Article 6

I. Title: Using Written Conversation in Middle School: Lessons from a Teacher Researcher
Project
II. Author: William P Bintz and Karen S. Shelton
III. Author’s Purpose: This article focused on two different topics—teaching as researching
and a specific lesson, written conversation.
IV. What are the points made in the review of the literature? Do they support the
need for the study? The author and the teacher-researcher showed that note passing is
a way for students to do something they enjoy, passing notes, and combine it with
something they really don’t like all that much, studying a novel.
V. Author’s Inquiry Question: How can note passing in class be used as a potentially
positive, rather than always a negative activity for students?
VI. Author’s Methodology: Qualitative research methodology
A. Who is being studied? Students in 7th and 8th grade language arts classes are being
studied.
B. Over what length of time? The time frame is not stated, but it appears to be over
one novel study.
C. What data is being collected? The teacher-researcher, Karen Shelton, collected
writing samples and written reflections from students during her language arts class
and sharing this at a summer conference and during visits to teachers’ classrooms.
D. How is it being analyzed? The teacher-researcher, Karen Shelton, used a three step
process to analyze her research:
1. She read through the data recording comments and not stopping to reflect on the
data; she wanted to determine the reading process the pairs of students used to
create and represent meaning from the text.
2. She then read the data set a second time more critically and reflectively to construct
her working hypotheses by seeing patterns in responses, what similar reading
processes were used.
3. She read the entire set again focusing on refining emerging patterns by comparing
them against the data.
E. Any other interesting or pertinent data? Shelton notices six patterns or
categories of reading processes in her research:
1. making a prediction
2. drawing an inference
3. making a personal connection
4. taking a position
5. asking a question
6. detecting an anomaly
VII. How the author collected information: The teacher-researcher
is keeping anecdotal records, looking at writing samples, and also looking at student
reflections to determine the effectiveness of written conversation in student learning and
retention of material.
VIII. What the Author Discovered or Conclusions/Implications:
Written conversation is a great strategy to help students learn in a fun, creative way. The
author also shows that teaching and researching are the same thing; teachers have
to support their own learning in order to support the learning of students, and teaching as
researching is rewarding but very hard work.