Teacher-student writing conferencing in an era of measurement-driven reform: Are we developing a generation of voiceless authors

Drawing upon Nystrand's framework on the structure and dynamics of unfolding classroom discourse, this research study examined the nature of teacher-student talk during one-on-one writing conferencing. The participants included three fifth grade teachers who teach writing in a standards-based and test-driven environment. Participants worked in the same suburban school and taught writing using the workshop process approach. The data gathering methods used in this study included the use of one-on-one interviews, classroom observations, videotaped records of complete writing conferences, and follow-up sessions where teachers and students were asked to orally share their thoughts and feelings while they were viewing themselves engaged in a conference. A within-case and cross-case analysis present authentic descriptive accounts illustrating the content most talked about during conferencing, and type of questions and questioning strategies teachers used to support students develop as authors.Three central questions helped to focus this study: (1) What patterns of dialogue and feedback about writing are visible in fifth grade classrooms during writing instruction that directly involve the teacher? What gets talked about (content)? How does it get talked about (structure of the conversation and written feedback provided by the teacher)? (2) How do teachers explain the reasoning behind the decisions they make about providing feedback and engaging children in conversation about writing? (3) What relationship, if any, does dialogue and feedback have to do with: (a) what teachers say they value in a piece of writing and (b) teachers' beliefs about what they need to teach because of external mandates, standards, and accountability pressures?Findings indicated that conferencing practices were remarkably similar among the three teachers in terms of the way they asked questions and responded to student text. Conferences were highly directive and the interaction between teacher and student was predominantly structured in a way where the teacher assumed an authoritative position, asking and holding the answers to questions. Feedback given to students seemed to revolve around the content of the state's writing assessment, and mechanics seemed to be emphasized over student ideas. These analyses support the argument that certain types of questions and questioning strategies can weaken opportunities for collaborative discourse, and minimize student voice or agency when discussing their written work.