Authority as an Interactional Accomplishment Through Whole-Class Talk Lynn Astarita Gatto ...

205 Pages·2012·8.34 MB·English

Authority as an Interactional Accomplishment Through Whole-Class Talk
Lynn Astarita Gatto

Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
Of the
Requirements for the Degree
Doctor of Philosophy

Supervised by
Professor Joanne Larson

Department of Teaching and Curriculum
Warner School of Education
and Human Development

University of Rochester
Rochester, New York

2012
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Dedication

I dedicate this dissertation to my husband, Richard Gatto. He wanted this dissertation for me
because I wanted it. For his selfless devotion, I am a very lucky and grateful.
iii

Curriculum Vitae
The author was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut on March 26, 1952. She attended
Monmouth College in Long Branch, New Jersey from 1970-1973, and graduated with a
Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education in 1974. She also attended Nazareth College,
in Rochester, New York from 1976 -1978 and received a Masters of Arts in Learning
Disabilities in 1977. She came to the University of Rochester in the fall of 1999 and began
part-time doctoral studies in Teaching and Curriculum. She pursued her research in teaching,
curriculum and change under the direction of Professor Joanne Larson.

List of Scholarly Publications, Presentations and Articles Submitted for Publication:
“Lunch is gross”: Gaining access to powerful literacies, December 2011, Revise and
resubmit status, Language Arts

Opportunities and challenges of classroom literacy research: Teacher/researcher
perspectives, November 2010, presentation with P. Irvine

“Lunch is gross:” Urban elementary students gaining access to powerful literacy practices,
February 2009, NCTE Assembly for Research, presentation

Success guaranteed literacy programs: I don't buy it! in Literacy As Snake Oil, 2007 and
2001 (Revised Edition), Peter Lang Publishers

A life outside, (documentary film), 2006, in collaboration J. Larson & D. Smith

Learning spaces travel: Disrupting in/out of school binary, April 2005, AERA presentation

Tactical underlife: Understanding student’s perceptions, 2004, Journal of Early Childhood
(co-authored with J. Larson)

Language, power and multiple literacies: Insights into urban teaching, 2003, AERA
presentation with J. Larson

Perceptions, politics and pedagogy: Examining children’s understanding of language,
power and literacies, 2002, NCTE presentation with J. Larson & G. Jacobs
iv

Identity, teaching and research: One teacher’s negotiations of a new identity, 2002, AERA
presentation with J. Larson & G. Jacobs

Simultaneous Overlapping Conversation (SOC): A theoretical framework, 2001, AERA
presentation
v

Acknowledgments
I thank my committee for standing by me with their insights, encouragement and
assurances during the long journey to the completion of this dissertation. In particular, I wish
to thank Dr. Joanne Larson who was my personal champion! Her theoretical acumen and
difficult questions pushed my thinking beyond anything I thought I was capable. I also thank
Dr. David Bloome for his incredible command of methodology for understanding classroom
talk and interactions, which contributed to focusing my questions and analysis. His wisdom
gave me confidence. Dr. Edward Brockenbrough’s careful reading of my dissertation and his
high standards added rigor to my work. His positive energy contributed to not only the
completion of this dissertation but also validation of its importance.
As I walked on campus for my interview 12 years ago and learned the University’s
motto is “Meliora: Ever Better,” I knew it was beshert (Yiddish for inevitable or
preordained) to matriculate in the Doctoral program at the University of Rochester. I thank
my parents, Ann and Murray Astarita, for instilling in me to be “ever better.”
This acknowledgement would not be complete without mentioning The Explorers.
My last 3years of teaching will forever remain etched in my heart. The Explorers were an
amazing group of students; they taught me to be the very best teacher I could be.
Finally, I acknowledge my husband, Richard Gatto, who supported me in every way
to achieve this degree. I do not even know how to begin to thank him for his enduring
patience, stabilizing sensibility, infinite kindness, compassionate assurance and charming
sense of humor. This dissertation would not have been possible without his support.
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Abstract
Talk is at the heart of classroom instruction and, according to the vast research on
classroom talk, the teacher does most of the talking. Thus, an asymmetry of power is created
between teachers and students. These asymmetrical relationships are most obvious in urban
elementary classrooms where test prep literacy curriculum has become the dominant
approach to literacy instruction. In spite of the debate and challenge by scholars the
implementation of this reductionist approach to literacy learning has teachers reading from
instructional scripts, drilling phonics skills, and using controlled vocabulary texts. Students
are reduced to understanding literacy as answering the “right” questions and reading as many
words as possible within one minute. This ethnographic case study examines how one urban
elementary teacher resisted the dominant approaches of reductionist literacy curriculum by
engaging her students in rich and varied opportunities to use literacy for genuine purposes in
the form of authentic literacy learning. Within this context of authentic literacy practices the
students and teacher engaged in dialogic whole-class talk. Dialogic talk shifts the teacher
dominated whole-class talk from answering evaluative questions to a jointly constructed
conversation. This study demonstrates how concepts of authority emerged from this dialogic
whole-class talk. Varying forms of authority were identified and conceptualized as in control,
to control and for control through grounded theory and conversational analysis of whole-
class talk. It was the participation structures and negotiated rules of the conversational floor
that made each form of control distinct. For the members of this urban elementary class,
authority became a jointly constructed accomplishment that fluidly and dynamically moved
from one form of control to another. This study demonstrates how authentic literacy learning
can provide a space for instructional autonomy through whole-class talk, particularly for
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urban students who have been silenced through the use of dominant literacy instructional
approaches. As an interactional accomplishment, authority through whole-class talk gives
urban students a voice.
viii

Table of Contents
Dedication ii
Curriculum Vitae iii
Acknowledgments v
Abstract vi
List of Tables x
List of Figures xi
Chapter 1: Introduction 1
Veteran Urban Teacher 2
Authentic Literacy 5
Perceptions of Urban Schools 8
Deficit Perspective 9
Low Expectations 10
High-Stakes Testing 11
Impact on Literacy Learning 13
Statement of Purpose and Research Questions 15
Overview of Chapters 16
Chapter 2: Review of the Literature 19
Whole-Class Talk 20
Recitative and Responsive Scripts 21
Responsive-Collaborative Scripts 22
Dialogic Conversations 23
Student Roles 24
Teacher Roles 24
Critical Pedagogy 25
Authority 27
IRE Prevails 29
Chapter 3: Theoretical Framework 31
Situated Learning Theory 32
Community of Learners 34
New Literacy Studies 37
Power 41
Integrated Framework 44
Chapter 4: Research Methodology 46
Rationale for Ethnographic Case Study 47
Research Setting 51
Data Collection 58
Analytic Framework 60
Grounded Theory 61
The Influence of Ethnomethodology and Interactional Sociolinguists 62
Conversational Analysis 64
The principles of conversational analysis include 65
ix

Logic of Inquiry 66
Research Design 70
Ethical Considerations 78
Trustworthiness Criteria 78
Limitations 80
Chapter 5: The Case 82
The Explorers 82
In Response to Gross Lunches 83
Literacy as Authentic 85
Response to the Documentary 90
Chapter 6: Findings and Analysis 93
Selected Video Clip: Menu Discussion 94
Authority Triad 94
Authority in Control 96
Routines and Rituals 97
Managing the Conversational Floor 99
Explanation 108
Authority to Control 110
Displaying Knowledge 110
Organizing Instruction 113
Explanation 115
Authority for Control 116
Responding to External Issues of Power 116
Explanation 119
Summary 120
Chapter 7: Conclusion 121
Conversational Structures for Negotiating Authority 121
Authority as Visible and Fluid 123
Impact of Authority on Authentic Literacy Practices 123
Significance of Study 129
Cultural Competence 129
Silences Within the Dialogic Space 131
Implications for Further Research 133
Implications for Practice 134
Call to Action 135
References 137
Appendices 172
Appendix A: Transcription Symbols 173
Appendix B: Timeline for Literacy Events 174
Appendix C: Student Consent Letter 177
Appendix D: Parent Consent Letter 179
Appendix E: Democrat & Chronicle Article 183
Appendix F: Transcript 6.4 174
x

List of Tables

Table 1. Talk Moves...............................................................................................25
Table 2. Tools for Conversational Analysis...........................................................65
Table 3. Open-Coding Categories..........................................................................70
Table 4. Questions Emerged From Gerund Coding...............................................73
Table 5. Analysis of the Conversational Floor for Transcript 6.4........................100
Table 6. Initiation of New Topics.........................................................................100
Table 7. Length of Turns at Talk..........................................................................118
Table
 8.

 Lunch
 is
 Gross
 Project
 Correlated
 to
 ELA
 Standards……………..………..124