The Effects of Interpretive Authority on Classroom Discussions of Poetry: Lessons from One Teacher

Abstract

In this study we investigated the impact of a teacher's interpretive authority on the content and conduct of discussions of poetry in two ninth-grade classes. Three authority conditions were examined: a condition in which the teacher taught a poem he had written, a condition in which the teacher taught a poem he had taught many times previously, and a condition in which the teacher taught a poem that he saw for the first time along with his students. Transcribed discussions were segmented into turns and communication units. Turns were analyzed for how they related to the previous turn and informative statements were analyzed for the kind of reasoning and knowledge source speakers employed. Within-class chi-square analyses identified significant differences in all three variables in both classes. Coupled with an examination of the proportion of teacher talk in the discussions and of particpants’ evaluation of the discussions, these analyses suggest that reducing a teacher's authority over the text under discussion fosters dialogue. However, the social dynamic at play in school discussions of literature may affect the potential of this instructional strategy.

Keywords:

• classroom discourse
• teaching and learning
• literature
• authority

The research reported in this article was made possible in part by grants from the Spencer Foundation and the National Council of Teachers of English Research Foundation. The data presented, the statements made, and the views expressed are solely the responsibility of the authors. The authors would like to thank Tieka Harris, Jill Kornfeld, and Beth Lowe for their help preparing and analyzing the data; Chuck Scott and Tom Ten Have for their help with statistics; and Melanie Kuhn for suggestions on the paper.

Notes

1. The four poems used in this study include the following: Connolly, B. (2002). Close to death. New Jersey English Journal, nv, pp. 55–56; Doty, M. (2000). Charlie Howard's descent. In Turtle, swan & Bethlehem in broad daylight: Two volumes of poetry. Urbana, IL; University of Illinois Press, Howe, M. (1999). Sixth grade. In What the living do. New York; W. W. Norton, McCarriston, L. (1991). Billy. In Eva-Mary. Evanston, IL; TriQuarterly Books.

2. All student names used in this report are pseudonyms.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Michael W. Smith

Michael W. Smith (Ph.D. University of Chicago, 1987) is a professor in the Department of Curriculum, Instruction, and Technology in Education in Temple University's College of Education

William Connolly

William Connolly (Ed. M. Rutgers University, 1999) is supervising chairperson of Rancocas Valley Regional High School's Department of English and is co-director of the National Writing Project at Rowan University