Using Discourse Analysis to Foster Critical Conversations in High School English Classrooms

• In Event: Analyzing Language, Examining Power: Discourse Analysis as a Pedagogical Tool

Abstract

This presentation seeks to illustrate how teachers explore how they did or did not foster critical conversations in secondary English Language Arts classrooms. Critical conversations involve tensions in perspective and aim to critique how power has an impact on people’s social, material, and psychological lives (Fecho et al., 2010). The need for teachers to examine their personal identities and the discourses that influence their actions and reflections around teaching and learning is well documented in scholarship related to multiculturalism (Grant & Sleeter, 2006; Nieto, 2004), critical pedagogy (Giroux & McLaren, 1994) and culturally responsive teaching (Gay, 2000; Ladson Billings, 1999). We know of few studies, however, that demonstrate how teachers use discourse analysis (DA) as a method for this self-reflective identity work to improve practice related to critical conversations. We view this work as essential for the development of teachers who facilitate critical conversations about race, class, ability, gender identity or sexual orientation in the context of literature or other text based discussions. To extend this research, we examine how ELA teachers use DA of audio-recorded discussions to explore how they foster critical conversations.

For this study, we chose two teachers in the Southeast and three teachers in the Northeast who identified as teachers interested in learning more about fostering critical conversations in their classrooms. We asked the teachers to video-record three critical conversations in their classrooms and we transcribed those discussions for them. Then, we met with the teachers six times (online) to discuss how they did or did not foster critical conversations using discourse analysis as a catalyst for reflection. All teachers were interviewed twice during the six-month study to learn more about overall teaching practices.

To answer our research question (In what ways did teachers use DA to explore critical conversations in ELA classrooms?), we collected the following data from five teachers: (a) interviews, (b) audio-recorded discussions with teachers, (c) audio-recorded critical conversations from classrooms, and (c) artifacts (e.g., lesson plans). To analyze data, we first examined the six transcribed discussions with the teachers. Here, we drew from DA (Gee, 2014; Rogers & Wetzel, 2014a) to better understand the discursive strategies they used to examine their own practice. We used a pre-established set of codes (e.g., share personal experiences) based on past research (Authors, 2016) and new codes as they emerged. Next, we read through the data multiple times to identify specific aspects of how the teachers fostered critical conversations, providing significant background information that confirmed and/or disconfirmed analysis from discussions.

Findings from the study indicated that teachers used DA to explore critical conversations by examining the following: (a) discursive strategies that students used to engage in critical conversations (e.g., share & listen; challenge); (b) challenges to fostering critical conversations (e.g., students taking a colorblind approach); (c) discursive strategies they used to foster critical conversations (e.g., model critical conversation); and (d) personal critical stance to teaching (e.g., entertaining alternate ways of being). To illustrate these findings, we discuss three excerpts from the transcribed conversations with the teachers.

Authors

• Amy Vetter, University of North Carolina - Greensboro

• Melissa Schieble, Hunter College - CUNY