Classroom Discussions and Influence on Student Literary Reasoning

• In Event: Expanding Pedagogical Understandings of Literary Reasoning and Argumentation in Middle and High Schools: Project READI

Abstract

Purpose
This presentation uses teacher-mediated whole-class discussions as a lens into students’ thinking and reasoning about literary works in the context of a READI instructional module on symbolic interpretation. The presentation has two objectives: (1) to exemplify changes in classroom discourse that indicate students’ increased proficiency with literary reasoning processes, and (2) to describe the design and implementation of instructional modules that create affordances for this process to unfold.
Significance
Empirical evidence points to the importance of classroom norms and practices that support literary discussions and the relationship of such practices to improved achievement (Applebee, 1996; Greenleaf, et al., 2010; Langer, 2010; Nystrand, & Gamoran, 1991). There is less empirical evidence regarding how such norms and practices are established, sustained, and deepened in high school classrooms over the semester and year. Yet the demand for such evidence is increasing, spurred by new standards that emphasize interpretation of literature. This presentation exemplifies the instantiation of design principles for creating classroom environments to support student growth in disciplinary knowledge and engagement in literary arguments.

Theoretical framework
We employ design-based research (Brown, 1992; diSessa & Cobb, 2004) and use classroom discourse as a lens for analyzing teaching and learning. Social interactions in classrooms can reveal how and what students learn (Cazden, 2001; Mercer & Littleton, 2007). Equally important is understanding how teachers facilitate and mediate interactions and discussions that move student thinking forward and encourage increased ownership of intellectual work (Chapin & O’Connor, 2004; Michaels, O’Connor, & Resnick, 2008). We use micro-ethnographic and discourse analysis methods to infer students’ processes and progress in literary reasoning and argumentation and the teacher moves that supported it.

Methods and Data Sources
The study occurred in a 9th grade class (22 students) in an urban high school serving approximately 385 students, 85% low income, 45% black and 41% Hispanic. The class participated in a 9-week READI instructional module collaboratively designed by the first author and the implementing teacher. Data sources include field notes and videotapes of each lesson and daily audio-taped discussions with the teacher. Subsets of these data are the basis of this presentation: four classroom discussions sampled from week 1, 3, 6 and 9. Analyses of the transcripts and videos focused on interrelated aspects of the goals of discussions, the supports that advanced those discussions (including the texts and teacher facilitation) and the students’ reasoning about texts.
Results
The module began with relatively short and accessible texts and teacher modeling of rules of notice (e.g., repetition, prominent position) for potentially important symbols. Students used these rules and discussed symbols they noticed and why they thought they were important. Initial discussions emphasized the rules (“because it is repeated a lot”). As the module proceeded, students read and discussed more complex and lengthier literary works. Reasoning indicated more attention to patterns in the language and what those patterns meant. The teacher deepened discussions with questions about the relationship between symbols and what they reveal about characters, themes, and what authors are trying to convey about the world.

Authors

• Teresa Sosa, Indiana University - IUPUI

• Susan R. Goldman, University of Illinois at Chicago