Theorizing Languaging Thinking as Ways of Reading: A Microethnographic Study in an English Language Arts Classroom

This dissertation study aims to theorize an instructional practice which I labeled languaging thinking. Languaging thinking is conceptualized as a social practice in which teachers and students make visible and discuss how to think about a particular task, topic, or activity, through the use of spoken and written language and related semiotic systems. Reporting findings from microethnographic and discourse analytic research, this study explicates languaging thinking, its key theoretical constructs, and what implications and affordances the construct offers in understanding students'; literacy practices in classrooms. Using the social-constructionist approach, microethnographic approach, a social practice view of literacy, and the sociocultural approach to learning as a framework, this year-long microethnographic study presents two key events (one whole-class setting and one small group discussion) from an 8th-grade English Language Arts classroom to theorize the construct of languaging thinking. The analysis of the key events suggests that languaging thinking practices are socially constructed between the teacher and students and reveals how languaging thinking involves four key constructs: modeling, holding accountable for engaging, articulating, and acknowledging. The analysis also demonstrates that both the teacher and the students deploy various facets of languaging as they are engaged in languaging thinking practices. Those languaging practices include the use of metadiscourse, labeling ways of thinking, narrativizing ways of thinking, arguing ways of thinking and signaling relationships. The microethnographic study also suggests that the teacher's dialogic stance mediates the languaging thinking practice and the contexts in which the practices are enacted. Finally, the dissertation discusses the theoretical and empirical implications of the construct of languaging thinking as they pertain to reading and literacy education. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]