The Process of Change in the Teaching and Learning of Writing about Literature in an 11th grade Honors English Language Arts Classroom Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Brenton Goff M. Ed, B.A. Graduate Program in Education: Teaching and Learning The Ohio State University 2018 Dissertation Committee George Newell, Advisor David Bloome Alan Hirvela 1 Copyrighted by Brenton Goff 2018 2 Abstract Although most of the writing in high school English Language Arts (ELA) classrooms is about literature and although there have been incessant calls for changing the practices of teaching and learning literature, only meager amounts of research have been conducted in these interrelated domains of the field. Accordingly, this dissertation seeks to address these issues by examining the process of a teacher transitioning her teaching practice to literary argumentation. The ethnographic and discourse analytic case study reported here was part of an eight-year, Institute of Education Sciences (IES) funded research project on teaching and learning argumentative writing in high school ELA classrooms. As part of the larger project, this dissertation study was embedded in a yearlong study of teaching and learning of literary argumentation in an Honor American Literature course at “Davis High School”. The teacher was a white female in her seventh- year teaching ELA while the students were in both tenth and eleventh grade and were comprised of 18 students, ten females and eight males. Of the 18 students, 16 students identified as white while two identified as Asian-American. Using microethnographic methods, I examined the contextual factors shaping a teacher’s changing approach to literary argumentation, how she and her 10th and 11th grade students’ instructional conversations fostered a shared understanding for literary argumentation; and finally to consider how the context and argumentative writing practices shaped student learning, I iii traced a case study student’s essay for sources and processes related to the curricular context. This study of changing approaches to the teaching of writing about literature is framed by theories of teacher change and a microethnographic approach to discourse analysis. Findings demonstrated that the teacher attempted to change her literature instruction by introducing literary argumentative practices into her teaching through writing assignments as she worked to cultivate a shared reading to frame her curriculum and to inform and shape her students’ writing about The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald, 1925). Findings also indicated that instructional conversations were inconsistent with how and when they contributed to the literacy practices the teacher attempted to bring about as they were influenced by both the teacher’s and students’ previous experiences interpreting literature. The contextualized analysis of student writing revealed that the student negotiated the literary argumentation practices the teacher attempted to bring about through her use of the curricular context. Change for the teacher was a complex process, including relatively easy efforts to develop writing prompts and assignments to foster learning while struggling to modify her uses of instructional conversations to shift to more dialogic practices requiring student ideas. This study contributes to the knowledge base for the teaching and learning of literary argumentation as an understanding of the complexity of teacher change within the legacy of a teacher’s own experiences and within the institutional demands of teaching canonical interpretations of literature. iv Acknowledgments When I first decided to go back to graduate school to study I had no idea what impact that choice would have on myself and my family. While I may have my name on this dissertation I must state unequivocally that this would not have been possible without the support of so many. To start I would like to thank the class that hosted me for this study; by allowing me into your classroom and sharing with me I was able to learn so much. Ms. Smith, your courage to try something new and collaborate with me made this work possible, and for that I am truly grateful. My advisor, George Newell, allowed me the flexibility and space to grow as a student and scholar. His insight, collegial spirit, and fatherly advice has helped keep me grounded and focused throughout my time as a doctoral student and candidate. I would like to also thank the rest of my committee, Dr. David Bloome and Dr. Alan Hirvela; I cannot tell you how much you have taught me about what it means to be a scholar by listening to your discussions during Argumentative Writing Project meetings. How I judge myself as a researcher is rooted in these conversations over the past five years. The doctoral students and members of the Argumentative Writing Project have given me outlets to be both a scholar and a friend, and I look forward to seeing you at conferences as we continue onward into our careers. v My first teaching job at the Dayton Early College Academy planted the seeds of what I have become today. What I learned as a teacher there shaped what I think great education can be. Dr. Judy Hennessey, I can earnestly say that, without your support, I would not be where I am today. Thank you for seeing in me what I might not have seen in myself at the time. The friendships I made at DECA helped me envision the future that I am currently benefiting from, and for that I am grateful. Last and most importantly, my family, I would not be where I am today without your support. My in-laws, Jim and Lisa, and my parents, Karen and Mark, thank you for continuing to be supportive of our growing family and believing in me. Karen and Lisa, this would not have been possible if you two had not watched the girls. Norah, Lucy, and Beckett, being your father is one of the best gifts I could have been given. Melanie, we started this journey without any kids and we now have three. Thank you for giving me time to write and going on this journey with me. I wouldn’t want to take it with anyone else. vi Vita 2007…………………………. B. A. English Education, The Ohio State University 2009…………………………. M. Ed. English Education, Wright State University 2009-2012……………………Dayton Early College Academy, Dayton, OH: English Teacher Publications Weyand, L., Goff, B. & Newell, G. E. (2018). The social construction of warranting evidence in two classrooms. Journal of literacy research, 50(1), 97-122. Wynhoff Olsen, A., VanDerHeide, J., Goff, B. & Dunn, M. (2018). Examining intertextual connections in written arguments: A study of student writing as social participation and response. Written communication, 35(1), 58-88. Newell, G. E., Goff, B., Buescher, E., Weyand, L., Thanos, T. & Kwak, S. (2017). Adaptive expertise in the teaching and learning of literary argumentation in high school language arts classrooms. In R. Durst, G. Newell, & J. Marshall (eds.) English language arts research and teaching: Revisiting and extending Arthur Appleebee’s contributions. New York: Routledge. Fields of Study Major Field: Education, Teaching and Learning vii Table of Contents Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iii Acknowledgments............................................................................................................... v Vita .................................................................................................................................... vii Table of Contents ............................................................................................................. viii List of Tables ...................................................................................................................... x List of Figures .................................................................................................................... xi List of Examples ............................................................................................................... xii List of Transcripts ............................................................................................................ xiii Chapter 1. The Challenges of Teaching and Learning Literary Argumentation ................ 1 The Problem, Context, Events, and Teacher Change ..................................................... 3 Research Questions ......................................................................................................... 9 Definitions of Key Terms ............................................................................................. 11 Outline of Chapters ....................................................................................................... 13 Chapter 2: Theoretical Framing of Teaching and Learning Writing Literary Arguments 15 Research and Theory on Teacher Change in the Teaching of Reading and Writing .... 15 Theorizing Speaking and Writing Connections in the ELA Classroom ....................... 19 Scholarship on Writing about Literature....................................................................... 20 Framing the Study of the Teaching and Learning of Literary Argumentation in ELA Classrooms .................................................................................................................... 24 Chapter 3: Research Method ............................................................................................