Shifting Conversational Floors: Co-Producing an Understanding of "What to Do Next" in Elementary Classroom Lessons

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 23
  In Roundtable Session: Critical Considerations for Languaging in Classroom Contexts

Abstract

The phenomena of shifting floors unfolds in lesson beginnings as teachers and students exchange information about what to do next. This paper examines how teachers and students work together to co-produce sequences of talk across conversational floors that provide opportunities for students to make these connections. Conversation analysis of audio and video data establishes the important role of simultaneous conversations (schisming) on side floors amongst students as they covertly initiate repair of problematic topics. Discussion addresses how students shift between conversational floors as they bring such topics back to the teacher and the main floor. The study maintains that the co-production of meaning across conversational floors supports students in knowing how to go on in a lesson.

Author

• Stephanie Garoni, La Trobe University