Keywords: inclusive communication, school inclusion, classroom interactions, conversation analysis ... school policies (Lindsey 2007; Norwich & Kelly 2004).
Title INSIDE: Teachers’ communicative strategies for inclusive classrooms Authors Heidrun Demo, Researcher in Inclusive Education, Faculty of Education, Free University of Bolzano (presenting author) Daniela Veronesi, Researcher in Sociolinguistics, Faculty of Education, Free University of Bolzano First and second choice network 4 Inclusive Education 17 Didactics-‐Learnig an teaching Keywords: inclusive communication, school inclusion, classroom interactions, conversation analysis General description of research questions, objectives and theoretical framework (up to 600 words) The paper takes its departure point from research on school inclusion, conceived in its broadest definition as quality learning, as well as full participation for all (Booth and Ainscow 2011). In particular, the project aims at analysing educational practices at the micro level of classroom interaction, focusing on those teachers’ communicative practices which can best enhance inclusion. The relevance of the micro level in studies on school inclusion is related to two research lines. Firstly, meta-‐analysis on studies that tried to demonstrate the efficacy of inclusive schooling versus special schools or special classes or viceversa could not produce univocal findings (Elbaum, 2002; Freeman and Alkin, 2000; Lindsey, 2007). This fact has led some authors to develop the hypothesis that the micro level of classrooms management might be more relevant for school efficacy than the macro level of school policies (Lindsey 2007; Norwich & Kelly 2004). Secondly, research that takes its departure from inclusion as a human right -‐ that does not need to be demonstrated in its efficacy, but has to be granted for all (Stainback and Stainback 1990) -‐ has always concentrated on the development of instruments and methods that enhance inclusion in the school context, on the meso level of single school organization and on the micro level of classrooms. A good example of such approach is represented by the “Index for Inclusion” (Booth and Ainscow 2011). The relevance of relationships on the micro level of inclusive classrooms has been underlined by several works, both internationally and nationally (for what concerns Italy). The Index for Inclusion itself puts the category “relationships” into the dimension “inclusive culture” at the basis for the other two dimensions, that is, the development of inclusion on an organizational school level and on the level of orchestrating learning processes for all. The assumption is that only in a school climate where transparent and open relationships at all levels (teacher-‐teacher, teacher-‐pupil, pupil-‐pupil, teachers-‐ families…) are developed, inclusive practices become feasible (Booth and Ainscow 2011). A similar
assumption has been stated in a model for inclusive didactics developed in Italy where the relationship between teachers and pupils has a crucial role, in that it is the basis for all other interventions for facilitating learning and participation (Ianes and Macchia 2008). One of the possible ways of investigating educational relationships between teachers and pupils is the study of their interactions, as proposed by Conversation Analysis (Sacks, Schegloff & Jefferson 1974; Sydnell & Stivers 2012). Within Conversation Analysis, a number of phenomena related to classroom interaction (cf. Fele & Paoletti 2003) have been described, such as for instance the classical initiation-‐ response-‐evaluation triplet that characterizes the asymmetric communication between teacher and pupils (Mehan 1979), as well as the way in which teachers sustain pupils’ self-‐correction (Weeks 1985) or formulate questions in ways that lead pupils to the correct answers (Lerner 1995; Margutti 2010). Further studies have also focussed on the topic of diversity management, analzising gender differences in reproach sequences (Tainio 2011), the way teachers formulate questions while examining non-‐native pupils (Grassi 2007) and handle the issue of participation in multilingual classes (Ciliberti 2003). Teacher’s Talk in classes that integrate children with special educational needs have also been decribed (Berry 2008). Against this background, the specific goal of our paper is the identification and description of some communicative strategies that foster: 1) all pupils’ participation to the knowledge co-‐construction process and 2) all pupils’ feeling of belonging to the class group. To this aim, instructional interaction between teachers and the whole class in primary school classes (grade 3) is investigated. Methods/Methodology (up to 400 words) The project is based on audio-‐ and videorecordings of classroom interaction; analysis specifically focus on the interaction between the teacher and the class during instructional conversation, as carried out in elementary schools in South Tyrol (Bolzano). Attention will be thereby devoted to the way in which communicative strategies employed by teachers (question design, feed-‐back, error correction, scaffolding techniques etc., see for instance Weeks 1985; Lerner 1995; Macbeth 2004; Margutti 2006; Kohle & Elbers 2014) can enhance each pupil’s contribution to knowledge co-‐construction on the one hand, and can help to build a sense of belonging and participation to the class as a group on the other. Furthermore, a series of semi-‐structured interviews have been carried out with involved teachers, so as to gain access to their perspective on inclusion and on their perceived experience of classroom interaction, and so as to gather ethnografic information that can be useful to orient data analysis. Classroom interaction data have then been transcribed and examined within the theoretical framework of Conversation Analysis (Sydnell & Stivers 2012) while interviews will be investigated from the perspective of Qualitative Content Analysis (Schreier 2012). Three primary school classes (grade 3) in a urban context of the Province of Bolzano (north East of Italy) build the sample. Two researchers have been in the class for one school morning and have collected data through audio-‐ and videorecordings. Only episodes of instructructional conversations between teachers and the whole class have been considered for the analysis. The semi-‐structured interviews have been conducted by a researcher with the teachers involved in the recorded lessons. The sample is selected on voluntary basis.
Expected outcomes/results (300) Some preliminary findings about identified communicative strategies adopted by teachers will be presented and described in the way they foster inclusion. For example some relevant aspects could be question design, feed-‐back, error correction or scaffolding techniques. The current research project aims at offering new perspectives in a still rather unexplored topic within the area of inclusive education studies, and can therefore be seen as a first pilot study that may be further developed in the future by examining a larger variety of classroom interaction typologies as well as pupils at different ages, this way providing a comprehensive overview of inclusive communicative strategies in classroom interaction. References Booth, T. & Ainscow, M. (2011). Index for Inclusion. 3rd Edition, Bristol: CSIE. Berry, R. A. W. (2006). Teacher Talk During Whole-‐Class Lessons: Engagement Strategies to Support the Verbal Participation of Students with Learning Disabilities, Learning Disabilities Research & Practice 21/4, 211–232. Ciliberti, A. (2003). Collaborazione e coinvolgimento nella classe multilingue. In: Ciliberti, A., Pugliese, R. & Anderson, L., Le lingue in classe. Discorso, apprendimento, socializzazione. Roma: Carocci, 123-‐142. Elbaum, B. (2002) The Self-‐Concept of Students with Learning Disabilities: a Meta-‐Analysis of Comparison Across Different Placements, Learning Disabilities Research and Practice 17/4, 216-‐226. Fele, G. & Paoletti, I. (2003). L'interazione in classe. Bologna: Il Mulino. Freeman, S. e Alkin, M.C. (2000) Academic and social attainments of children with mental retardation in general education and special education settings. Remedial and Special Education 21/1, 3-‐18. Grassi, R. (2007). Interrogare l’allievo straniero: strategie di adeguamento all’interlocutore. In: Baraldi, C. (ed.), Dialogare in classe. La relazione tra insegnanti e studenti. Roma: Donzelli, 131-‐150. Ianes, D. & Macchia, V. (2008), La didattica per Bisogni Educativi Speciali. Strategie e buone prassi di sostegno inclusivo. Trento: Ericskon. Lerner, G. (1995). Turn design and the organization of participation in instructional activities. Discourse Processes 19, 111-‐131. Lindsay, G. (2007) Educational psychology and the effectiveness of inclusive education/mainstream, British Journal of Educational Psychology 77, 1-‐24 Margutti, P. (2006). “Are you human beings?” Order and knowledge construction through questioning in primary classroom interaction. Linguistics and Education, 17, 313–346. Mehan, H. (1979). Learning Lesson. Cambridge MA, Harvard University Press.
Norwich, B. & Kelly, N. (2004) Pupils' view in inclusion: moderate learning difficulties and bullying in mainstream and special schools, British Educational Research Journal 30/1, 43-‐65. Sacks, H., Schegloff, E. & Jefferson, G. (1974). A Simplest Systematics of the Organisation of Turn-‐Taking for Conversation. Language 50, 696-‐735. Schreier, M. (2012). Qualitative Content Analysis in Practice. London: SAGE. Sidnell, J. & Stivers, T. (eds.) (2012). The Handbook of Conversation Analysis. Wiley-‐Blackwell. Stainback, W. e Stainback, S. (1990) Support networks for inclusive schooling: interdependent integrated education, “Baltimore”, MD: Paul H. Brookes71-‐87. Tainio, L. (2011). Gendered address terms in reproach sequences in classroom interaction. Linguistics and Education 22, 330-‐347. Van de Pol, J., Volman, M., & Beishuizen, J. (2010). Scaffolding in teacher–student interaction. A decade of research. Educational Psychology Review, 22, 271–296. VERIFICARE Weeks, P. (1985). Error-‐correction tecniques and sequences in instructional settings: toward a comparative framework. Human Studies 8, 195-‐233.