Nature of Teacher Talk: Critical Discourse Analysis in an Urban School

• In Event: Roundtable Session 100
  In Roundtable Session: Teaching in Urban Context: Teachers’ Beliefs, Identities, and Practices

Abstract

This is a study of teacher talk during routine times, the times when a class is being organized and directed so that instruction can commence or resume. Four teachers in an exemplary urban elementary school were observed and interviewed in order to determine the nature of their talk to students during routine, non-academic periods of a school day. Findings include examples of teacher talk, and revealed that they engage in some instruction during the routine of the day. The teachers in this study present a complicated, layered data set of teacher talk to the students in their care. This study provides an insight into culturally relevant practice and the nature of interactions with students.

Authors

• Poonam C. Dev, Nazareth College

• Karen M. Sangmeister, Rochester City School District