| This doctoral project represents my inquiry into what characterizes patterns of English-class instruction---particularly regarding classroom discussion---on the high school, college, and graduate school levels. It also addresses to what degree levels and patterns of instruction might correlate to teachers' conceptions of knowledge in their respective classrooms. I found that teachers' conceptions of classroom knowing are not necessarily tied to the level of instruction---which had been my initial hunch going into the project---but rather to the following factors: previous experience as students; personal beliefs; allegiances to educational theories or theorists; obligations to standardized tests; and, lastly, administrative expectations and working environments.;The data I reviewed from my study suggests the teachers I observed and whose questionnaires I subsequently read fell into two categories. On the one hand, teachers who encouraged students to exchange and challenge ideas---both their own and their classmates'---believed that learning happens primarily when students themselves grapple and process their understandings through discussion and exploration with their teachers and peers in the classroom; these findings are consistent with Bakhtin (1981), Bruer (1993), and Rex and McEachen (1999).;On the other hand some teachers in this study believed that learning happens best when authorities in the field (e.g., themselves or a textbook) convey information to the students; these findings are consistent with Mehan (1979), Nystrand, Gamoran, Kachur, & Prendergast (1996), and Marshall (1998).;An additional conclusion of this project suggests that the pedagogical beliefs of the teachers in this study---which they indicated were shaped by influencing factors such as previous teachers, theorists, graduate classes, and, in some cases, travel, family, or spirituality---surfaced via their patterns of instruction, particularly through the types of questions they asked or directives they gave, the instructional strategies used in class, and the types of assessments employed to evaluate student understanding. |
