Using Discourse-Based Teaching Approach to Enhance Civic Education in China

• In Event: Curriculum Collaboration of Researchers, Policy Makers, and Practitioners for Civic Competence: Perspectives From China

Abstract

Research objectives
Discourse-based approaches have increasingly become favorably regarded as curricular methods both in academic circles and classroom practice (Clarke, Resnick, & Rose, 2015). Compared to teacher-centered discourse that follows the IRE (Initiation-response-evaluation) pattern (Mehan, 1979), student-centered discourse emphasizes open participation, accountability, reasoning and reflective thinking on students’ part (Mercer & Littleton, 2007). Significant student learning gains have been consistently documented using discourse-based approaches (Michales, O’Conner, & Resnick, 2008)
The present research explored whether and to what extent a discourse-based approach could be successfully implemented in a Chinese middle school context to improve China’s civic education. Toward this end, we measured Experimental students’ gains in constructing arguments and addressing evidence both in classroom discussions and individual writing, compared to Control students who were taught in the traditional IRE format.

Research design, methods, and data sources
A total of 50 students (19 boys and 31 girls) participated in the present study. Participants were all attending the seventh-grade at a local public middle school in a large city in the Eastern part of China. Participants all came from middle to lower middle-class Chinese families.
In a quasi-experimental design, one of the school’s two seventh-grade classes was randomly chosen to serve in the Experimental condition (n=24) and another served in the Control condition (n=26). Students from both conditions participated for seven class periods in a civic curriculum unit focused on life, chronic disease, and exorbitant medical expenses. Classroom instruction in the Experimental condition emphasized authentic, open-ended, and student-centered dialogue whereas instruction in the Control condition followed typical teacher-controlled instruction.
The same teacher from the school’s staff taught both conditions. We also ensured initial equivalence between the two conditions prior to the intervention.
Data used for present analysis included: 1) Video-recorded classroom lessons; 2) Student writing at the end of the intervention.

Analytical tools and anticipated results
To analyze classroom videos, we first transcribed all lessons and used a coding scheme (Felton & Kuhn, 2001) to code students’ conversational moves, particularly their use of argumentative strategies and evidence. We also coded each teacher’s talk (Michales, O’Conner, & Resnick, 2008), paying particular attention to her use of open- or closed-ended questions and her follow-ups on students’ responses. Our initial analysis revealed that the Experimental condition had a higher student to teacher talk ratio and the teacher used more open-ended questions and evaluations. Moreover, students became more competent in making counterarguments and referring to evidence in their arguments.
Students’ final individual writing was also coded (Hemberger, Kuhn, Matos, & ##, 2017) and our initial analysis revealed that students demonstrated greater skills in taking multiple perspectives and using evidence to support and weaken claims.

Scholarly and practical significance
The significance of the present work is two-fold. Theoretically, it reconfirms the Vygotskian idea of the value of discourse in learning and demonstrates that discourse at a social level could lead to gains in individual learning. Practically, it demonstrates the possibilities and advantages of integrating discourse-based approach with civic education in a Chinese context.

Authors

• Yuchen Shi, East China Normal University

• Zheng Ke, East China Normal University

• Shuangye Chen

• Gangping Wu, East China Normal University