TE 991 Special Topics in Curriculum, Teaching and Educational Policy
"Introduction to Analysis of Educational Discourse"

Summer 1998

(Note: This course will be taught in summer, 1998. For information about the course, please contact Dr. Jenny Denyer at jdenyer@msu.edu)

Course Description

This 5-week intensive course introduces students to theory and methods for the analysis of discourse in educational settings. It is intended for advanced doctoral students who have already taken introductory courses in educational inquiry.

Students will analyze a transcript taken either from their own previously collected audio or videotaped discourse data or from data provided by the course instructors.

Students will read about and discuss major theories and concepts from sociolinguistics and the ethnography of communication as they are applied to studying talk in settings where people are teaching and learning. These settings may include, but are not limited to, schools and classrooms.

The course format will include opportunities for students to analyze data in small groups in addition to seminar/discussions. The course assignments will bring theory and practice together as students frame research questions, examine their transcripts, and develop interpretive analyses of conversation in educational settings.

Readings

Books (available at the International Center Bookstore and the College Store in the Hannah Plaza)

• Cazden, C. B. (1988). Classroom discourse. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
• Tannen, D. (1989). Talking voices. New York: Cambridge University Press.
• Schiffrin, D. (1994). Approaches to discourse. Cambridge: Blackwell.

Articles (packet available at Budget Printers in the Trowbridge Shopping Center)

Course Outline

Week One

M 5/12- Introduction to the Course and Field of Study

W 5/14- Analysis Lab I

Th 5/15- Analysis of Classroom Communication (Part One)

Readings due:

Florio-Ruane, S. (1987) Sociolinguistics for educational researchers. AERJ, 24 (2), 185-197. (packet)

Cazden, C.B. (1988). Classroom discourse. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann (Part One).

Case Example: Analysis of Communication in A Book Club (Susan Florio-Ruane; Jocelyn Glazier; Mary McVee, Susan Wallace)

Week Two

M 5/19 Analysis of Classroom Communication (Part Two)

Readings due:

Cazden, C.B. (1988). Classroom discourse. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann (Parts Two and Three)

W 5/21-Analysis Lab II

Th 5/22 Taking a Closer Look at Face-to-Face Communication

Readings due (everyone):

Erickson, F. and Shultz, J. (1977). When is a context? Some issues of theory and method in the analysis of social competence. Quarterly Newsletter of the Institute for Comparative Human Development, 1(1), 5-10. (packet)

Readings due (jigsaw discussion):

Sacks, H., Schegloff, E. and Jefferson, G. (1974). A simplest sysematics for the organization of turn-taking for conversation. Language, 50, 696-735. (packet)

Edelsky, C. (1981). Who's got the floor? Language in society, 10 (3), 383-421.

Shultz, J., Florio, S. and Erickson, F. (1982). Where's the floor? Aspects of the cultural organization of social relations in communication at home and at school. in P. Gilmore and A. Glatthorn (eds.), Children in and out of school: Ethnography and education. Washington, DC: The Center for Applied Linguistics, 88-123. (packet)

Case Example: Analysis of Communication in a Writing Conference (Jenny Denyer)

POTLUCK LUNCHEON

Th 5/22 Transcribing Discourse (Special Afternoon Session)

Bring a dish and a transcript to share

Week Three

M 5/26 HOLIDAY- NO CLASS

W 5/28 Analysis Lab III

Th 5/29 Approaching Discourse from Diverse Perspectives

Readings due: Schiffrin, D. (1994). Approaches to discourse. Cambridge: Blackwell.

• Chapters 1 & 2 (everyone)
• Chapters 3-8 (jigsaw discussion)

Case Examples: Alumni Panel (Lynn Brice, Lori Kurtz, Loukia Sarroub & Andy Topper)

Week Four

M 6/2 Conversational Involvement- Part I

Reading due:

Tannen, D. (1991). Talking voices. New York: Cambridge University Press

• Chapters 1-3 (everyone)

W 6/4 Analysis Lab

Th 6/5 Conversational Involvement- Part II

Reading due:

Tannen, D. (1991). Talking voices. New York: Cambridge University Press

• Chapters 4-7 (everyone)

Case Example: Looking at Discourse in Mainstreamed Special Education Settings, Dr. Troy Mariage

Week Five

M 6/9 The Micropolitics of Face-to-Face Communication

Readings due (everyone):

Schiffrin (Part III)

Readings due (jigsaw discussion):

Selected excerpts from the writings of Erving Goffman (packet)

O'Connor, M. C. &. S. Michaels (1996). Shifting participant frameworks: Orchestrating thinking practices in group discussion. In D. Hicks (Eds.), Child discourse and social learning Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (packet)

Wortham, S. (1995). Experiencing the great books. Mind, Culture, and Activity, 2(2), 66-80 and Cazden's review of Wortham's book also published in Mind, Culture and Activity. (packet)

Scollon, R. & Scollon, S.(1988). Storytelling, reading, and the micropolitics of reading. In J. E. Readance & R. S. Baldwin (Eds.), Dialogues in literacy research: Thirty-seventh yearbook of the National Reading Conference (pp. 15-33). Chicago: National Reading Conference. (packet)

Planning for panel presentations of work-in-progress

W 6/11 Analysis Lab V

Th 6/12 Panel Presentations of Work-in-Progress

Pizza Party

Course Assignments/Evaluation

(1) Complete the Analysis Lab Notebook distributed in class: 20 points Sections due 5/19, 5/28, 6/2 and 6/9

(2) Co-plan and lead with several other members of the class a discussion of one of the course assigned books: 20 points due as scheduled (see below)

(3) Prepare for and participate in all jigsaw discussions of course articles as noted in the course outline: 20 points due as scheduled (see syllabus)

(4) Write a 6-item annotated bibliography of course readings (or related outside readings on discourse) of interest to you in your research (hand in hard copy and disk): 20 points due 6/12

(5) Present in an oral panel and a written (1-3 page) hand-out a brief summary of the results of your work in the course's five Analysis Labs: 20 points due last day of class (6/12)

Schedule for Analysis Lab Days

9:10-9:30 Community Share I (framing the lab work for the day)

9:30- 11:30 Team Lab Work (analyzing data together in small groups)

(note: groups should build about 15-20 minutes of break time into lab period)

11:30- noon Community Share II (reporting from small groups to whole class)

Readings/Days for Leading Class Discussion

1. 5/15 Cazden, Part One

2. 5/19 Cazden, Part Two

3. 5/19 Cazden, Part Three

4. 6/2 Tannen, Chapters 1-3

5. 6/5 Tannen, Chapters 4-7