CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by eScholarship@BC Learning to do Shared Inquiry in a Fourth Grade Classroom Author: Nancy Alexandra Hait Persistent link: http://hdl.handle.net/2345/2418 This work is posted on eScholarship@BC, Boston College University Libraries. Boston College Electronic Thesis or Dissertation, 2011 Copyright is held by the author, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise noted. BOSTON COLLEGE Lynch School of Education Department of Teacher Education, Special Education, and Curriculum and Instruction Language, Literacy, and Learning LEARNING TO DO SHARED INQUIRY IN A FOURTH GRADE CLASSROOM Dissertation By NANCY ALEXANDRA HAIT submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy December 2011 Nancy Hait ©copyright by NANCY ALEXANDRA HAIT 2011 1 Nancy Hait ABSTRACT Learning to do Shared Inquiry in a Fourth Grade Classroom Author: Nancy Alexandra Hait Advisor: Dr. Curt Dudley-Marling This qualitative dissertation, informed by sociocultural theory (Gee, 1996; Vygotsky, 1978), examines how a fourth grade teacher and his students learned to participate in Shared Inquiry, a discussion practice where students learn how to build an evidential argument, including a claim that is supported by evidence and justified by a warrant (Toulmin, 1969). Students also learn how to weigh the merits of opposing arguments and how to modify their initial opinions as evidence demands. Over the course of ten weeks, the fourth grade teacher implemented Shared Inquiry as part of the Junior Great Books (JGB) program, offered as a supplement to a district mandated reading program. The teacher was observed while using the JGB program and while providing instruction through the mandated reading program. He participated in action research (Stringer, 2007) to examine how to make Shared Inquiry most successful. This dissertation describes how the teacher’s action research enabled his students to become successful with Shared Inquiry, after they initially struggled with the practice. Over time, they learned a new way of engaging, not only with literature, but also with fellow classmates. This dissertation also describes how the fourth grade students learned a different set of literacy practices through the mandated reading program. The argument is made that Shared Inquiry has the potential to be a far more substantively engaging (Nystrand, 2006; Nystrand & Gamoran, 1991, 1997) literacy practice than the mandated reading program. 2 Nancy Hait Dedications I dedicate this dissertation to four very special people who have had a great impact on my life. To my wonderful husband, Michael. Thank you for your incredible, everlasting support. Thank you for letting me cry on your shoulder that very first year when all I wanted to do was quit and return to my "normal" life as a classroom teacher. You have encouraged me throughout each step of this eight-year journey. I could not have possibly completed this massive endeavor without you. We tied the knot in the first year and now we are the proud parents of two beautiful girls… and this dissertation. I love you. To my exceptional dissertation chair, Dr. Curt Dudley-Marling. Thank you also for your incredible support and encouragement throughout this very long process. You put so much time and energy into this dissertation. I deeply admire your brilliance. To my remarkable mentor, Mrs. Millicent Veal. I will never forget the first time you walked into my third grade classroom. Mrs. Veal, you taught me how to teach. I carry the lessons you taught me into every classroom I enter. In the words of an anxious young teacher I knew once upon a time, "You rock." To my amazing mother, Mrs. Carole Herman. Thank you also for your love, support, and encouragement. I am so happy to celebrate with you at the finish line. I love you. 3 Nancy Hait TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1: Introduction pg. 5 Chapter 2: A Review of Research on Literary Interpretation and pg. 17 Discussion Chapter 3: Research Methods pg. 56 Chapter 4: The Mandated Reading Program: A Lesson on Academic pg. 75 Engagement Chapter 5: Learning to do Shared Inquiry: A Tentative Beginning pg. 94 Chapter 6: Becoming Successful with Shared Inquiry pg. 124 Chapter 7: Conclusions and Implications for Teaching pg. 152 References pg. 163 4 Nancy Hait Chapter 1 Introduction The literary text must not be reduced to exercise or drill, but must be allowed to live as a work of art, influencing the reader to see, think, and feel (Probst, 1994, p. 37). The fourth grade classroom that served as the setting for this research was in a school deemed a low performing institution on the No Child Left Behind Annual Report Card. As a result, in 2007 the school was mandated to use a state approved reading program. The fourth grade teacher was required to use this program for ninety minutes every morning. In the Fall of 2008, I met with the school principal to describe my interest in observing how a classroom learned to do Shared Inquiry, the discussion technique at the heart of the Junior Great Books Program (JGB). The school principal gave the teacher permission to offer JGB as an afternoon supplement to the mandated reading program for the purpose of this research. The following 5 Nancy Hait three interview excerpts, from students in this classroom, describe the unique experiences these students had with Shared Inquiry-- Saul: Usually in our class we don’t get much time to discuss the books we read, but in Shared Inquiry we get that time. (Week VII) Albert: In Shared Inquiry, I get to know what other people think about the stories we are reading and they get to know what I think. (Week IX) Jezell: I like Shared Inquiry because it makes me learn more about stories. I never heard about those stories before. So, it makes me learn more and more about reading. (Week X) Each excerpt suggests that Shared Inquiry provided these students with new opportunities to explore literature and engage with classmates. Initially, the teacher and his students struggled with Shared Inquiry. I argue in this dissertation that this was likely because this new practice was very different from the typical literacy practices in this classroom. This dissertation is a case study that examines how the fourth grade teacher and his students learned to become successful with Shared Inquiry. Many studies have documented the benefit of the Shared Inquiry experience however there has been little research on how teachers and students learn to engage in this practice. I will describe how action research with the teacher enabled the class to become successful with Shared Inquiry. I will also describe how through Shared Inquiry, the teacher and students learned a new, different set of literacy practices. The mandated reading program reduces the teaching of reading to discrete skill instruction. The next section of this chapter explores how such a technical approach to reading instruction emerged 6 Nancy Hait and why it is problematic. I will then explain how discussion practices like Shared Inquiry teach higher order thinking and critical reflection on text and discourse. Learning to Read is a Complex Process As I indicate above, the urban school which served as the setting for this research, was mandated by the government to use a state approved reading program that reduces the teaching of reading to discrete skill instruction. Out of the fear that a significant number of children in America are struggling to learn to read, the teaching of reading has been has been reduced to basic skill instruction, especially in low performing urban schools (Gee, 2004; Hirsch, 2003). Anyon (1997) noted a disparity in the 1970s between poor urban schools and high income schools in Newark, New Jersey; the poorer urban schools were essentially “basic skills districts,” while the more affluent districts provided more enhanced educational opportunities. This effort to reduce reading to basic skill instruction became more widespread in 1983 after the release of A Nation at Risk (NCEE, 1983), a report by the Reagan administration laden with disturbing findings on the condition of education in the United States (Ravitch, 2000) . The report declared, “Our Nation is at risk. The educational foundations of our society are presently being eroded by a rising tide of mediocrity that threatens our very future as a Nation and a people” (p.1). Out of alarm that large numbers of American school children are failing to learn basic reading skills, several authoritative panels have been appointed by the federal government. The purpose of these panels is to carry out objective reviews of reading research in order to yield a rough consensus on the best instructional practices to teach reading, how to identify children at risk, and how to intervene effectively. 7 Nancy Hait The most influential report on reading issues in recent years was compiled by the National Reading Panel, under the auspices of the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). In 1997, the NICHD established the panel with the charge of compiling a report assessing “the status of research-based knowledge, including the effectiveness of various approaches to teaching children to read” and with designing “a strategy for rapidly disseminating this information to facilitate effective instruction in the school (NICHD, 2000b, p. 1-1). Published in 2000, the National Reading Panel Report has been hailed as a “remarkable development in the application of research to practice in reading education” (Shanahan, 2004, p. 235). This report implies that all that children need to learn to read are sets of basic skills believed to be integral to literacy development. The National Reading Panel states that “Reading or learning how to read is a combination of all the skills mentioned in the report” (NICHD, 2000a, p.4), namely phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and text comprehension.