Meaning making as an interactional accomplishment: a temporal analysis of intentionality and improvisation in classroom dialogue

Twiner, Alison; Littleton, Karen; Coffin, Caroline and Whitelock, Denise (2014). Meaning making as an interactional accomplishment: a temporal analysis of intentionality and improvisation in classroom dialogue. International Journal of Educational Research, 63 pp. 94–106.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2013.02.009

Abstract

In this paper we offer a significant development of Baldry and Thibault’s (2006) notion of a ‘meaning-making trajectory’ to explore the collective, and often improvisational, interactional processes of meaning making in classroom dialogue. We report a sociocultural discourse analysis (Mercer, 2004) of a series of history lessons with a class of 6-7 year-old children, which utilises the notion of ‘meaning potential’: to highlight the valuable distinction and flexible interplay between a teacher’s intended meaning-making trajectory, and the meaning-making trajectories that are instantiated in interaction with pupils through dialogic interaction. We argue that where disparities are identified, often through pupils’ unexpected questions or contributions, there can be valuable teaching-and-learning opportunities for collaboratively constructing and appropriating common knowledge.

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About

• Item ORO ID
• 37048
• Item Type
• Journal Item
• ISSN
• 0883-0355
• Project Funding Details

• Funded Project Name	Project ID	Funding Body
  Not Set	Not Set	ESRC (Economic and Social Research Council)

• Extra Information
• Special Issues: Representing Diversity in Education: Student identities in contexts of learning and instruction & Classroom-Based Talk
• Keywords
• meaning-making; learning; trajectories; socio-cultural discourse analysis; dialogue; interactive whiteboards;
• Academic Unit or School
• Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies (WELS)
  Institute of Educational Technology (IET)
• Copyright Holders
• © 2013 The Authors
• Related URLs
• • http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/jou...(Other)
• Depositing User
• Karen Littleton