Understanding the Impact of the Instructional Conversation on the Cognitive/Affective Domains of English Learners

• In Event: Exploring Best Practices to Promote English Language Learner Achievement in the New South: The Instructional Conversation Pedagogy

Abstract

Objectives:
The Instructional Conversation (IC) provides intensive experiences for students in areas for second language acquisition and academic development by increasing the rate of vigorous interactions with peers and expert teachers directly. It has been found to improve the academic achievement of students, including English Language Learners (ELLs), in quasi-experimental studies.

The objective of this study is two-fold. One, we investigate the performance in the cognitive and affective domains of ELLs using the Harter, the Psychological Sense of School Membership (PSSM), the Harter's Self Perception Profile for Children (SPPC), and the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (NNAT) to provide insight into this population. Two, we investigate the impact of the IC on ELLs taking these inventories to determine if the pedagogy influences the cognitive and/or affective domains.

Theoretical Lens/Theory of Change:

We hypothesize the IC advances ELLs' development in three areas: English Language Proficiency, Cognitive/Academic Development, and Affective Development, and this development impacts academic achievement. We acknowledge the complexity of the interplay between self-concept, language development, and cognitive development. It is non-recursive in that cognitive development impacts affective development, and affective development may impact cognition.

Research questions:

Two main research questions influence this study.
1) How do ELLs perform on the three measures of interest in comparison to control students?
2) Do students experiencing the IC pedagogy perform differently on any of the three measures from those in a traditional classroom? Do these differences vary across subgroup membership?

Methods/data:

Any impact of the IC on ELLs’ school performance may be mediated by cognitive and affective factors. To address this hypothesis, we employed the PSSM, the NNAT, and the Harter SPPC outcomes in a MANOVA controlling for gender and grade (3rd, 5th) with 87 Cohort 1, 144 Cohort 2, and 197 Cohort 3 ELLs. Gender and grade were evenly divided to examine the potential effects of the IC on cognitive and affective development.

Results & Conclusions:
The main findings for IC teaching and its impacts on ELLs were found significant in interactions with gender and grade. Females and particularly third graders in IC tended to be above controls in the affective PSSM measure (F=5.04, p<.05). Younger students experiencing talk with peers and teachers might help them feel comfortable during small group IC instruction. Interestingly, the IC had a positive significant impact for ELLs in the non-verbal intelligence measure in a significant interaction (p<.05) by treatment and gender. The ELL population as a whole performed on the NNAT similarly to the norm with a mean score of 98.7 compared to 100.

Scholarly significance:
The results show similar non-verbal cognitive development for ELLs as the general population, supporting previous research that strategies allowing ELLs to learn free from language barriers are needed. This pedagogy shows promise as being able to impact both the cognitive and affective domains of ELLs. Further research is needed since these ELLs were a sample of convenience drawn from a larger study.

Authors

• Rebecca K. Gokee, University of Georgia

• Albert Manuel Jimenez, Kennesaw State University

• Pedro R. Portes, University of Georgia

• Rolf Straubhaar, University of Georgia