Relational Becoming: Considering Classroom Dialogue in Ethico-ontological Terms

This paper draws on Bakhtin’s ethico-ontological vision of dialogue to theorize “relational becoming” on a micro-level. To do so, it introduces three “ethical dimensions of dialogue” (responsibility, responsiveness, and capacitation) and develops the interrelated concepts of addressability and presencing as analytical lenses. Drawing on transcript data from a series of high school and college students’ discussions about controversial political issues, the analysis examines how interlocutors made themselves addressable, addressed each other, and were “presenced” in dialogue. It also discusses the ethico-ontological potential of these interactions, identifying a problematic tendency among interlocutors to not “show up” in verbal discourse in a variety of ways, including, in particular, reliance on abstractions.

“Why Don’t They Just Move Closer?”: Adolescent Critical Consciousness Development in YPAR About Food Security

The aim of this paper is to explore high school students’ critical consciousness development in the context of youth participatory action research (YPAR) focused on food security at an alternative school in Alabama. The YPAR project took place in an elective agriscience class with 10 students (Seven Black, two white, one Latino) who were in the 10th to 12th grades. Utilizing data from researcher notes, classroom observations, and archival classroom documents, we present students’ YPAR project outcomes to share their research-driven solutions to food insecurity in their community. Vignettes of classroom dialogue are also constructed to illustrate moments of reflection in the YPAR context about food security. We present three “critical moments,” or instances of social analysis, to illustrate how students’ individual-level attributions occurred alongside teacher dialogue and student-led investigation of structural inequities in the community. Findings illustrate how students’ nonlinear critical consciousness development consisted of reliance on individual-level attributions in classroom dialogue co-occurring with systems-thinking activities and other YPAR project outcomes. This paper has implications for research on the imperfect and wavering nature of adolescent critical consciousness development in YPAR.

Koulunkäynninohjaaja perusopetukseen valmistavan opetuksen luokassa: koskettaminen ohjaamisen tukena

The article presents a microethnographic study on touch episodes between teaching assistants and pupils in the context of immigrant students' preparatory classroom. The data consist of 16 classroom lessons, 45 minutes each, with 7–12-year-old participants, 4–7 pupils at a time. We calculated all touches, categorizing them by touch initiators, and classified various physical types of touch. In three vignettes, we outline how the teaching assistant implemented teacher's verbal instruction in verbal-tactile mode, made discreet tactile interventions to disturbing or passive students, and thus enabled the classroom dialogue to continue. The institutional roles of the teacher and the assistant are evident in their different ways of touching, rather than in their frequency: the teaching assistant's touch episodes were often long-lasting, or series of different touches, even with two hands, while the typical way for a teacher to touch was a light one-hand-touch on a pupil's shoulder.

Dialogue in Online Learning Spaces: How Transitioning to Online Learning during a Pandemic Impacts Critical Classroom Dialogue and Inclusivity

The sudden shift to online learning because of COVID-19 created a series of challenges for educators. Faculty took a “triage” approach to reformatting their courses quickly. And while this was a necessary approach for many reasons, you couldn’t help but wonder what students would be missing. As a Communication Studies professor, dialogue is an essential tool I use in the classroom. Effective dialogue can lead to a greater acceptance of diverse thought and individuals, as well as less divisiveness and intolerance. So, when the pandemic forced us to switch to online learning, the biggest question I had was: How do we maintain effective classroom dialogue in online learning spaces? This reflective essay seeks to answer this question in real-time, as I simultaneously prepare to teach at least another year of online courses. I explore the importance of dialogue in the classroom, how dialogue can be a conduit of inclusivity, why we should strive for inclusivity in our classrooms, and finally, how we translate these lessons to the online classroom. My hope is that this piece will help further this conversation and act as a resource for maintaining effective dialogue in every type of classroom.