The functions of consonance and dissonance in the dialogue of secondary-level literacy coaching

ABSTRACT

This multiple case study of literacy coaching with two secondary-level teachers of English language learners (ELLs) explored dialogical factors leading to changes in teachers’ thinking and practices. During coaching sessions, the coach and teacher engaged in video self-reflection and planning. Analysis centred on dialogue in one focal session for each teacher that led to changes associated with improved achievement for ELLs. By the end of the study, teachers included increased opportunities for student talk, relied more on evidence of student learning to inform instructional decisions and showed more nuanced self-evaluation. Two responsive conversational moves by the coach, revoicing and reconceptualising, led most directly to changes. Analysis showed that revoicing built consonance while reconceptualising introduced dissonance. These moves, informed by listening and context, capitalised upon the tension between consonance and dissonance and encouraged teachers to listen to themselves and make changes in thinking and practices.

KEYWORDS:

• Literacy coaching
• professional development
• secondary school teachers
• dialogue
• English language learners

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jennifer Sharples Reichenberg

Dr Jennifer Sharples Reichenberg is an assistant professor in the Department of Education at Medaille College in Buffalo, NY. She has held positions as a literacy specialist, literacy consultant and literacy coach working with students and teachers from pre-kindergarten through Grade 12. Dr Reichenberg’s current research focuses on literacy coaching and teacher development in diverse contexts. She is a recipient of the Literacy Research Association’s Student Outstanding Research Award and a Reading Hall of Fame Emerging Scholars Fellowship. Dr Reichenberg has presented her research at the annual conferences of the Literacy Research Association, American Educational Research Association and New York State Reading Association.

Fenice B. Boyd

Dr Fenice B. Boyd is Chair and Professor of Instruction and Teacher Education at the University of South Carolina. Her research trajectory centres on diversity writ large – diversity as it relates to students’ ethnic, cultural and linguistic backgrounds, academic abilities, instructional approaches and curriculum materials. Dr Boyd’s work is published in numerous peer-reviewed journals and books. Her three most recent books are Social Diversity within Multiliteracies: Complexity in Teaching and Learning (Boyd and Brock, 2015), Exploring Diversity Through Multimodality, Narrative and Dialogue: A Framework for Teacher Reflection (McVee and Boyd, 2016) and Video Pedagogy in Action: Critical Reflective Inquiry Using the Gradual Release of Responsibility Model (McVee, Shanahan, Hayden, Boyd, and Pearson, with Reichenberg, 2018).