educ2029 week 8 analysing classroom interactions: an introduction

EDUC2029 Week 8

Analysing classroom interactions: an introduction

Anticipatory set

Nominalize the following

Harry’s parents had died in Voldemort’s attack, but Harry had escaped with his lightning scar, and somehow Voldemort’s powers had been destroyed.

(adapted from Rowling 1998)

Anticipatory setPossible answers

Harry’s parents had died in Voldemort’s attack The death of Harry’s parent’s in Voldemort’s attack

Harry had escaped with his lightning scarHarry’s escape with his lightning scar

and somehow Voldemort’s powers had been destroyed. The destruction of Voldemort’s powers

Anticipatory set

Two consequences: elide actor; opens space for evaluation.

The tragic death of Harry’s parent’s in Voldemort’s attack

Harry’s miraculous escape with his lightning scarThe unexpected destruction of Voldemort’s

powers

Aims

• To review nominalization• To review the first assignment• To clarify requirements for the second

assignment• To introduce the analysis of classroom

interactions

Outline of session

• Feedback on assignment 1• Tips for assignment 2• Classroom interaction• Conclusion

Feedback on assignment 1


• Read the question carefully, e.g. you were required to synthesise ideas from four different documents

• Identify core issues, e.g. multiliteracies and Four Resources Model in Section One

• Be precise and systematic (e.g. Four Resouces Model to structure Question 2)

• Question 3: link to personal experience/needs??


• In-text referencing: …may require a wider construct of literacy (Edwards and Potts 2008).

• Reference list: http://www.library.uq.edu.au/services/referencing.html

• Editing and proofreading, in particular sentence structure

Tips for assignment 2

Tips for assignment 2

• Use the Fairclough model• Start in any box• Tutorial – modelling assignment

Fairclough’s dimension of discourse and discourse analysis

Fairclough’s dimension of discourse and discourse analysis

Description: what does it look like? (text analysis)

Explanation: why is it this way? (social analysis)

Interpretation: what does it all mean? (processing analysis)

Approval for policy text

If you haven’t done so yet, make sure you show me what you are planning to use.

Classroom interactions

A Guided Reading of Anstey

Guided reading of Anstey 2003Why bother? Become a better teacher!!

Culican (n.d.): ‘My research so far indicates that working with teachers on analysis of lesson transcripts is both a useful analytic and generative process for my research and also a useful pedagogic process for teachers’

• Note summary on first page• Changing Views of Literacy:

– Literacy as a social practice– Literacy is not neutral– Literacy constructs our world and we are constructed by it

From Chapter 8: The Potions MasterProfessor Severus Snape is addressing a class for the first time:

‘You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making,’ he began. He spoke in barely more than a whisper, but they caught every word – like Professor McGonagall, Snape had the gift of keeping a class silent without effort. ‘As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don’t expect you will really understand the beauty of the soft simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses…I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death – if you aren’t as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach.’

From Chapter 8: The Potions MasterMood

‘Potter!’ said Snape suddenly. ‘What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?’

Powdered root of what to an infusion of what? Harry glanced at Ron, who looked as stumped as he was; Hermione’s hand had shot into the air.

‘I don’t know, sir,’ said Harry.Snape’s lip curled into a sneer.‘Tut, tut – fame clearly isn’t everything.’He ignored Hermione’s hand.‘Let’s try again, Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a

bezoar?’… ‘I don’t know, sir.’‘Thought you wouldn’t open a book before coming, eh, Potter?’

From Chapter 8: The Potions Master

Snape was still ignoring Hermione’s quivering hand.‘What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and

wolfsbane?At this, Hermione stood up, her hand stretching towards the

dungeon ceiling.‘I don’t know,’ said Harry quietly. ‘I think Hermione does, though,

why don’t you try her?’A few people laughed; Harry caught Seamus’s eye and Seamus

winked. Snape, however, was not pleased.‘Sit down,’ he snapped at Hermione. ‘For your information,

Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful…’ etc etc…

From Chapter 8: The Potions Master

• Literacy as a social practice– Children and adults using language to negotiate

relationships and knowledge• Literacy is not neutral– Snape is not just asking questions – he’s also establishing

power and solidarity– These have a basis in a number of factors related to

generation, gender, ethnicity, capacity and class• Literacy constructs our world and we are constructed

by it– Potions matter– A world of insiders and outsiders

Analysing classroom discourse

• classroom discourse mostly consists of question and answer sequences called an ‘Exchange’ – IRF or IRE structure– Initiation (by the teacher, usually in the form of a

question)– Response (by the student)– Feedback (by the teacher) – also called Evaluation

IRE/IRF structure

‘Potter!’ said Snape suddenly. ‘What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?’ (Initiation)


‘I don’t know, sir,’ said Harry. (Response)Snape’s lip curled into a sneer.‘Tut, tut – fame clearly isn’t everything.’ (Feedback/Evaluation)He ignored Hermione’s hand.‘Let’s try again, Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?’

(Initiation)… ‘I don’t know, sir.’ (Response)‘Thought you wouldn’t open a book before coming, eh, Potter?’

(Feedback/Evaluation)

Closer look at Initiation‘Potter!’ said Snape suddenly. ‘What would I get if I added

powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?’ (Initiation)

• Real question• Pseudo question• Direct request (manage)• Indirect request (manage)• Initiate direct request (discipline)• Indirect request (discipline)• Informative• Expressive

Closer look at response


‘I don’t know, sir,’ said Harry. (Response)

• Reply • React (verbal and non-verbal)• Repeat• Reinitiate

Closer look at Feedback/EvaluationSnape’s lip curled into a sneer.‘Tut, tut – fame clearly isn’t everything.’

(Feedback/Evaluation)

• Accept• Praise• Comment• Repeat• Correct• Elaborate• Paraphrase

Questions re IRE

1. Did my initiating questions and statements contain enough information to direct students in the task?

2. Did I ask a lot of pseudo questions (questions that did not require an answer)?

3. When giving feedback did I simply accept an answer or did I provide praise and/or feedback?

Influence of classroom discourse on literary learning

What constitutes knowledge and learning; what constitutes literacy and literate practice?

• How discourse can influence understanding about what constitutes knowledge and learning

• How discourse can influence understanding about literacy and literate practice• How social and cultural aspects of discourse can influence participation in learning • How patterns of discourse can aid or hinder learning

– Role of question and answer exchanges– Managing the function of classroom discourse and learning– Maintaining the focus of discourse on the learning objective– Discourse around an imaginary learning context

• Lesson Phases

Patterns can advantage and disadvantage

Lens metaphor

How discourse can influence understanding about what constitutes knowledge and learning

• Propositional knowledge – knowing about

• Procedural knowledge – knowing how to do something when the need arises

How discourse can influence understanding about literacy and literate practice

• Knowledge about aspects of literacy (implicit and explicit)

• Knowledge about how to do literacy

First class with Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Gilderoy Lockhart: “I see you’ve all bought a complete set of my books – well done. I thought we’d start today with a little quiz. Nothing to worry about – just to check how well you’ve read them, how much you’ve taken in…”

How discourse can influence understanding about literacy and literate practice

Half an hour later, Lockhart collected in the papers and rifled through them in front of the class.

‘Tut, tut – hardly any of you remembered that my favourite colour is lilac. I say so in Year of the Yeti. And a few of you need to read Weekend with a Werewolf more carefully – I clearly state in chapter twelve that my ideal birthday gift would be harmony between all magic and non-magic peoples – though I wouldn’t say no to a large bottle of Odgen’s Old Firewhisky!...but Miss Hermione Granger knew… - good girl! In fact…full marks!...Excellent!’

What do the students learn ABOUT literacy and HOW to do it?

How social and cultural aspects of discourse can influence participation in learning

1. Are the literate practices and discourses of my students socially and culturally different from those of my classroom?

2. Is the lack of participation by some students because they don’t understand the content being taught or because they find the ‘rules’ of interaction difficult to follow or enter into?

3. What other patterns of discourse and interaction might I use to avoid this?

4. Are some of the activities and exchanges of talk I engage in with my students so ritualised that I am seeing procedural display rather than real understanding?

5. How might I check for real understanding rather than procedural display?

How patterns of discourse can aid or hinder learning

Role of question and answer exchanges

Managing the function of classroom discourse and learning

Maintaining the focus of discourse on the learning objective

Discourse around an imaginary learning context


Role of question and answer exchanges• How much of the information given is ‘knowing that’ and how much

is ‘knowing how’? When I ask a question do I only accept the answer in my head or do I accept logical alternatives?

• What do I do with an incorrect answer?• Do I ask students how they arrives at their answer and then identify

for the student where they went wrong or do I reject that answer and ask another student for their answer?

• If I reformulate the question, how do I modify the original to assist in finding the answer?

• Do I simply narrow the alternatives or do I actually provide information about how to get an answer?


Managing the function of classroom discourse and learning1.What is the major focus of the lesson?2.If the focus is on management, what was it that made this so?3.How can I manage and plan my lessons to reduce management talk?4.How can I provide more information about how to do the task and when it is useful?5.Can I engage students in a real-life example to assist in the learning and thus demonstrate its utility?6.Did I model cognitive as well as behavioural processes when I explained how to do the task?

Managing the function of classroom discourse and learning

First class with Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Gilderoy Lockhart: “I see you’ve all bought a complete set of my books – well done. I thought we’d start today with a little quiz. Nothing to worry about – just to check how well you’ve read them, how much you’ve taken in…”

How could Lockhart have improved this part of the lesson?


Maintaining the focus of discourse on the learning objective1.Did the lesson have a clear focus?2.Was the primary focus of learning on a specific literacy outcome? 3.How can I keep the discourse from digressing to other topics?

Danger of integrated units…


Discourse around an imaginary learning context

1. Did the imaginary context for the learning become the focus rather than the literacy outcomes?

2. Was the imaginary context appropriate for the range of students in the class?

3. Does the choice of teaching strategies and materials further the literacy focus of the lesson?

A cautionary tale about chocolate and spaghetti

Lesson Phases

For ‘knowing how’ focussed lessons:• Focus – what’s the lesson about?• Review – what’s been done and learned

previously?• Guided identification – examples of new

knowledge/skills (modelling)• Guided practice – trying out new

knowledge/skills with teacher support• Guided transfer – trying out new

knowledge/skills in new context/s – still with appropriate support

Lesson Phases

1. Was the selection of phases, activities and materials the best for the intended learning outcome?

2. Did the phase types selected promote the discourse that best suited the intended learning outcome?

3. How many phases were the students engages in over a period of time and were there clear (explicit) connections between them?

4. Were there too many changes of phase and discourse in the lesson so that students were having to concentrate more on literate practices (doing the literacy) than literacy learning?

Phases of lesson• First class with Defence

Against the Dark Arts teacher, Gilderoy Lockhart: “I see you’ve all bought a complete set of my books – well done. I thought we’d start today with a little quiz. Nothing to worry about – just to check how well you’ve read them, how much you’ve taken in…”

‘Read the stories of my battle with the Yeti and the Vampire. What procedures for defeating dark creatures emerge from these stories..’

• Focus• Review• Guided identification• Guided practice• Guided transfer

Challenging IRE with PIE

David Rose (2004)

• Prepare• Identify• Elaborate

Used with indigenous communities.

Example of PIEPreparation (P)T: There was a long line of trenches all the way from Belgium through

Germany. But it starts off Dreams of early success evaporated as both the central powers (which is Germany) and the allies (which is France and Britain) dug in a long line extending through Belgium to France and finishing in the south of Germany. So it starts off by saying ‘people dreamed they could succeed quickly’. Can you see the words that mean ‘people dreamed they could succeed quickly’? Have a look there.

All [look]Identification (I)T: What’s the words that say that?St: Dreams of early successes

Example of PIE

AffirmationT: Very good, that’s great, Dreams of early

successes. Let’s all do (highlight) that.All [mark wordings]ElaborationT: So that means they were all dreaming, it was

just a dream. It’s like they were dreaming and their dreams just evaporated into thin air.

More information

See http://www.readingtolearn.com.au/#/articles/

http://www.readingtolearn.com.au/#/articles/

http://www.readingtolearn.com.au/#/articles/

Conclusion

Tutorial

• Questions• Modelling discourse analysis

ReferencesAnstey, M. 2003, ‘Examining classrooms as sites of literate practice and

literacy learning’, in The literacy lexicon second edition, eds G. Bull and M. Anstey, Prentice Hall, Frenchs Forest NSW, pp. 103-121.

Culican, S. J. (n.d.), ‘Troubling teacher talk: The challenge of changing classroom discourse patterns’. Retrieved 14 September 2009 from http://www.aare.edu.au/05pap/cul05592.pdf

Rose, D. 2004, ‘Sequencing and pacing of the hidden curriculum: How Indigenous learners are left out of the chain’, in Reading Bernstein, researching Bernstein, eds J. Muller, A. Morais and B. Davies, RoutledgeFalmer, London, pp. 91-107.

Rowling, J. K. (date unknown)*, Harry Potter and the philosopher’s stone, Bloomsbury, London.

Rowling, J. K. 1998, Harry Potter and the chamber of secrets, Bloomsbury, London.

* Sorry – couldn’t locate the copy I used!!

educ2029 week 8 analysing classroom interactions: an introduction

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