Feedback in a multiethnic classroom discussion: a case study

Abstract

This article focuses on teaching about and for cultural diversity. More specifically, we look at the manner in which different types of teacher feedback either support or hinder student interaction and student learning. We identified seven types of feedback that were used in classroom discussions with 14–15-year-old students. The discussions and the feedback in these discussions provide insight into teaching about cultural diversity and also the impact of specific content that is focused on a sensitive topic. In this case, content of discussions related to a homework assignment about fear in different contexts.

Artikeln berör undervisning för och om kulturell mångfald. Mer specifikt studerar vi vilka typer av feedback som förekommer i en klassrumsdiskussion mellan elever i årskurs 8 och 9 och vad de innebär för elevers lärande. Vi identifierade sju typer av feedback. Sex av dem stödde elevernas lärande medan en av dem motverkade det som undervisningen syftade till. Diskussionen och den feedback som gavs av läraren under lektionerna bidrar med insikt om undervisning om kulturell mångfald, liksom om den inverkan ett särskilt innehåll kan ha. I det här fallet var innehållet i diskussionen relaterat till en läxuppgift om rädsla i olika kontexter.

Keywords:

• cultural diversity
• cultural script
• feedback
• homework
• Sweden
• multicultural classrooms

Notes

1. Goddard and Wierzbicka (2004) describe a cultural script as an ethnopragmatic technique for ‘revealing cultural norms and values in common sayings and proverbs, frequent collocations, conversional routines and varieties of formulaic or semi formulaic speech’ (154).

2. Students who cannot follow instruction in Swedish go to a preparatory class where they are supposed to learn enough Swedish so that they can be integrated into a regular class.

3. Cooperative homework (samarbetsläxa) was the concept used in the project.

4. We translated students’ expressions into English in such a manner as to keep the grammatical incorrectness.

5. This teacher was one of five teachers in a study on collaborative homework assignments. Similar kinds of feedback occurred in the classrooms of all five teachers, but we chose the lessons that showed the greatest variation (Strandberg, unpublished manuscript).

6. Carlgren (2002) distinguishes between direct and indirect content. While direct content refers to the topic being focused on (e.g. perceptions of fear), indirect content relates to, e.g. form: tacit rules for how to discuss a topic in civics class (as compared to other subjects), what kinds of answers are acceptable, etc.