The teaching apparatus: A material-discursive entanglement of tasks and friendship in the upper-secondary classroom

Figures & data

Table

Bodily doings	Doings with words
The students are seated and silent, gazing in the direction of the teacher and the whiteboard. The teacher turns towards the whiteboard and taps with the marker pen on the empty column with a header titled ‘media channels’.	Teacher: Now, we have (.) in a way (.) looked at which functions the media has, so now we have to look at different media channels.
The teacher turns back towards the students and looks around the room with some hesitation, as if he is modifying his plans.	T: So next (.) I think what we will do, so that it is not just me harping, but you doing it yourselves— (.) Erm— (.) (We) should have had more markers. (.) You know what—
The teacher looks at the ‘teacher-desk’, walks over to it and picks up a cardboard carton from the desk drawer and pulls out some whiteboard markers. Then he speaks again to the class, this time more resolutely.	T: Yes, here, we have lots of markers (.) Yes. Come up and write (.) all of you.

Note: (.) = pause; Underline = emphasis.

Table

Bodily doings
Student 1, sitting near the front of the room, and Student 2, sitting at the back, slowly stand up. They glance seriously but playfully at each other. Then, suddenly, both rush towards the front of the room. For a couple of seconds, their bodies enter a single energetic ‘bundle’ as they appear to compete by preventing each other from getting to the front of the room first.
Some of the other students smile or laugh at the two bundling bodies; some exchange weary looks, while others remain serious or unaffected. (Play-fighting was not an unusual activity for these two students.) As soon as the two students reach the teacher, their bodies separate. The teacher gives them a marker pen, and they walk calmly up to the whiteboard and begin to collaborate on writing the names of different media channels in the empty column.

Table

Bodily doings	Doings with words
Student 5 is sitting by her desk, facing the whiteboard and talking to Student 6, who is seated in the same row.	Student 5 [confidently]: Just walk up and push them aside. Student 6: But I don’t know what to write.
The teacher slowly walks down the middle of the classroom, towards the back of the room, while smiling and communicating with some of the students on his way.	[Inaudible talking]
As the teacher moves past Student 5, they exchange a ‘fist bump’ (a greeting gesture).
Next, Student 5 almost jumps up and walks resolutely up the space between the rows of desks.
Halfway up to the whiteboard, Student 5 cheerfully calls another student, Student 7, by her nickname.	Student 5: Liv-usen!
Student 7 responds immediately and follows Student 5 up to the whiteboard. Together, they inspect the growing list, manoeuvre their way around and through the group of students to access the whiteboard and join the writing activity. Meanwhile, the teacher walks to the back of the room. Student 8, sitting in the last row, then stands up and walks over to talk to the teacher before joining the activity at the front of the room.
Some students stay by the whiteboard; others return to their desks, while new students join. While on the whiteboard, the students alternate their movement between taking steps back, looking at the list from a distance while considering what has not been written and then reaching past each other to write again. Some students crouch to access the bottom of the growing list. Some are talking, enthusiastically or exaggeratingly asking each other what the others are writing. Some examples of what is written are the following: 9GAG, Netflix, Tumblr, Facebook, YouTube.

Table

Bodily doings	Doings with words
The teacher suddenly speaks loudly, from the back of the classroom, and directs his voice to three seated students.	Teacher: (Student 9, Student 10 and Student 11). You have to (.) go to the front and write. (…) You can’t let ‘the boys’ take over.
Students 9, 10 and 11, seated on the same row, look at each other and then towards the whiteboard, while talking quietly.	[Inaudible]
Student 9 replies to the teacher. The teacher replies, surprised.	Student 9: But they have written everything. Everything has been written. Teacher: Have they?
Meanwhile, Student 5 has returned to her desk. Next, she speaks in the direction of students 9, 10 and 11.	Student 5: You can write different things than what they have written. Write VG [a Norwegian newspaper]. Write Pinterest. (…) Write Tinder! [a dating app].
Students 9, 10 and 11 swivel their chairs and look hesitantly towards each other.
Then, Student 9 turns to Student 5 with a smile and reply. Students 10 and 11 laugh.	Student 9: You can write it. Student 10: She can write it. (.) You (go ahead and) write it. [Laughter]
Student 5 stands up and walks resolutely back to the whiteboard. After writing, she returns to her desk, and speaks smilingly to students 9, 10 and 11, who remain seated.	[Inaudible talk and laughter]

Note: (.) = pause; Underline = emphasis; (…) = speech left out.