Unpacking the Social Construction of Thinking Practices in the Secondary English Classroom: A Languaging Perspective

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Thursday 8:00 a.m. Four Seasons Ballroom 2-3
  In Roundtable Session: Constructing Knowledge Through Dialogue: Languaging and Reflection in Educational Practice (Table 3)

Abstract

Teaching students to think critically is a key goal of public schooling and literacy education. However, it is often assumed that teaching thinking is straightforward and universally understood. This study challenges these assumptions by examining how thinking practices are socially constructed in classrooms through a languaging perspective. Using a microethnographic approach to discourse analysis, I analyzed an 8th-grade English Language Arts classroom. Findings indicate that thinking practices are constructed through languaging actions, which enable students to deepen their understanding of literary texts, utilize their authentic language and tacit knowledge, and connect with the subject matter and the genre of poetry.

Author

• Min-Young Kim, University of Kansas