MIDDLE AND HIGH-SCHOOL-STUDENTS PERCEPTIONS OF HOW THEY EXPERIENCE TEXT-BASED DISCUSSIONS - A MULTICASE STUDY

IN THIS multicase study, adolescents at Rye culturally diverse sites a cross the United Stales engaged in face-to-face interactions as they r eflected and reported on their perceptions of their own and other stud ents' experiences in discussing regularly assigned content area texts. Our decision to consider students' insights into their experiences di stinguishes this study from previous work on classroom interaction tha t has focused primarily on teachers' and researchers' interpretations of student talk. A social constructionist perspective, which provided the framework for the study, enabled us to explore how verbal and nonv erbal patterned ways of interacting shape, and are shaped by, social p ractices inherent in classroom talk about text. Data sources included three rounds of videotaped class discussions Followed by three focal g roup interviews, field notes, theoretical memoranda, narrative vignett es, and samples of students' work. Data collection and analysis, which were ongoing over the course of 1 school year, included a procedure f or sharing held notes, transcribed interviews, and videos across sites . This procedure For involving the participants at all five sites in a nalyzing common sets of data generated findings that suggest students are (a) aware of the conditions they believe to be conducive to good d iscussions, (b) knowledgeable about the different tasks and topics tha t influence their participation in discussions, and (c) cognizant of h ow classroom discussions help them understand what they read. By focus ing on students' perceptions of their own actions, thoughts, and motiv es related to classroom talk about texts, it was possible to make visi ble their negotiation of different roles and relations, rights and res ponsibilities, and norms and expectations in peer-led and whole-class discussions. Implications for researchers and teachers alike underscor e the importance of considering the richness of data to be found in cl assroom discussions.