Abstract of

Middle and High School Students' Perceptions of How They Experience Text-Based Discussions: A Multicase Study

Donna E. Alvermann

Josephine Peyton Young

Dera Weaver

Kathleen A. Hinchman

David W. Moore

Stephen F. Phelps

Esther C. Thrash

Patricia Zalewski

In this multicase study, adolescents at five culturally diverse sites across the United States engaged in face-to-face interactions as they reflected and reported on their perceptions of their own and other students' experiences in discussing regularly assigned content area texts. Our decision to consider students' insights into their experiences distinguishes this study from previous work on classroom interaction that has focused primarily on teachers' and researchers' interpretations of student talk. A social constructionist perspective, which provided the framework for the study, enabled us to explore how verbal and nonverbal patterned ways of interacting shape, and are shaped by, social practices inherent in classroom talk about text. Data sources included three rounds of videotaped class discussions followed by three focal group interviews, field notes, theoretical memoranda, narrative vignettes, and samples of students' work. Data collection and analysis, which were ongoing over the course of 1 school year, included a procedure for sharing field notes, transcribed interviews, and videos across sites. This procedure for involving the participants at all five sites in analyzing common sets of data generated findings that suggest students are (a) aware of the conditions they believe to be conducive to good discussions, (b) knowledgeable about the different tasks and topics that influence their participation in discussions, and (c) cognizant of how classroom discussions help them understand what they read. By focusing on students' perceptions of their own actions, thoughts, and motives related to classroom talk about texts, it was possible to make visible their negotiation of different roles and relations, rights and responsibilities, and norms and expectations in peer-led and whole-class discussions. Implications for researchers and teachers alike underscore the importance of considering the richness of data to be found in classroom discussions.

Abstract from Alvermann, D.E., Young, J., Weaver, D., Hinchman, K.A., Moore, D.W., Phelps, S.F., Thrash, E.C., & Zalewski, P. (1996). Middle and High School Students' Perceptions of How They Experience Text-Based Discussions: A Multicase Study. Reading Research Quarterly, 31(3), 244–267. doi: 10.1598/RRQ.31.3.2