Based on a survey of the history and traditions of classroom research, this edition of the course will focus on major qualitative approaches to classroom interaction, among them conversation analysis, language socialization, sociocultural theory, and critical approaches. The course pursues two aims: (1) to foster students’ understanding of the theories and methods that define these approaches and (2) to prepare students to undertake a qualitative study on classroom interaction from one of the perspectives covered in the course. To that end, we will critically review research reports on interaction, teaching and learning in diverse activity spaces designed for educational purposes, such as teacher-led plenary classrooms, small student groups, tutorials, or labs, as well as classrooms conducted in-person and in digital delivery modes. Throughout the course we will give particular attention to issues of data collection, representation, and analysis, and examine how studies guided by different theoretical perspectives address these methodological problems. Students are welcome to further work on an ongoing qualitative study on classroom interaction or develop a new study.
Department of Second Language Studies
University of Hawaii at Manoa