Interactional Role Negotiation Among Co-Facilitators in an Online Design Workshop

• In Event: Meaning-Making, Negotiation, and Framing in Learning Interactions and Apprenticeship

Abstract

This paper presents a case study of interactions between two co-facilitators of a team of Japanese youth during a week-long, synchronous, online workshop on human-centered design. One co-facilitator had several years of experience, and the other was a first-timer. Using positioning theory and interaction analysis, we show that the co-facilitators developed a relatively stable pattern of role delegation, which we describe as “instructional content authority” and “instructional language authority,” through positioning interactions early in the workshop. Then, we examine an interview activity later in the workshop that seemed to disrupt the established pattern. This work extends research on co-teacher communication and teacher learning to understand co-teacher interactions during live teaching, with potential implications for the learning of less experienced co-teachers.

Authors

• Jennifer Classen, The Pennsylvania State University

• Tanner Vea, The Pennsylvania State University

• Rie Kijima, University of Toronto

• Mariko Yang-Yoshihara, Stanford University