Teacher-student Discourse Research Articles

The reification of identity narratives in teacher–student discourse during an inquiry project

AbstractWe present a year‐long case study that documents the interactions between a teacher–research–mentor (TRM) and two 11th grade students working in their school laboratory on an extended inquiry project that is part of reformed mandatory requirements for advanced‐level matriculation in physics. Both the students (females) and the TRM (male) are Arab citizens of Israel, and the school is a public Arab school in Israel. Data were collected through videotaped participant observation of authentic working sessions and interviews with the TRM and the students. The analysis combines an ethnographic account with discourse analysis informed by a sociolinguistic approach that aims to answer the following research questions: (1) how are a teacher's identity‐narratives reified in teacher–student discourse in authentic sessions of mentoring students' inquiry? (2) how do they shape students' learning? and (3) how do they emerge from social–historical contexts? The findings problematize the challenges involved in engaging students from nondominant communities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics learning. The analysis articulates the complexity of this challenge by showing how teachers' identity narratives shape the social construction of student–teacher discourse, generate tensions that undermine successful implementations of reformed learning experiences, and how this vicious cycle is profoundly influenced by the embedding social and historical contexts. The implications for research and practice are discussed.

Defining openness in teachers’ ‘open’ questions

Abstract Extensive research has focused on analysing teacher-student discourse within whole-class dialogic interactions, and several descriptive tools have been proposed so far to cover possible variations. However, what still remains unanswered is what types of teacher questions are ‘better’ than others. To answer this question, I propose a pragmatic analysis of teacher-student interaction based on the criteria of authenticity and dialogicity. The analysis focuses on two types of dialogue moves, ‘information-seeking’ and ‘inquiry’ moves and their subtypes, as assessed on the basis of their degree of dialogicity, emerging from the dialogue sequence in which the moves are situated. The discussion focuses on how such a normative analysis of interaction can help teachers guide more productive dialogues with their students.

The application of MIPVU procedure for identifying metaphors in Persian: teacher-student discourse in 1st and 2nd grade of primary schools

The application of MIPVU procedure for identifying metaphors in Persian: teacher-student discourse in 1st and 2nd grade of primary schools

Implementing Flanders System in the Quantification of the Emotional Aspects of Teacher-Student Discourse

Implementing Flanders System in the Quantification of the Emotional Aspects of Teacher-Student Discourse

Critical Discourse Analysis of Language and Power in EFL Classroom Interaction

Abstract
 
 This study aims to discuss the use of language and the power possessed by the teacher in interacting with students in the classroom on the way student perceptions and its contribution to student learning outcomes. This study investigates teacher discourse and teacher-student discourse that occurs in the classroom interaction. Through this explanation of critical discourse analysis, the researcher proposes to distribute the concepts of classroom interaction between teacher and students, the use of the teacher’s language, and the use of the teacher’s power. This explains the role of the power of using language in classroom interactions to create good learning characteristics and outcomes. The analysis of this research is based on the theory of discourse analysis which focuses on the topic of language taken from Fairclough's theory and the types of power by French and Raven (1959). The method used in this study is a descriptive qualitative research method that deals with data in the form of words from interviews and questionnaires. The results showed that the teacher’s language in classroom interaction is used not only to interact with the students but also to provide the materials and information, to give instruction, and to train the students’ skills. The power with the highest frequency of use produced by the teacher during the learning process is expert power, reward power, referent power, legitimate power and the last is coercive power.
 Keywords: Critical Discourse Analysis, Classroom Interaction, Language, Power

The Flipped Classroom Model of Japanese Teaching Based on Intelligent Decision-Making System

Invert the model of learning in the classroom as a new model in the field of education as modern Internet technologies develop and the concept of learning is updated. It is widely used and promoted in various disciplines. Scholars and front-line teachers have begun to try to introduce the flipped classroom teaching model into language classrooms. With this opportunity, practical studies on flipping classes in foreign languages have emerged. At the same time, the study of the learning process in the classroom has become a problem that needs to be urgently addressed. At present, the linguistic field generally regards the specific teacher-student discourse interaction and verbal communication patterns in the teaching process as a research trend. For the Japanese teaching field, the research on the specific characteristics and patterns of teacher-student verbal communication in classroom discourse is a top priority. Drawing on previous research theories and research methods, the two key research topics are combined. Taking the foreign language curriculum under two different classroom teaching modes as the empirical research object, this paper studies the specific classroom teaching process by using the interaction theory of sociology. At the same time, it uses the Flanders Interaction Analysis System (FIAS) to conduct detailed quantitative research on the interaction of teachers and students in classroom discourse, and analyze and discuss the statistical results. The relevant teaching suggestions for the application of the Japanese flipped classroom teaching mode are put forward, and the problems that must be paid attention to in the practical application are pointed out, in order to provide meaningful reference and reference for the construction of the Japanese teaching mode.

Integrating Viewpoint and Space: How Lamination across Gesture, Body Movement, Language, and Material Resources Shapes Learning

Gesture is recognized as part of and integral to cognition. The value of gesture for learning is contingent on how it gathers meaning against the ground of other relevant resources in the setting—in short, how the body is laminated onto the surrounding environment. With a focus on lamination, this paper formulates an integrated theory of viewpoint and spatial reasoning; develops an embodied approach to documenting and understanding the live construction of students’ spatial models; and offers new implications for the teaching of spatially complex concepts. We start with a study of how undergraduate students playfully gesture the first-person movements of components of an engineering system, step out to depict how the system appears from the outside, and all the while track how the components of the system spatially interact in the open canvas of empty space around the body. Students who manage all three—switching from character viewpoints to observer viewpoints while maintaining a coherent organization of space—better learn the engineering concept. We then examine this process in the unscripted discourse of a classroom of 1st and 2nd graders pretend-playing as bees. This second study extends the analysis of interactions between spatial reasoning and viewpoint into unplanned teacher-student discourse (including adjustments in talk and action over time) and a materially rich setting. In all, the paper formulates an embodied learning framework that integrates viewpoint and spatial reasoning with implications for learning design.

Conflicting Demands of Chemistry and Inclusive Teaching—A Video-Based Case Study

Almost every country in the world is obligated to implement education policies to enable an inclusive school system. However, implementing techniques to be inclusive in schools is a major challenge to teachers, especially to those teaching a subject at secondary level and higher. Most of the literature concerning inclusive science education was published in recent years, and is more normative than empirical. Teachers struggle to transfer these normative demands to their accustomed way of teaching science. In this study, we analyze conflicts a teacher experiences when teaching a so-called ‘hard science’ like chemistry at an inclusive school. On the one hand, inclusive science education should facilitate participation in science specific learning processes for all learners. This broad perspective on inclusion demands that everyone can take part in everyday classroom life. On the other hand, chemistry strives for the understanding of abstract concepts, theories and models, which forms a barrier to learning chemistry for many people. This paper presents an explorative case study focusing on these conflicting demands. To reconstruct the inconsistencies, we analyzed a videotaped teacher–student discourse on atoms. Using the documentary method, a qualitative approach developed by the sociologist Ralf (Bohnsack et al., 2010). distinguishing between explicit and implicit knowledge, it was possible to reveal the orientational frameworks guiding the teacher’s actions. On the surface level, traditional scientific educational approaches structure the discourse. Reconstruction of the discourse is deep, as evidence was found for a participation-oriented framework as well as for the challenges the conflicting demands of chemistry and inclusive teaching put on teaching. We implicate that future professional development courses must not only concentrate on combining chemistry with inclusive pedagogies, i.e., how to teach, but also on the reflection of implicit beliefs concerning inclusive chemistry teaching.

Walton's types of argumentation dialogues as classroom discourse sequences

Dialogic argumentation has thus far been proposed as a way to analyse, understand, and promote meaningful classroom interactions. However, currently there is a lack of systematic proposals for conceptualising argumentation dialogue goals as part of teachers' pedagogical repertoire. Our main goal is to operationalise an existing framework of argumentation dialogue types, the one proposed by argumentation theorist Douglas Walton. To do so, we first identify a set of epistemic criteria for meaningful, from an argumentation point of view, discursive interactions, which we use as ‘framing indicators’ to enrich Walton's existing typology of four argumentation dialogues (information-seeking, inquiry, discovery, persuasion). We applied the resulting pragmatic framework to teacher-student interactions found in 20 transcripts of both science and social sciences secondary education lessons. We found that affordances for these four types of dialogues were also present in teacher-student discourse, where the implied argumentation goal was not fulfilled. We discuss these findings in terms of the need to be able to identify the dialogic potentiality and accountability within teacher-student interactions so that the argumentative potential of these interactions can be fulfilled, resulting in productive classroom discourse within secondary education classroom settings.

After eliciting: Variation in elementary mathematics teachers’ discursive pathways during collaborative problem solving

Mathematics teachers are called on to craft instruction that centers students’ mathematical ideas and creates consistent, pervasive opportunities for meaning-making through discourse. In the context of collaborative problem solving, teachers can use eliciting and probing to uncover student thinking while students work together to develop mathematical ideas and strategies. After eliciting and probing, teachers can further respond to the student thinking that has been revealed. This study explored the discursive pathways two fourth grade mathematics teachers used after eliciting student thinking, when their aim was to be responsive to and advance student thinking. Drawing on interactions (n = 97) from nine lessons, qualitative analysis identified five distinct discursive pathways after eliciting, two of which, praise and funneling, were associated with the nature of student understanding uncovered during eliciting. Implications for future research and professional development on teacher-student discourse are discussed.

Linking Teacher–Learner Discourse With Mathematical Reasoning of Students With Learning Disabilities: An Exploratory Study

Informed by a constructivist-based, student-adaptive pedagogical approach, this study explores the benefits of teacher–learner discourse moves for the mathematics learning of students with learning disabilities (LD). During a constructivist teaching experiment for nurturing the multiplicative reasoning and problem solving of five third-grade students with school-identified LD, we analyzed the global trends and detailed dynamics of teacher–student interactions with statistical discourse analysis. We found that the teacher’s discourse moves to support each individual student’s problem solving helped engage them in mathematical reasoning, which improved their problem-solving performance. Thus, this study contributes to knowledge in the field of special education by (a) specifying ways in which discourse-oriented mathematics instruction can help each student with LD and (b) showcasing a novel statistical analysis of teacher–student discourse.

Teacher-student discourse in active learning lectures: case studies from undergraduate physics

ABSTRACTIn this paper we develop knowledge of the discourse that takes place between teacher and students in two large undergraduate classes which use a flipped, active learning approach. In flipped classes students encounter the content through pre-class resources, freeing up class time for more active engagement with the material. This results in increased opportunities for teacher-student interactions which may be beneficial for learning. Our aim here is to explore the nature and purposes of these dialogues. Two case studies from introductory physics classes at the University of Edinburgh are analysed through a sociocultural perspective. Three main purposes of dialogues are observed: (1) Involving students in sense-making, (2) Guided expert modelling and (3) Wonderment questions. We found that the dialogues predominantly use a triadic Initiation, Response, Feedback (IRF) format and are authoritative in nature, but work together to create an interactive learning environment that can be described as ‘ideologically dialogic’

Opinion Versus Knowledge: The Influence of Testimony Format on Children’s Judgments in Morally Relevant Contexts

ABSTRACTResearch Findings: To test children’s use of testimony of others, 3 – 9 years (N = 227) made judgments about a potential peer transgression in which the intentions of the protagonist were ambiguous, after hearing two different forms of testimony. The 2 forms of testimony were (a) opposing opinion-based testimony from an adult authority versus a peer consensus group and (b) knowledge-based testimony (eyewitness testimony) that was counter to the participants’ initial judgments. Findings revealed that when testimony was presented in an opinion-based format, children were likely to side with the opinion that reflected their own interpretation of the peer encounter, regardless of whether the opinion came from a peer consensus or an adult authority. However, when knowledge-based testimony was introduced in support of the opposite of children’s initial interpretation of the ambiguous peer encounter, children most often changed their initial judgment to align with the new testimony. That is, children used knowledge-based testimony but not opinion-based testimony to evaluate a potential transgression. Practice or Policy: These findings demonstrate that the way in which testimony is delivered to children has a direct influence on their decision making about peer interactions and has relevance for teacher–student discourse in the classroom.

‘You’ and ‘I’ in university seminars and spoken learner discourse

You and I may be little words but they do a great deal. In spoken discourse they reference shared knowledge and mark stance. In pedagogical contexts, they maintain relations in teacher-student discourse. However, language classrooms may rarely explore this array of pragmatic meanings. A lack of awareness of the variety of these functions may be problematic for learners when seeking to construct interpersonal relations and operate successfully in particular spoken contexts. This paper presents a study of you and I in two spoken corpora: a corpus of English language learner task talk and a corpus of university seminar talk. Findings illustrate different patterns of I and you between the two corpora: I and you have a higher rate of occurrence in learner discourse, and pronoun repetition is more frequent in learner discourse, though it does not account for the higher rate of you and I. These findings suggest that language learner task talk displays more features tied to speech production and self-regulation and fewer features associated with attempting to point to the informational space of others, a key feature of university classroom talk. This paper concludes by outlining pedagogical applications to overcome features perceived as disfluent.

Relations of Instructional Tasks to Teacher–Student Discourse in Mathematics Classrooms of Chinese Primary Schools

This study, based on observation of 90 fifth-grade mathematics classes in Chinese elementary schools, examined how the task features, high cognitive demand, multiple representations, and multiple solution methods may relate to classroom discourse. Results indicate that high cognitive demand tasks were associated with teachers’ use higher order questioning. Higher order questioning but not the high cognitive demand tasks themselves generated participatory responses among students. However, when teachers pursued multiple solution methods, they were more inclined to ask memorization and procedural lower order questions than explanatory and analytical higher order questions. Contrary to our hypothesis, high cognitive demand tasks and higher order questions related to teacher authority in evaluating students’ answers whereas neither cognitive demand, multiple representations, nor teachers’ pursuit of multiple solution methods were directly related to teacher–student joint authority in discourse. Implications regarding the relationship between tasks and discourse and instructional practice in a cultural context are discussed.

Speaking across levels – generating and addressing levels confusion in discourse

Reasoning across descriptive levels is a fundamental component of scientific reasoning, particularly in chemistry. Repeatedly, students are seen to confuse features applicable to one level across multiple levels despite instruction. Although many instances of such ‘levels confusion’ have been documented, little is known about the generation or reconciliation of levels confusion in the science classroom. The present study examines the nature of teacher–student discourse practices that generate, maintain, and reconcile levels confusion in chemistry. We present two case studies of whole class discussions of chemical and physical changes to illustrate how teachers and students enter the chemistry classroom biased to reason about chemistry phenomena from very different descriptive levels. Microanalysis of teacher–student discourse practices show how teachers implicitly refer to multiple descriptive levels during instruction and employ technical definitions and heuristics that tacitly appeal to multiple levels simultaneously. Our analysis suggests that levels confusion in chemistry arises from multiples sources that include the epistemological assumptions of chemistry, representational practices of the domain, and epistemological moves made by teachers in classroom discourse.

Identification, Interpretation—Evaluation, Response: An alternative framework for analyzing teacher discourse in science

Although research has come to recognize the importance of studying classroom-based student–teacher discourse in science, the emphasis remains largely on teachers' abilities to ask questions and provide students with feedback, or on students' abilities to ask questions or engage in argumentative discourse. Consequently, little research has focused on the discourse elements relating to teacher–student discourse interactions. In this article, we argue for a shift of research attention toward describing what the teacher is responding to (Identification of student inquiry), the process of deciding how to respond (Interpretation—Evaluation of student inquiry), and how the teacher is responding (Response to student inquiry). We propose a new methodological approach for studying teacher discourse, which involves a framework we developed while analyzing 1,385 minutes of fifth grade, whole-class science conversations covering a 2-year period and facilitated by an experienced science teacher. Then, as a case in point, we applied our framework to the teacher discourse data of the study, aiming to show that the framework can be a useful tool for examining how a teacher supports students' inquiry.

Teacher question and student response with regard to cognition and language use

In the current study, we focus on teacher-student discourse in Pre-K science activities, with particular attention to teacher questioning. Videotaped classroom observations and teacher interviews served as the corpus of data. Overall, teachers asked mostly closed-ended questions, but used more open-ended questions when experiments were being conducted. During experiments, teachers’ questions were aimed at prediction and reasoning. In contrast, teachers used primarily closed-ended questions when science skills were being practiced and during science book readings, when their questions were oriented toward recognition and recall of factual information. The effects of the teachers’ questions can be seen in the students’ responses. When questions were open-ended, students employed a more varied vocabulary and more complex sentence structures. When teachers’ questions were oriented toward prediction and reasoning, students practiced these higher level cognitive skills in responding. Based on these findings, we provide recommendations for teaching practice in early childhood science education.

Teachers Building Dwelling Thinking with Slideware

Teacher-student discourse is increasingly mediated through, by and with information and communication technologies: in-class discussions have found new, textually-rich venues online; chalk and whiteboard lectures are rapidly giving way to PowerPoint presentations. Yet, what does this mean experientially for teachers? This paper reports on a phenomenological study investigating teachers’ lived experiences of PowerPoint in post-secondary classrooms. As teachers become more informed about the affordances of information and communication technology like PowerPoint and consequently take up and use these tools in their classrooms, their teaching practices, relations with students, and ways of interpreting the world are simultaneously in-formed – conformed, deformed and reformed – by the given technology-in-use. The paper is framed in light of Martin Heidegger’s “Building Dwelling Thinking” (1951) and “The Thing” (1949). In these writings, Heidegger shows how a thing opens a new world to us, revealing novel structures of experience and meaning, and inviting us to a different style of being, thinking and doing.

“GENRE MEANS …”: A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF FOURTH GRADE TALK ABOUT GENRE

This action research study investigates how genre theory can be integrated into the practice of a writing enrichment program and how the frameworks of Critical Discourse Analysis and Multimodal Analysis can help assess and improve both student learning and teacher practice. A multilayered exploration of teacher-student discourse in an urban public elementary school in the Midwest United States discloses the various ways in which the concept of genre is both successfully and unsuccessfully constructed among fourth-grade students. Grounded in sociocultural and genre theory, I define and develop a three-way understanding of the word genre: genre as a literary term; genre referring to the analytical tool used in CDA as developed by Fairclough; and Genre, referring to pedagogical theories which suggest that social purpose is at the heart of all text making and must be considered and made explicit when teaching about genre.