Understanding classrooms EDUC2029 Week 11 Understanding classrooms

Anticipatory set You have a boy in your class who has his feet on the desk, is swearing and throwing stuff. What do you do?

Aim To clarify Assignment 3 To review Week 10 – becoming a student To finish looking at the importance of emotion in teaching To consider the role that discourse analysis can play in helping teachers see classroom interactions through student eyes

Outline Anticipatory set Assignment 3 Review of Week 10 Emotions in teaching and learning Understanding classrooms Conclusion – this week’s tutorial

Assignment 3

Assignment 3: the details Due 30 October 09 Weight: 30% Length: 1500 words

Assignment 3: the details Part A: Provide an anlysis that answers these questions: How is the talk organised in the classroom? For example IRE sequences, turn taking, questions and answers [See your readings for more detail!!] How does that organisation illustrate the social relationships among speakers? For example, who has the authority to speak and be heard? [Gender is impossible to discuss from the samples given to you.] What kinds of knowledge are being constructed? For example, what are students learning about? What counts as important or valuable knowledge? What kinds of interactive trouble occur? OR How is interactive trouble avoided? Part B [conclusion]: Write a summarising statement that demonstrates: Your understanding of the issues about classroom teaching that have been raised by your analysis Your understanding of the importance of undertaking the analysis of classroom interactions for teachers

Assignment 3: Transcripts Three – choose ONE only!! Will read and clarify in tutorials Now: All about the same length CDA: Two samples contain examples of interactive trouble PDA: Third sample avoids serious interactive trouble – discuss how this is achieved (if you choose this one) Might wish to compare the classroom discourse in your chosen piece with other examples Conventions – see page 4 Next week: viewing a video of Prepare-Identify-Elaborate in operation

Criteria (see handout) Transcript analysis: Talk organisation Transcript analysis: Social relations Transcript analysis: Construction of knowledge Summarising statement Quality of writing Ensure the criteria sheet is attached to your assignment!!

Review of Week 10

Week 10: The construction of students in the classroom What do children learn about ‘being’ a good (or bad) student? About what ‘counts’ and is valued? How does the classroom talk ‘position’ children?

Week 10: The construction of students in the classroom Primary knowers Secondary knowers

Week 10: The construction of students in the classroom Functions of schooling Construction of the child Pastoral the supported Child Skilling Regulative Human-capital the Child skilled and regulated for vocational life the Child performing up to standards Individual expression Cultural-heritage the self-expressing Child Democratic the democratic-citizen Child and so on

Week 10: The construction of students in the classroom Competing positions re the purposes of schooling Traditionalism: the transmission of the culture’s heritage Progessivism: education is about personal growth Transformationalism: educational experiences are arenas through which to transform students and society

Week 10: The construction of students in the classroom A return to Traditionalism? The shape of things to come? P (prepare) I (identify) E (elaborate)

The role of ‘emotions’ in teaching

Vygotsky (see Dufficy 2005) Zone of Proximal Development Role of emotion in learning and development (Damasio’s description of the man with steel through his frontal lobe) – bringing together ‘heart’ and ‘head’ ‘…if we intend to challenge children and young people productively, then trust, honesty and authenticity must be the bedrock of our interactions.’ (p66)

From Dufficy, 2005, p72 Chau: But Sir, how about if people are angry inside but in the outside they can’t really say it out? T: Yes, and so they…Do you think it’s good to hold in your anger? Hassan: No. Ss: No. T: No, you reckon you should express your anger. Hassan: Because otherwise you get a headache. T: You get headaches if you hold it in. Have you ever been in situations where you’ve had to hold in your anger?

Ss: Yeah. T: When, Hai. Hai: Last year. T: What happened Ss: Yeah. T: When, Hai? Hai: Last year. T: What happened? Hai: Like Phuong, Salam and George… T: What…? Hai: I had a fight down there. T: And you had to hold in your anger. Mark: Yeah, I was there too. I was watching. T: Sometimes…what’s] Chau: [(…)

T: Sorry, Chau, I interrupted you. Chau: You go. T: No, you go T: Sorry, Chau, I interrupted you. Chau: You go. T: No, you go. Chau: No you. T: I forgot what I was going to say. Doesn’t matter (…) How does this combine elements of ‘head’ and ‘heart’ teaching? Who are the primary and secondary ‘knowers’ here?

Compare…Anstey 2004 Mary (reading from her written piece): When we heard about my pa died, my mum started to cry and we all did too. It was really sad and we couldn’t cheer my mum up. We tried but we just couldn’t cheer my mum up, and he was really good to us. He gave us lollies. Anstey: Your pa died? Mary: Yeah. Anstey (pointing to unfinished word in writing): Are you going to finish the word ‘lollies’?

Mary (shakes head): No, not very much room. Mary: He ate some too, but in hospital he didn’t eat any food, that’s why he was…(pause)…he died. Anstey: He was very sick was he? Are you going to put that into your story? Mary (shakes head): No, not very much room. Anstey: You can use another piece of paper if you want to? Mary: No. Questions: What are the message/s here about being a ‘good’ student? What could the teacher have done differently?

So…Dufficy 2005 ‘it could be said that the story of a classroom is told through its talk. While restricted patterns of communication afford little opportunity to develop both linguistically and cognitively, they also frame for the child the kind of learner she is considered to be. This learner is one that doesn’t initiate topics for consideration by others […] is restricted in the opportunity to question and disagree; and is contrained to the extent that she must pursue the answer demanded by others. At least initially, children are learning values of compliance, cognitive passivity, and uncritical acceptance of the views of others.

Dufficy 2005 ‘…teachers must continue to take children and young people, as active partners, on excursions into the world. The quality of the excursions might well be judged by the nature of the interactions that take place and these, in turn, should be judged on the values and dispositions that children are assisted to learn.’

Understanding classrooms

Perception of order in apparent disorder (Davies and Munro, 1987) The difficulties for student teachers: Ultimate control of classroom not their’s Rules have already been negotiated between students and ‘real’ teacher – not open for ‘radical renegotiation But…existing order is often opaque to students – they interpret classroom through their own eyes, often as ‘successful middle-class pupils…who rarely challenge the teacher’s authority’ (at least, not overtly – play the game)

Becoming a competent teacher Take role of other ‘see themselves as pupils see them…see the classroom from the pupil’s point of view’ Made easier through analysis of video – demonstrates: Complexity for an observer what is going on and therefore the complexity of task facing student teacher Gap between commonsense interpretations of social scenes and interpretations provided by ‘distancing’ analysis Insights into problems of communication which arise between students and those of their students who are culturally different from themselves

Are you smarter than a fifth grader? Lenny Indigenous student ‘running amok’ Teacher attempting to teach him but failing because of resistance ‘The scene appears to be one of chaos, in which very little of Lenny’s behaviour conforms with what one expects a child to do’

A brief look at the transcript First part only Not comprehensive – see the detail in the article

A brief look at the transcript Lenny: (Laughs. Sits down) Oo Oo Oo! Oo Oo Oo! (Monkey-like, using Arnold’s style for gaining attention while banging ruler on desk and making chewing movements with his mouth. He leans back in chair and puts legs on desk. Another student, John, reaches across him to get some cuisenaire rods for his work. Lenny leans back on chair and chews pencil. He looks to the left where the teacher is.) Lenny: (loudly) Hey Miss, Hey Mr Kotter Mister Kotter! (John reaches across for more rods. Michael is working with a tape recorder. Lenny re-positions himself slightly and looks in direction of teacher. No eye-contact is made. Teacher does not acknowledge Lenny.) Lenny: Fuck. Mr Bloody Kotter, Ya (…). (Lenny shifts legs down and sits in a ‘good pupil’ position.) Hey man, I want some work over here! (Lenny looks up as if to see if the teacher has heard or is coming. No eye contact is made.) Lenny: Hey (bangs elbow on desk) Mister Kotter. (Annoyed tone of voice. He leans back in chair and puts legs on desk. Teacher walks past while he is in the middle of the action. She touches him lightly on the head and moves to Jenny.)

A brief look at the transcript Lenny: I want some work down here. (Waves pencil and bangs paper on desk.) Teacher: (answering from position near Jenny, to whom she is about to attend) When you sit quietly I’ll come and see you. (Lenny throws pencil on desk. Teacher moves back and very lightly taps him on leg as she walks past.) Teacher: Sit around so that I can (…). When you sit nicely I’ll come back and see you. (Talks about work with John.) Do those there (points to page). (Jenny comes over to Teacher who is now in her original position.) What grade are you in Jenny? Lenny: 4th. Teacher: (picks up mechanical maths books off pile) Did you have one of these last year? Jenny: Mmm (blank look). Teacher: (pick up another book) Did you have one of these last year?

Eventually… Lenny stands up and throws book in desk. Teacher turns attention to another child. Lenny leaves his desk, picks up table again. Drops it and another boy picks it up. Teacher grabs Lenny and puts him in the corner behind door. He stands there for a short while, then takes the board ruler and points at words on the board. The teacher puts him back in corner. Lenny climbs out of the window. All attention is now on Lenny. He swings from a beam, the children shut the window and lock the door. There is no longer any semblance of a classroom as children clamour at the window and Lenny drops to the ground below.

A brief look at the transcript What do you think? (Think about IRE structure, notion of primary/secondary knowers etc) How is the student being constructed? What counts as a ‘good’ student in this classroom? http://danyelliott.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/welcome-back-kotter-photograph-c10042001.jpg

A brief look at the transcript Background: Welcome back Kotter (watch out for Arnold Horschack) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqw1RC3d1d0&feature=related http://danyelliott.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/welcome-back-kotter-photograph-c10042001.jpg

A brief look at the transcript Lenny: (Laughs. Sits down) Oo Oo Oo! Oo Oo Oo! (Monkey-like, using Arnold’s style for gaining attention while banging ruler on desk and making chewing movements with his mouth. He leans back in chair and puts legs on desk. Another student, John, reaches across him to get some cuisenaire rods for his work. Lenny leans back on chair and chews pencil. He looks to the left where the teacher is.) Lenny: (loudly) Hey Miss, Hey Mr Kotter Mister Kotter! (John reaches across for more rods. Michael is working with a tape recorder. Lenny re-positions himself slightly and looks in direction of teacher. No eye-contact is made. Teacher does not acknowledge Lenny.) Lenny: Fuck. Mr Bloody Kotter, Ya (…). (Lenny shifts legs down and sits in a ‘good pupil’ position.) Hey man, I want some work over here! (Lenny looks up as if to see if the teacher has heard or is coming. No eye contact is made.) Lenny: Hey (bangs elbow on desk) Mister Kotter. (Annoyed tone of voice. He leans back in chair and puts legs on desk. Teacher walks past while he is in the middle of the action. She touches him lightly on the head and moves to Jenny.)

A brief look at the transcript Lenny: I want some work down here. (Waves pencil and bangs paper on desk.) Teacher: (answering from position near Jenny, to whom she is about to attend) When you sit quietly I’ll come and see you. (Lenny throws pencil on desk. Teacher moves back and very lightly taps him on leg as she walks past.) Teacher: Sit around so that I can (…). When you sit nicely I’ll come back and see you. (Talks about work with John.) Do those there (points to page). (Jenny comes over to Teacher who is now in her original position.) What grade are you in Jenny? Lenny: 4th. Teacher: (picks up mechanical maths books off pile) Did you have one of these last year? Jenny: Mmm (blank look). Teacher: (pick up another book) Did you have one of these last year?

Eventually… Lenny stands up and throws book in desk. Teacher turns attention to another child. Lenny leaves his desk, picks up table again. Drops it and another boy picks it up. Teacher grabs Lenny and puts him in the corner behind door. He stands there for a short while, then takes the board ruler and points at words on the board. The teacher puts him back in corner. Lenny climbs out of the window. All attention is now on Lenny. He swings from a beam, the children shut the window and lock the door. There is no longer any semblance of a classroom as children clamour at the window and Lenny drops to the ground below.

Reflecting: Are you smarter than a fifth grader? What do you think now? What causes the problems? How could this incident have been handled differently? Does analysing the transcript make it easier to step back, see the incident from the students’ perspective? See article for comprehensive analysis and interpretation.

Conclusion

Conclusion Bring readings to tutorials Tutorial Questions – lecture Reading transcripts and clarifying understanding Practise discourse analysis Writing the assignment (Part 1)

References Anstey, M. and Bull, G. (2004). The literacy labyrinth second edition. Pearson Prentice Hall: Frenchs Forest NSW. Davies, B. and Munro, K. (1987). The Perception of order in apparent disorder: A classroom scene observed. Journal of education for teaching. 13: 2. pp117-131. Dufficy, P. (2005). ‘Becoming’ in classroom talk. Prospect. 20:1. pp59-81.