Listening as Engagement

• In Event: "Showing Up" for Students, Schools, and the Profession: Critical Practitioner Inquiry in Justice-Centered Teacher Education

Abstract

My inquiry project attempted to answer the question: How might centering listening as an engagement practice impact my English classroom? My inquiry question developed out of a problem of practice that arose in my first year as a teacher: students struggled to engage meaningfully in class. I found that my students saw engagement in my classroom only as verbal participation which resulted in discussions that looked more like disparate points than a discussion. I wanted to promote rich and meaningful engagement and discussion in my classroom. I also wanted to move away from talking as a primary way of teaching discussion skills as students would simply talk for talk’s sake, and I hypothesized that teaching listening would lead them to more meaningfully engage with one another, the text, and themselves. Defining listening as both "an active, relational, and interpretive process that is focused on making meaning" (Schultz, 2003, p. 8) and "an artistic, civic, and interpretive practice that emerges from a place of wonder, curiosity, and not knowing ... At the center of listening ... is inquiry" (Furlonge 2018, p. 2), I hoped teaching the skill would push my students to be curious and relate. Grounding my project in the literature on engagement and listening, I centered listening in my classroom through direct instruction of listening skills, modeling listening, varying the formats of our discussions, and integrating reflection throughout my curriculum. I measured the impact of centering listening by keeping a daily journal, keeping observation notes, recording lessons, and analyzing student work, reflections, and surveys. I have found that centering listening made my classroom one of questioning and accountability, which was uncomfortable for some students because it requires presence and an understanding of the text. The discomfort they experienced can also be described as a vulnerability that created an environment in which most students felt seen and respected. Inquiry became integral in our classroom as students learned to use the language of listening to support and challenge one another, sustaining meaningful discussion. I plan to continue this work beyond my classroom in a DEI lens by reframing listening as a skill of the marginalized for belonging.

Author

• Kadiata Diallo, PennGSE ISTR