Re: orchestrations

Ellice A Forman (ellice+ who-is-at pitt.edu)
Fri, 9 Feb 1996 20:18:32 -0500 (EST)

Jay,
Your elaboration of Bakhtin's notions of monologic text vs. heteroglossia
in your comment on the different orchestrations that you've been hearing
on xmca was what I've been looking for. The classroom that I've been
examining is a reform mathematics classroom in which the teacher believes
that she is supporting multiple solutions to problems--in line with the
new standards. However, the multiple speakers that do provide multiple
solutions are responded to in a way that is distincty monologic. In so
doing she indicates (by overlapping speech, among other things) the
dominant values in her classroom--which end up being at odds with her
espoused values. So I find myself in agreement with your statement that
"I don't thin classrooms or dominant institutions generally are
hospitable to the action-analogue of heteroglossia (heteropraxia?). They
tend to put it down, forcefully. If they can."

Thanks for the additional citations as well.
Ellice Forman