Talking to Teach, Talking to Learn: Discourse Analysis Across Two Contexts

• In Event: Reconceptualizing Classroom Interactions and Relationships

Abstract

This paper examines the process and outcomes of a collaborative action research professional development effort focused on teacher-student discourse practices in the context of literacy instruction. The study aims to pursue an understanding of the relationships among teacher discourse moves, student discourse moves, and how students are positioned to see themselves as readers and participants in discussion. Further, the study informs a professional development model that empowers teachers to critically analyze discourse in their own classrooms. The results, including increased student participation in class discussions through linking, challenging, and using evidence, are further scrutinized through the sociocultural lens of the “third space” described by Gutierrez and her colleagues (1995). Implications of accountability pressure on classroom discourse patterns are explored.

Authors

• Dot McElhone, Portland State University

• Teri Tilley, Portland State University