Poster #84 - Pre-Service Teacher Moral Discourse: Online and In-Person

• In Event: 3-106 - Poster Session 11
  In Poster Session: PS 11 Section - Education, Schooling

Integrative Statement

This study is an exploration of the use of online discussion versus face-to-face deliberations as a medium for stimulating moral reasoning and the adoption of shared ideas. Prior research studies have shown the effectiveness of transactive discussion as method for stimulating students’ moral growth. This method involves participants building on each other’s reasoning and viewpoints during discourse about morally salient issues (Berkowitz & Gibbs, 1983). Transactive discussion has been shown to facilitate reasoning around complex, multifaceted issues, to encourage mutual understanding among participants, and to promote the growth of sociomoral reasoning. Previous studies have focused mostly on transactive discourse between adolescent peer groups and urban middle-school students (Berkowitz & Gibbs, 1983; Lind, 1996; Midgette, Ilten-Gee, Powers, Murata, Nucci, 2018; Nucci, 2001, 2008; Nucci, Creane, & Powers, 2015). Furthermore, most analyses of transactive discussions have been focused on the method of engagement in the discussion (agreement/disagreement) rather than on the content of the discussion, how ideas are taken up or dropped, and what are the ultimate outcomes of such discussions.

To expand our understanding of moral discourse, we investigated 28 pre-service teachers’ engagement in small-group transactive discourse and the outcomes of such discussions based on each individual students’ postdiscussion reflective essays. The discussions and essays involved evaluating and attempting to reconcile the positions of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcom X on the use of violence. Participants were asked to consider whether or not violence is a valid means of achieving peace and justice in sociohistorical contexts. We coded and analyzed the engagement in transactive discourse and the uptaking of ideas in discussion and reflective essays. Thematic analysis revealed engagement in considering issues of race relations, police brutality, the role of violence as a means of being heard, and ideals of peaceful protest.

A main purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of electronic versus face-to-face transactive moral discourse. Pre-service teachers were divided into either in-person or online groups for discussion of the same issue. Preliminary analyses found no significant differences in the effectiveness of the two activity formats for small-group transactive moral discussions. Our findings suggest that the development of online lesson activities may be an effective alternative or supplement to traditional face-to-face classroom discussions. We further discuss findings on: (a) the uptaking of ideas shared in discussion as revealed in the individual post-discussion reflections, (b) whether the discussions that are face-to-face versus online lead to incorporation of themes into the essays, and (c) the differences in sophistication and comprehensiveness of the essays between post-online versus post-face-to-face discussions.

Authors

• Deborah Powers, UC Berkeley
  Presenting Author

• Allegra Midgette, U.C. Berkeley
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jasmine Ayromlou, UC Berkeley
  Non-Presenting Author

• Larry P Nucci, University of California Berkeley
  Non-Presenting Author