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3 results on '"Farrar P"'

1. How Adequate are the Assumptions Underlying Literature Comprehension in the Middle Grades?

Author

Farrar, Mary Thomas

Abstract

Although the argument that comprehension is a cognitive process is extremely convincing, the fact that comprehension can be assessed only through some sort of interaction makes this view inadequate as a base for reading/literature curricula. Questions, context, and teacher-student interaction can all influence a student's comprehension. It is also assumed that comprehension can be assessed objectively, but research has shown that examiners' different frames of reference can have considerable effect on question wording and on student scores. A third assumption underlying reading/literature curricula is that readers use some sort of schematic representation of text to guide the encoding and retrieval process and that an ideal story structure exists that corresponds with readers' schemata or expectations. Research indicates, however, that story structure is reflected in internal representation and that the complexity of internal representation increases developmentally, possibly subject to individual learning styles. Despite the limitations of these assumptions, reading/literature curricula in the schools have been based on the premise that meaning is literal, convergent, and objective rather than subjective or private. Because of the accountability demands of schooling, it is in the interest of school systems to adopt these assumptions and gloss over their inadequacies, a possibly unresolvable dilemma. (HTH)

Published
1981

2. Three Models of Discussion: A Sociolinguistic Analysis Examining Relationships among Models of Discussion and Verbal Interactional Patterns. Third Draft.

Author

Farrar, Mary Thomas

Abstract

In a sociolinguistic study of five transcripts of high school discussions, two analyses were conducted. The first was a detailed qualitative analysis of the data, which combined paralinguistic features with three perspectives: a speech act analysis, a conversation analysis, and an interaction analysis. In the second, more quantitative analysis, the relative frequencies of various verbal interactional patterns, the use of topic control, and other conversational management factors were tabulated and compared. The results of these two micro-analyses revealed three models of discussion: discussion as course-covering, discussion as integrating, and discussion as expressing. Each model was then examined and compared with the others in four respects. Although no necessary and exclusive one-to-one match between verbal interactional pattern and model of discussion was explicated, a strong relationship between models of discussion and certain kinds of verbal interaction was demonstrated. The results suggest that (1) the question/answer format is associated with the subject-matter oriented course-covering model; (2) lack of strong topic control plus a focus on expression of feelings, observations, and opinions is associated with the student centered expressing model; and (3) combinations of explicit positive evaluation moves and of integrative questions and statements are associated with the integrating model. (The major portion of the paper is devoted to the analyses of the transcripts and interactions.) (EL)

Published
1985

3. Tacit Knowledge of Questioning Strategies: An Aspect of Teachers' Practical Knowledge.

Author

Farrar, Mary Thomas

Abstract

Six question and answer exchanges between a teacher and a student were analyzed to illustrate teachers' intuitive practical knowledge of questioning skills. It is suggested that this knowledge of questioning techniques is systematic and organized and that the teacher draws intuitively from a systematic framework of questioning patterns. A theory of instruction as "joint proposition achievement" is proposed to account for the use of the question/answer format. The question is depicted as a threatening gesture while the response is depicted as one of compliance. The phrasing of teacher questions to include mutuality-enhancing devices such as hints is seen as an attempt to diminish the power of the question form, as a means of encouraging response, and consequently, the joint achievement of propositions. A flow chart of the question-answer exchange is presented with an accompanying discussion demonstrating the underlying conceptualization of instruction made evident by the questioning techniques of the teacher and the taxonomy of mutuality-enhancing devices which appear in the exchange. (JD)

Published
1983

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