or
members of the community, to lessen their fear of failure. If there is no one to ostracize you
from the environment, it there’s no one there to deride you, then this fear can be lessened.
Outside of the classroom HP fans do not identify failure as pleasant, but they are able to identify
it as necessary for their further growth. Thus, they offer teachers a wonderful example of a
growing community of learners.

Conclusion
Looking back on this project it amazes me just how much can be learned about the
literacy and learning practices of teenagers if we just take the time to care enough to look and
ask. Whether or not we enjoy the same interests or even agree with how teenagers spend their
time outside of school, it is helpful to know about and understand the students who walk into
classroom since knowing them better will help us to provide the kinds of support they need to
reach their potential. Harry Potter fans certainly offer a great example of how students can teach
their educators, but they are definitely not the only teenagers out there. There’s still so much that
teens have to tell us about who they are and how they learn – we must only take the time to
listen.
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APPENDIX A
1. How old are you?
2. How long have you been “into” the H.P. series?
3. What’s your favorite thing about the H.P. series? The H.P. world?
4. Which book is your favorite?
5. How many times have you read the books?
6. How many times do you think someone needs to read the books to really understand the
world of H.P.?
7. Do you visit websites/chat rooms focused on the H.P. series? If yes, where do you go?
How often? What do you do or talk about on the web related to H.P.?
8. Have can you tell if someone else is a “real” H.P. Fan? How hard is it to recognize a
Fan?
9. What do all H.P. fans have in common?
10. Are there levels of Fans? What do you think the levels are?
11. What special H.P. words/language are necessary for H.P. Fans to know? Why do Fans
need to know these words?
12. Can you be a real H.P. Fan if you haven’t seen all the movies? Read all the books?
Talked about H.P. with other Fans? Etc.
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Works Cited

Kucer, Stephen. Dimensions of Literacy. Mahwah, N.J.: L. Erlbaum Associates, 2001.

Morrell, Ernest. Becoming Critical Researchers. New York: P. Lang, 2004.

Wink, Joan and LeAnn G. Putney. A Vision of Vygotsky. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2001.

Bransford, John D. ... [et al.], eds. How People Learn : Brain, Mind, Experience, and School.

Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 2000.\

MuggleNet. 2005. 16 November 2005. <<www.mugglenet.com>>

J.K.Rowling Official Site. 2005. 16 November 2005. <<www.jkrowling.com>>

The Harry Potter Lexicon. 2005. 16 November 2005. <<www.hp-lexicon.org>>

The Floo Network. 2005. Steve Vander Ark. 16 November 2005. <<www.floo-network.org

Dumbledore Is Not Dead. 2005. Dave Haber. 16 November 2005.

<<www.dumbledoreisnotdead.com/introduction.html>>