Transcript Teacher Identity Redefined: Virtual Spaces in Face-to

Julie Rust
22 nd SLED Symposium
Friday February 4th, 2010
 A question we are all simultaneously wrestling with:
“Who am I?”
 “Identity is a becoming; the work of identity is ongoing
and pervasive” (Wenger, 1998, p. 163).
 Ties between teacher identity and teacher roles
*"Enacted in every pedagogy are the tensions between
knowing and being, thought and action, theory and
practice, knowledge and experience, the technical and
the existential, the objective and the subjective"
(Britzman, 1991, p. 2).
 How do teachers find themselves renegotiating their roles
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in the classroom when they move from facilitating
discussion face-to-face to facilitating online discussion
forums?
What initially motivates teachers to adopt a hybrid
discussion model?
What types of feedback/prompts/comments characterize
teacher participation on a VLE?
What types of student participation result from teacher
involvement?
What best-practice recommendations do teachers have for
facilitating online discussion forums?
Dillenbourg et al. (2002): “the pedagogical challenge is not
to imitate face-to-face interactions, but to explore different
new communication functionalities that are effective in
virtual learning environments.”
Xu (2009): It’s necessary “for the teachers and students to
make adjustments and put on new ‘hats’ as far as their roles
are concerned in the ‘blended’ teaching and learning
discourse. . . the CMC discourse often divests instructors of
their teaching charisma and years of FTF teaching skills.”
 The move of teacher feedback from the private to the
public realm (Wake et al., 2007)
 “A regime of mutual accountability” (Wake et al.,
2007)
 A move from “knowledge transmission to knowledge
construction” (Xu, 2009)
 “Increasing interactivity and collaboration,
emphasizing processes, and viewing learners as coproducers of knowledge” (Scott & Ryan, 2008)
 BEFORE DISCUSSION (Determining desired student
participation and assessment; Setting objectives,
choosing platform; Creating discussion topics)
 DURING DISCUSSION (Focus of literature)
 AFTER DISCUSSION (Research GAP)
 Anderson et al. (2001) facilitating discourse and direct instruction
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(intellectual/scholarly leadership)
Goodyear et al. (2001) cycle of feedback, validation, and facilitation of a range
of online activities
Harasim et al. (1997) monitoring and encouraging participation and
moderating and facilitating group processes
Mason (2001) online facilitation skills and provision content and access to
online resources
Salmon (2003) online communication skills and troubleshooting, using
emotions and solve conflicts, content expertise, creative feedback, building on
participants ideas, positive attitude and commitment for online learning
Lim & Cheah (2003) providing technical guidance; participating actively
(answering queries, providing feedback and posing conflicting views to elicit
thinking/reflection); keeping the discussion focused; drawing conclusions;
providing content expertise; and recommending resources for extension of
learning.
 Social Constructivism (Vygotsky, 1978)
 Community of Learners/Practice/Inquiry (Yeh, 2010;
Oren et al., 2002; Lave & Wenger, 1991):
*Communities of Practice: emphasis on “the relational
character of knowledge and learning, and . . . the
concerned (engaged, dilemma-driven) nature of learning
activity for the people involved”
(Lave &Wenger, 1991, p. 33).
 New Literacies Approach (Gee, 2003; Kress, 2003;
Street, 2005)
 Participatory Assessment Network
 2009 Fall Semester: War of Vietnam Unit; Discussion
Forums (40 questions)
 Personal Interviews with Jane (grad student at IU), Beth
(high school teacher at alternative school), and Grace (high
school English teacher at rural public school)
 Computer-Mediated-Discourse Analysis (Herring, 2004)
 Participation Analysis (Xu, 2009): “the contribution and
engagement of the teachers and the students, the changing
roles of the teachers and the students.”
• Setting Objectives
• Choosing Platform
• Assessment Procedures
• Appropriate Use Norms
Pre-Discussion
Roles
DuringDiscussion Roles
• Framing Questions/
Initiating Discussion
• Teacher Participation
• Monitoring Student
Participation
• Return to face-to-face
discussion
• Personal reflection
assessment
After-Discussion
Roles
 “I have had issues getting students involved in
classroom discussions for years. I would ask a
question, and students would just sit and wait me out.
. . Evidently, allowing students to use a journal to
write in before discussion enabled more voices to
speak, and allowing them to go back to the journal
after discussion ensued created even more
opportunities for learning. . . . This seemed to work
very well and improved classroom discussion and
student understanding. I used the online discussion
forum to replace the journals. I think that this was a
natural progression.” (Grace)
 “.It felt like the stakes went up for the students . . .there
was an outside audience and it wasn’t a known
audience . .. having this other audience is really
powerful for kids to try on other academic identities .
..That’s also something that’s really important for
kids as they move out . . as we prepare them for
life-not college, not just college, not just
workplace. Just so we have this phenomenon of
invisible audiences . .and trying to picture this
audience and write for this audience is a really
important and high level skill . . . “ (Jane)
*“collaboration” and interaction: “my goal was that they
would talk with each other and when I do feel like I’m
doing best practice things that’s my goal is for them to
talk to each other. . and it’s hard to do. . . Ultimately
what I want is for kids to be able to know what the
concept is . . . that is part of their working vocabulary
but part of their understanding and part of when they
approach another book a similar kind of thing they’ll
be able to do that anywhere . . . a TV show or
whatever.” (Beth)
“The main reason I dislike Moodle so much is I have to
go through a district tech person at North to load up
my students, and there are always glitches. I still don't
have all of the students in my classes loaded to the
Moodle site we're currently using. Students like Ning
better. They can personalize their page, and I find
when we use it, they seem to have more a sense of
ownership.” (Beth)
 “ . . . I think that what I found more than anything is
that there really isn't one 'right' answer. I think we
have to understand our students and work to find the
solution that benefits each student the most. “
(Grace)
“I just tell my student to respond (they know that's my
expectation), and I think that comes from the
relationship I have and try to build with my students.
If they don't respond, they aren't penalized with points
deducted. I still encourage them (those who hesitate).
They know up-front that I won't force anyone, just like
I never force anyone to share a piece of writing.
Students are invited to do this, and most accept the
invitation, and I think this frees them and allows them
to feel safer. It's not a problem at all. Most students
like to respond on the Ning.” (Beth)
 “in terms of participatory assessment, one thing we say
is we want to provide multiple evidence for
participation . . . so you might not be the first person
ever to answer the question, but you might be the one
to ask questions about the response . . . the arguers,
the heavy users and the people who are lighter users or
lurkers maybe . . “ (Jane)
 “Working in this environment is a privilege, not a
right. Therefore, you must agree to abide by these rules
for this to work and be a productive part of our
education landscape. Please read the rules below and
be prepared to discuss any issues related to these
rules. For social networking to be used in education, it
is important that all of us agree to treat one another as
we would like to be treated.” (Homepage of Ning Site)
 I feel pretty strongly that students should talk about
and develop their own set of rules and norms. I doubt
that many of my students have even looked at [the
Ning rules]. . . . (Beth)
 O'Brien uses a conversion between Kiowa and Dobbins to
show a contrasting view on church. Kiowa grew up in a
religious atmosphere, enjoys churches, and is extremely
respectful. Dobbins attended a church as a child, but he
does not think the church is a place for him. He is still
interested in being kind to people. This is important
because it allows us to see their separate personalities. We
are able to further understand their motives, and the story
as a whole. (Mike)
 maybe fighting in the war gave him somewhat of a
confidence boost... idk like it made him feel good to know
he was helping his country, like a huge honor. so when he
left and got a lil somn' somn' if you know what i mean lol,
maybe after that he was ready to go help his country some
more. (Kelly)
 “The problem is that once she started working with
Grace her students got a little bit intimidated I think
because [Beth] doesn’t care about grammar and
punctuation and structure and stuff and doesn’t want
them to care about it either. Grace’s students are more
advanced so. . . they automatically treated it like
doing school. (Jane)
Framing Discussion Questions
Activiating Prior Knowledge
Multimodal Online Resources
Reflection on Learning
Character Analysis/Personal Opinion
Links to Classroom Discussion
Student-Driven Space
 You don’t ever want to ask known answer questions . . .
because they’ll try to respond the ways the teacher
wants them to. . .Try to come up with questions that
are open enough to make that possible. . .. One of our
guiding principles is that we have these formalisms
and we want kids to be able to have time to enlist them
and use them even if they use them wrong it doesn’t
matter until later on . . We want to push off the
figuring off if they are right or wrong until later which
means that the discussion forums are a place for them
to try out the formalisms and that would ideally be
part of how we use forums. (Jane)
 “There are several reasons for my lack of consistent input.
One is that at first I was letting them engage with each
other. They were able to moderate their own discussions
and seemed to be doing well with it. . . I wanted my
students to become comfortable with the process without
worrying about me 'watching' their every move.” (Grace)
 “I think that there’s this definite tradeoff- if you jump into
the forum as a grownup, teacher, researcher whateverimmediately it becomes a more academic forum because
you’re prodding and you’re there and it’s clear that you’re
there and it’s just like a classroom setting . . So higher
quality responses in terms of academic response, but what
you lose is the spontaneity, you lose those other types of
participation.” (Jane)
 Jane went on to describe one students’ slightly off-color
remark about a dramatically violent scene in The Things
They Carried, during which some soldiers brutally kill a
water buffalo:
 “this kid, he posts something like “he’s hungry for buffalo
wings;” it was some vandal sort of thing- It was fine
because it wasn’t disruptive and I’m not sure that would
have happened if a teacher were in that forum, and there’s
value in that kind of response because that’s a personal
engagement, it’s a personal investment someone is making
it’s funny, it’s creative, it has value . .And we see it in lots of
different types of forums . . That’s a legitimate way to
respond to something and of course that wouldn’t be
enough . . but it’s something . . . . so it’s kind of a tradeoff
which I don’t quite understand the edges of.”
Correct/Enlarge Perspective
Could it be that he is just afraid to accept the consequences of being a CO? There were a lot
of negative consequences to trying to take that status, and running to Canada wasn't
much better. (Grace)
 Draw Student to Say More
Sally, I wish you'd say more about this. Can "made-up" stories make the stomach believe?
(Beth)
 Move to New Topic
I agree . . . I love the connection Jamie's making about "burdens"--both stories really are
about burdens, which makes me wonder why Tim O'Brien made the decision to tell one
of the stories in first person and one in third person. What do you guys think? (Jane)
 Clarify Direct Question
This is such a hard question. I mean, we have that scene with Henry and Norman playing
checkers--and the narrator makes it clear that the nice thing about checkers is that
there's black and red. The opponent is easy to identify, and everything happens in nice
straight lines, along a grid. So what do we do about the fact that the 'enemy' is sometimes
the soldiers' best ally, as the poppa-san was by guiding the platoon through an area filled
with land mines? What about his tears when the platoon had to leave? (Jane)
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 Pure and Simple
Good thoughts there, Tom. (Melanie)
 Affirmation with Paraphrase
Good points Kate. His mother could have been more flexible, right?
(Melanie)
 Call for Response
This is such a good question, Cheryl! and I hope people jump on it. It'sa
pretty gory story, but yes , he says it's a "love story" and I can see how it
is..... and it's even more a "love story" than Rat Kiley's love for his
comrade, Curt Lemon. I'd really like to know what people think about
this topic.......(Beth)
 Praise for Originality
I had not thought of this but it makes total sense and makes me
understand that scene in an entirely new way. Thank you, Kate. (Jane)
I find this the most difficult part of the book to read, Kate.
Maybe it's the way he tells this part of the story. Maybe it's
because it's just so wrong to torture an innocent creature,
and we know it is, and yes, it was disturbing that none of
the men stopped Rat and that they just sat there and
accepted it. I think part of the reason might have been that
they understood the depth of Rat's pain and accepted the
need for him to inflict pain on something else to make
himself feel better. I don't think I could have done that (sat
there and watched it--without doing something). I don't
know.... (I mean, I've never been in a war situation, and it's
very hard for me to imagine how I would react, even having
read the book and trying very hard to imagine). How can it
make a person in pain feel better to inflict pain in others?
Why do people do this? (Beth)
 Maybe he just couldn't help himself. He knows there's
no point, no moral, but every once in a while he wakes
up in the middle of the night understanding what it all
meant, and even though that disappears by day he's
just so driven to try to make it have a point that he has
to write the stories down. (Jane)
 Student: “he is [definitely] not a hero he shot one of
his own then he got shot and then someone had to
come and save him.”
 Melanie: “I think anyone who has the guts to go serve
in combat is a hero, because they are willing to
sacrifice for the greater good. Even if the war was right
or wrong, the things he went through and witnessed
are far beyond what I would ever want to do.”
 I bet if Tim O'Brien told everything exactly how it
"actually" happened, it wouldn't affect us in the same
way. Like, say Rat had "actually" just shot the water
buffalo once in the head, but to Tim O'Brien it ~felt~
like this really slow, torture-filled killing. He could only
make us experience it like he did if he told something
other than the truth. But isn't that lying? (Jane)
 First, Beth employed a reference to an upcoming activity as
inspired by a student contribution, then taught a mini-lesson on
writing, then affirmed the question a student contributed, and
finally moved to ask some follow-up questions:
 That reminds me--we have to listen to the song, "Lemon Tree"
and think about it--the music and lyrics-- as they relate to
Lemon's death.
I see O'Brien using light here at least in part as a writerly
technique. This chapter is full of opposites and contridictory
elements..... and that moment as Lemon dies in the bright
sunlight really contrasts with the gory of the scene that followed.
I think O'Brien was writing at his masterful best here, and yes, it
was almost beautiful. Good question--how do we see Lemon
before, during, and after his death? How does O'Brien portray
him? Why does he portray him this way, and why does this
matter in the story?
 Mere question-answering: Repetition and
unacknowledged idea-rephrasing.
Tom (Response #1): he still wears them because every time he
used to wear them, he would come out of very dangerous
situations without a single scratch on him, and he feels that
even though his girlfriend broke up with him, they are
[still]l just as good of luck as when she was his girlfriend
Rob (Response #10): He still wears the stockings [because] he
believes that they are good luck and [because] it reminds
him of the good memories from back home.
 “Parallel play”: Lone Answers
you can take the soldier out of the war
but you can't take the war out of the soldier. (Tim)
 Pure and simple validation.
-that's true.
-i totally agree with this statement
-haha. good point...(the dark) hahahahahahaha... :)
-i agreee.
-i like how you explained this adam.....i agree with you
-you make a very good point here
-thats a good point. their is no turning bak. once yer in...yer in.
-i totally agree with you here my response is a lot like yours!
-i agreed with this responses whoever you are.
-I like the way you worded that, i agree completly with what you are
saying.
-Yup. Everyone has fears.
-I really like and agree with this explanation.
-I agree, you always have great thoughts and explanationd :)
 Affirmation followed with paraphrase or expansion.
Luca: I agree with your thoughts of shame, but i don't quite
understand your idea of their shame and feeling bad leading
them to do an act of heroism?
Sara: i think that keith was saying that if someone felt ashame of
something they did then that would lead them to subconsciously
do an act of heroism or anything else that could help someone
out.
Ellie: i some what agree but i also get what he is saying because
they feel bad and are ashamed so then they want to change, to
show that they can be better.
Kyla: This is true. I also disagree that shame was the primary
motivator for heroism, but the fear of it.
Sara: i agree with this because people do things when they are
upset and also things like the killing of women and children
 Arguing.
Kevin: theyre ashamed of killing innocent people including themselves.
some get cocky becuse of something heroic theyve done which could
cause some one to let their guard down and thats where the stuppidity
kicks in because not pying attention in the war would probably get u
killed
Julie: I agree with your theory of shame, but disagree with your cocky
idea. The immense danger and stress soldiers face under fire and
during wartime operations do not add up to cocky. Everyday, soldiers
are compelled to make tough decisions that can determine the
outcome of an engagement, and these are decisions that are notorious
among our country's theory of a "hero". However, every soldier is a
hero, and just because they are a hero does not lead to stupid mistakes,
it means they are veterans that have the experiecne and knowledge of
battles and planning and implement these tactics in order to safeguard
their comrades.
 Change in understanding.
that is a really good point i never really thought about it
that way. I would have changed my what i wrote if i
would have thought about it in this way . [Because]
now that i read this i do think that is a little surprising
that he would say joining the war was an act of coward
because he was not running from his fears but facing
them. (Lila)
Off-topic talk.
“great point here i kno im scared of the dark... which is
why i have a 100lb pittbull lol aint no gooloes or
ghoasties comin up in my crib or they finna get mauled
lol.” (Carol)
 Taking on teacherly roles.
A final role that student occasionally performed
included posting more teacherly comments, usually in
the form of questions: “yes, but what is the difference
between the two pains and why did he decide to go
ahead and get a "good tooth" taken out?” (Sue)
 “Actually . . . I run this kind of as a cycle, a three-pronged
cycle I guess: I’ll introduce the topic or questions in a kind
of way regular discussion so kids are thinking about that
even if they’re not able to answer, and then we’ll use the
Ning, and then we’ll talk about it afterwards. And then kids
will actually talk at that point.” (Beth)
 “I found that as I asked more questions on the Ning, it
fostered more class discussion. Students would make a
comment about a response one of Beth's students made to
one of my questions, and we would talk about it in class.”
(Grace)
 Staarman (2009)
when introducing new communication technology in
schools, educators need to take into account that even
though students and teachers might be familiar with
the new mode of communication, the established and
conventionalised genre of communicating with that
mode might not be considered appropriate in the
classroom and new discursive ground rules may need
to be re-established within that particular classroom
context.
 Investigate link between “roles” and “identity”
 Teacher Roles AFTER Online Discussion
 Links between student and teacher participation in online
forums
 Student identity/roles when navigating between face-toface and virtual environments
 Assessment Issues
QUESTIONS??
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