Conversation Analysis for Educational Technologists: Theoretical and Methodological Issues for Researching the Structures, Processes, and Meaning of On-Line Talk
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P1: MRM/FYX P2: MRM/UKS QC: MRM/UKS T1: MRM PB378-40 PB378-Jonassen-v3.cls September 8, 2003 15:15 Char Count= 0 CONVERSATION ANALYSIS FOR EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGISTS: THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES FOR RESEARCHING THE STRUCTURES, PROCESSES, AND MEANING OF ON-LINE TALK Joan M. Mazur University of Kentucky processes and outcomes. As ever-increasing numbers of people 40.1 INTRODUCTION use on-line chats, listservs, threaded discussions, and video and audio conferencing for educational purposes, questions about Research in education technology encompasses a wide range these on-line conversations arise: of quantitative and qualitative methods (Savenye & Robinson 1996). Methods and approaches formerly applied in the broader r realm of qualitative educational research have become impor- What are characteristics of on-line conversations, and how tant to researchers in educational technology. Conversation does virtual talk-in-interaction relate to instruction, learning, analysis (CA) is one such qualitative approach that has recently and communication? r become highly relevant for examining educational phenonmena What relationships exist between conversation and cognition related to discourse supported by the plethora of tools and re- or the social, distributed construction of knowledge? sources for computer-mediated communication. In this chapter, r To what extent does the type of technology limit or support which focuses on CA situated within the tradition of discourse the discourse required for various modes of instruction? analysis, I make several assumptions. I assume that the reader is r What are these discourses of on-line instruction? acquainted with qualitative inquiry and such terms as grounded r theory, intersubjectivity, participant and nonparticipant obser- How can structures and processes inherent in conversation vation, sampling, and recursion in the analytic phases of inquiry assist in the development of instructional contexts that sup- are familiar. port interactions that result in meaningful learning? r Concurrent with the remarkable growth of networked, in- To what extent can we take the robust body of previous re- teractive communication technologies during the last decade, search on classroom talk, which has yielded valuable informa- educational technologists are beginning to see the need to scru- tion on instruction and learning, and apply it to investigations tinize people’s on-line conversations as evidence of educational of on-line conversation? 1073 P1: MRM/FYX P2: MRM/UKS QC: MRM/UKS T1: MRM PB378-40 PB378-Jonassen-v3.cls September 8, 2003 15:15 Char Count= 0 1074 • MAZUR r What are the social or ideological dimensions of on-line con- versations and how do they affect learning and instruction. 40.3 SITUATING CA IN TRADITIONS Are roles changing? How and why? Who has (and who does OF DISCOURSE ANALYSIS not have) access to the virtual “floor?” The focus of this chapter is CA. CA is embedded in the broader field of discourse analysis. In this section an overview of this What participants in on-line conferencing say—talk—is the broader field of discourse analysis is presented and CA is situated evidence used to examine these questions related to conver- within that framework. Two criteria for defining conversation sation. CA techniques are not new, but the application and are discussed and two kinds of CA are articulated. modification of CA to computer-mediated systems and on-line The ubiquity of words in human communication can easily social networks by educational technologists are relatively un- lead one to take its significance and complexities for granted. explored. In fact, the use of language is so common that the study of its There are three goals of this chapter. The first is to artic- structures and processes as they relate to education and com- ulate the theoretical and methodological issues related to CA, munication was minimal until the 1960s, when researchers in the basic foundational principles and concepts related to a CA, many fields began to see its importance. There were efforts to and the kinds of questions that can be addressed using this ap- explore theory and methods to understand its structural, cul- proach. The second is to provide the educational technologist tural, and cognitive dimensions. That is the starting point for with practical guidelines and specific examples for conducting this chapter: What is discourse, and how is it studied? a CA. The third goal is to provide a research synthesis review- Discourse in its most everyday sense is comprised of forms ing the literature related to CA focused on computer-mediated of language use, usually spoken language or ways of speaking, “virtual” and “actual” conversations and to discuss directions whether public or private speech (van Dijk, 1997, p. 2). Another for further research on the structure, processes, and meaning common use of the term discourse refers not only to the lan- of on-line talk. guage used but to the ideas and philosophies extended through their use. Thus we speak of a neoconservative discourse and mean both the words and the political or social rhetoric inherent 40.2 OBJECTIVES in using language to disseminate the ideas. A discourse analysis moves beyond this ordinary sense of language use and includes additional elements of interest—who uses the language, how, The objectives of this chapter are detailed below. After read- why, and when. ing this chapter education technology researchers will be The study of discourse is considered multidisciplinary draw- able to: ing from the diverse fields of linguistics, social psychology, com- munication, educational psychology and education, sociology 1. define the term conversation analysis and situate the of communication, and, more recently, human–computer inter- method within the larger contexts of discourse analysis and action (van Dijk, 1997). Discourse studies focus on theory and ethnomethodology from which it is drawn; analysis of text and talk in virtually all disciplines. Discourse 2. demonstrate awareness of previous research investigating analysis includes a broad range of areas and topics including talk in educational, work, and other social settings; linguistic forms and functions, style and rhetoric, psychologi- 3. describe the underlying epistemological, theoretical, and cal studies, and sociocultural research. The data for discourse methodological assumptions for CA associated with two analyses are drawn from informal and formal dialogue in both prevalent approaches: the process–product and the socio- individual and institutional contexts documented in language, cultural traditions (paradigms); in its many forms, from spoken talk to written texts. Analyses 4. define salient aspects of investigating talk and interaction and of these types of data can be conducted at many levels: abstract how they relate to understanding aspects of learning, cog- analyses of linguistic function and structures of discourse, the or- nition, instruction, and design in on-line social computing ganization of talk by language users, structures of coconstructed environments; dialogic meaning, breakdowns in communicative patterns, and 5. describe the currently available technologies that support examinations of the multilayered cultural and social implications on-line conversation; of discourse. 6. discuss the methods and mechanics of conducting CA and Language use, the communication of beliefs (cognition), and select among them to address research questions related to interaction are three main dimensions of discourse. Language is interaction appropriately; not simply used: It is used for something; it is functional. Primar- 7. understand the various computer tools (hardware and soft- ily, language functions as a communicative event (Coulthard, ware) that are available to collect, prepare, and analyze on- 1993). Regardless of function, when people use language they line conversational data; are, in fact, doing something—they are interacting (verbally in- 8. conduct a conversation analysis to examine content, inter- teracting). Within each of these dimensions there are levels of action patterns, social networking, or other dimensions of analyses. For instance, a focus on language use would include social interaction, evidenced by talk in on-line contexts; more obvious observable levels of the utterance or expression and and move into more complex, even covert aspects such as form, 9. discuss areas for future research for CA of on-line talk. meaning, and action (Joshi, Webber, & Sag, 1981). Discourse P1: MRM/FYX P2: MRM/UKS QC: MRM/UKS T1: MRM PB378-40 PB378-Jonassen-v3.cls September 8, 2003 15:15 Char Count= 0 40. Conversation Analysis for Educational Technologists • 1075 analyses tend to focus on several topics: discourse as verbal refer to the abstract or conceptual meaning of words. Psychol- structure, discourse as cognition, discourse and society, and dis- ogists and sociologists, however, are more pragmatic in their course as action and interaction. Descriptions of these topics approach. The participants ascribe meaning to a discourse. It are outlined in the sections that follow. is the language user who understands the meaning in terms of his or her prior knowledge, understanding, and experience. A proposition is the term for the meaning of a clause or sentence. 40.3.1 Discourse as Verbal Structure Understanding the meaning of clauses or sentences is subject to a discursive relativity principle described by van Dijk (1997, Words, gestures, sounds, and body language are the observable p.