Examining silenc(ing) in literature discussion groups

Abstract

Though researchers have documented literature discussion groups and the importance of accountable/academic talk, fewer studies have examined how students and ideas have been silenced in small autonomous groups. This case study draws on a sociocultural perspective and dialogic participation in these spaces as sites of knowledge generation. Our study investigated the question, “What factors may contribute to the silencing of students and ideas in autonomous literature groups?” Focusing on a sixth grade class of 21 students (11 boys and 10 girls) in a private school, we gathered a variety of data: formal and informal interviews from Nora (the teacher) and her students; recorded transcripts of discussion groups; field notes from classroom observations; selected student and teacher journal entries; artifacts from Nora's professional presentations and information shared with parents; and, think alouds and member checks from Nora.Findings indicated that there were multiple factors that might contribute to silencing: those related to the teacher's discourse routines and instructional scaffolding decisions and those related to the students’ academic and social histories, including classroom gender norms and social hierarchies. More importantly, these factors were in transaction with one another, which affected the strength of the factors. For example, the turn-taking norm advocated by the teacher, was intended to ensure that all participants had access to the floor. However, this norm also functioned to silence topics or individuals. Students focused on the norm rather than on exploration of ideas, sharing journal entries in a pro forma fashion. Students who moved to follow this norm sometimes interrupted discussion of another student's ideas in order to make time for all to share. Other students cited this norm when attempting to hold the floor or to avoid a complex conversation. Some students seemed to use this norm to privilege certain voices over others. The complexity of the transaction of factors offers a more nuanced understanding of how silencing occurs. Teachers and researchers, leaning into this complexity, may be better equipped to help students recognize and disrupt such silencing.