| This study investigated ways that teacher/student patterns of interaction, student patterns of discourse, and classroom pedagogical practices compared in two eighth grade English classes through an examination of twelve electronic and twelve face-to-face literature discussions using four short stories. The purpose was to examine whether literature discussion in the electronic realm had any of the characteristics of a third space learning environment as defined by Gutierrez et al. (1995) as a place where "normative patterns of interaction intersect". In this qualitative investigation, transcripts of the discussions were analyzed following the framework developed by Marshall, et al. (1995) to examine episodes, turns and communication units to discover patterns of topic initiation, turn-taking, and language use that illuminated the possibility of third space learning. Data was further collected to investigate how teachers and students experienced electronic and face-to-face literature discussions through teacher and student interviews, reflective journals, and field notes which were analyzed for repeating patterns of content. The analyses showed that the electronic discussion format provided a space for increased student participation and interaction, varied language use, and potential as a third space arena, but posed problems as a classroom methodology as well. |
