Multimodal, Dialogic Discussions: Uptake and Alternation Between Oral and Written Participation During Synchronous Teleconference Conversations

• In Event: Cyberschooling and Social Isolation: New Literacy Opportunities for Vulnerable Populations

Abstract

Education researchers have established the value of dialogic, whole-class discussions across content areas. Online discussions can provide similar opportunities for students to share, refine, and revise ideas through dialogue. However, previous studies of dialogic discussions have focused either on synchronous oral discussions (face-to-face) or on asynchronous written discussions (online). Opportunities remain to study online discussions in which teachers and students can participate via both oral teleconference and written chat. This study examined the dialogic quality of online discussions, as well as how and why participants alternated between oral and written participation, among an English teacher and her students at a title-1 middle school during the COVID-19 pandemic.

During dialogic, whole-class discussions, teachers and students “set alongside one perception of the matter under discussion the several perceptions of other participants, challenging [their] own view of things with those of others” (Bridges, 1979, p. 50). This definition can apply to online discussions (e.g., Grisham & Wolsey, 2006; Meyer, 2003; Zhu, 2006), as well as to face-to-face discussions in Math (Forman et al., 1998), Science (Lemke, 1990), History (Husbands & Pendry, 2000), and English Language Arts (Applebee et al., 2003).

Across disciplines, students must take up multiple perspectives by citing written texts or responding to what others have said (Carbonaro & Gamoran, 2002; Collins, 1982). According to some education researchers (e.g., Hess, 2009; Parker, 2010), uptake of others’ words for one’s own purposes in schools is crucial preparation for civic participation in a democratic “culture of argument” (Parker, 2006, p. 12).

This study examined the dialogic quality of whole-class, online discussions, as well as how and why participants shifted between oral and written participation. It focused on four discussions conducted in 2020 via teleconference (allowing both oral participation and written chat) among a teacher and her (primarily African-American) students in an English class at a single-sex, title-1 middle school (79% free and reduced lunch). Discourse analysis of these discussions investigated whether, when, and how students took up what others had already written or said, “using others’ words for [their] own purposes” (Bakhtin, 1981, 1984, p. 166).

Analysis of recordings of the discussions, including both oral participation and written chat, attended specifically to uptake, typically indicated by markers like indexical/demonstrative pronouns (“He said that…”) and coordinating conjunctions (“So/but are you saying…?). Additionally, turns were categorized based on modality (oral or written), topic, function, and duration.

Though few prior studies have examined online discussions across oral and written modalities (cf., Wang & Woo, 2007), prior research has suggested that in both face-to-face and online discussions across disciplines, certain moves can promote uptake, including open-ended, higher-order thinking (O-HOT) questions, collaborative disagreement, and imaginative entry into hypothetical “what if” scenarios (e.g., Author, 2020). This study affirmed the value of these techniques and added that the possibility of participating via written chat during synchronous online teleconference can also encourage students to participate, particularly when discussions engage sensitive personal or political issues.

Author

• Michael B. Sherry, University of South Florida - Tampa