Vignettes on Student Experiences of Classroom Talk in the Language Arts Classroom

• In Event: 43.079 - Sheraton Roundtable Session Six - Grand Centre
  In Roundtable Session: 43.079-8 - Critical Issues in Teacher Education, Literacy, and Communication

Abstract

This presentation synthesizes a study on students’ experiences of classroom talk in the Language Arts. Although classroom talk has been widely researched, teachers can benefit from further understanding, from students’ perspectives. The study was grounded in previous research on the dialogic classroom and sought to complement existing perspectives about classroom talk. As a hermeneutic study, it was grounded in philosophical hermeneutic principles and practices, specifically Gadamerian hermeneutics. Talk, which is akin to the Gadamerian idea of play, can be a point of trepidation and anxiety for students, but in these 3 vignettes (on 2 Canadian students, and 1 Caribbean student) I show the participants’ experiences, which render talk as an aesthetic in the Language Arts classroom.

Author

• Galicia Solon Blackman, University of Calgary