The Role of Dialogic Teaching in Fostering Critical Literacy in an Urban High School English Classroom
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Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University Middle and Secondary Education Dissertations Department of Middle and Secondary Education Fall 1-5-2018 The Role of Dialogic Teaching in Fostering Critical Literacy in an Urban High School English Classroom Charity Gordon Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/mse_diss Recommended Citation Gordon, Charity, "The Role of Dialogic Teaching in Fostering Critical Literacy in an Urban High School English Classroom." Dissertation, Georgia State University, 2018. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/mse_diss/58 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Middle and Secondary Education at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Middle and Secondary Education Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ACCEPTANCE This dissertation, THE ROLE OF DIALOGIC TEACHING IN FOSTERING CRITICAL LITERACY IN AN URBAN HIGH SCHOOL ENGLISH CLASSROOM, by CHARITY T. GORDON, was prepared under the direction of the candidate’s Dissertation Advisory Committee. It is accepted by the committee members in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree, Doctor of Philosophy, in the College of Education and Human Development, Georgia State University. The Dissertation Advisory Committee and the student’s Department Chairperson, as representatives of the faculty, certify that this dissertation has met all standards of excellence and scholarship as determined by the faculty. ______________________________ ______________________________ Michelle Zoss, Ph.D. Janice Fournillier, Ph.D. Committee Chair Committee Member ______________________________ ______________________________ Nadia Behizadeh, Ph.D. Amy Seely Flint, Ph.D. Committee Member Committee Member ______________________________ Date ______________________________ Gertrude Tinker Sachs, Ph.D. Chairperson, Department of Middle and Secondary Education ______________________________ Paul A. Alberto, Ph.D. Dean, College of Education and Human Development AUTHOR’S STATEMENT By presenting this dissertation as a partial fulfillment of the requirements for the advanced degree from Georgia State University, I agree that the library of Georgia State University shall make it available for inspection and circulation in accordance with its regulations governing materials of this type. I agree that permission to quote, to copy from, or to publish this dissertation may be granted by the professor under whose direction it was written, by the College of Education’s Director of Graduate Studies, or by me. Such quoting, copying, or publishing must be solely for scholarly purposes and will not involve potential financial gain. It is understood that any copying from or publication of this dissertation which involves potential financial gain will not be allowed without my written permission. CHARITY T. GORDON NOTICE TO BORROWERS All dissertations deposited in the Georgia State University library must be used in accordance with the stipulations prescribed by the author in the preceding statement. The author of this dissertations is: Charity T. Gordon Department of Middle and Secondary Education College of Education and Human Development Georgia State University Atlanta, GA 30303 The director of this dissertation is: Dr. Michelle Zoss Department of Middle and Secondary Education College of Education and Human Development Georgia State University Atlanta, GA 30303 CURRICULUM VITAE Charity T. Gordon ADDRESS: Department of Middle and Secondary Education College of Education and Human Development Georgia State University Atlanta, GA 30303 EDUCATION Ph.D. 2017 Teaching and Learning Concentration: Language and Literacy Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA Ed.S. 2011 Secondary Education Concentration: English Education University of West Georgia, Carrollton, GA M.S. 2006 Secondary Education Concentration: English Education Texas A & M Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, TX B.A. 2002 English Auburn University Montgomery, Montgomery, AL PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE Fall 2017 University Supervisor EDCI 4660/7660: Practicum I Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA Fall 2016 Part-Time Instructor ECE 3340: Diagnosis and Application of Literacy Instruction Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA Spring 2016 Teaching Internship with Dr. Michelle Zoss EDLA 7750: Theory and Pedagogy of English Instruction Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 2006 – 2014 High School English Teacher Osborne High School, Marietta, GA 2005 – 2006 Middle School English/Language Arts Teacher A. C. Blount Middle School, Aransas Pass, TX 2004 – 2005 Elementary School Teacher Cathedral of the Palms School, Corpus Christi, TX 2003 – 2004 High School English Teacher Lighthouse Christian Academy, Montgomery, AL PRESENTATIONS AND PUBLICATIONS Zoss, M., Gordon, C. T., & Loomis, S. (2017, August). Studying the meaning of teaching: One teacher across four years. Paper presented at 5th Triennial Congress of the International Society for Cultural-historical Activity Research. Quebec, Canada. Gordon, C. T., Council, T., Dukes, N., & Chea, M. (2016, Nov.). Black Girls Read! An African American read-in celebrating the literary legacies of the past, present, and future. Panel presentation at National Council of Teachers of English Annual Convention, Atlanta, GA. Zoss, M., Jones, R., Gordon, C. T., Jolly, T., & Sowerbrower, K. (2016, Nov.). Bring your methods courses to the stage! Advocating for the arts in an era of high stakes testing. Roundtable presentation at National Council of Teachers of English Annual Convention, Atlanta, GA. Gordon, C. T., & Council, T. (2014, July). Let them talk: Moving students beyond the standards using dialogic pedagogy and multimodal compositions. Paper presented at 25th Annual Literacies for All Summer Institute. Pasadena, CA. Gordon, C. T., & Council, T. (2014, April). Empowering students’ voices: Using dialogic pedagogy to connect diverse learners in 21st century classrooms. Paper presented at 9th Annual Sources of Urban Educational Excellence Conference, Atlanta, GA. PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES AND ORGANIZATIONS 2013 Alpha Upsilon Alpha Honor Society 2013 American Educational Research Association 2013 Conference on English Education 2013 Georgia Council for Teachers of English 2013 International Reading Association 2013 National Council for Teachers of English 2016 Middle and Secondary Education Doctoral Student Council THE ROLE OF DIALOGIC TEACHING IN FOSTERING CRITICAL LITERACY IN AN URBAN HIGH SCHOOL ENGLISH CLASSROOM by CHARITY T. GORDON Under the Direction of Dr. Michelle Zoss ABSTRACT The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the role of dialogic teaching in fostering critical literacy in an urban high school English classroom. The study was framed by sociocultural, dialogism, and critical literacy theories, in which the researcher paid particular attention to the contexts that shaped dialogue before, during, and after critical discussions of literature. The researcher used a Participatory Action Research (PAR) orientation, an ethnographic methodology, and discourse analysis methods to explore a dialogic approach to critical literacy and teacher perspectives on the approach. The findings from this study demonstrate that while a dialogic approach supported critical literacy, certain aspects of critical literacy were difficult to enact. The teacher cultivated a dialogic environment and afforded students with opportunities to have meaningful dialogue toward critical literacy ends, but she also experienced ideological conflicts that often complicated the path toward critical literacy. Implications of the study show the promise of dialogic teaching in valuing culturally-and- linguistically diverse students’ contribution during the meaning-making process. This study underscores the importance of understanding the teacher’s role in shaping the direction of critical dialogue and advocates for educational policies that position teachers as transformative intellectuals in the classroom. INDEX WORDS: Dialogism, Dialogic teaching, Critical literacy, Urban education, Secondary English, Participatory action research, Ethnography, Discourse analysis, Sociocultural theories of learning THE ROLE OF DIALOGIC TEACHING IN FOSTERING CRITICAL LITERACY IN AN URBAN HIGH SCHOOL ENGLISH CLASSROOM by CHARITY T. GORDON A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Teaching and Learning in The Department of Middle and Secondary Education in The College of Education and Human Development Georgia State University Atlanta, GA 2017 Copyright by Charity T. Gordon 2017 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation study would not have been possible without the love and support of my family, the encouragement of my friends and colleagues, and the guidance of my committee members. You all have played important roles throughout my dissertation journey. I dedicate this study to my bother Amos, my very first friend. You told me you were proud of me the day that I finished my comprehensive exams. I know you would be even more pleased that I saw it through to the end. I would like to acknowledge my remaining siblings, Andrea, Jessica, Jeremiah, and Elisha. Thank you for your friendship throughout the years. I have cherished every moment with you leading up to this point in my life, and I look forward to the many years to come as we continue to support each other’s