| The purpose of this research study was to describe the conditions and interpretations of informal teacher talk from the point of view of the conversants and examine how both the talk and the act of talking might benefit teachers. Specifically, this dissertation examined two research questions: (1) What is the nature of informal teacher talk? (2) In what ways does this informal talk have value to teachers?; To document the nature and value of informal talk, I selected an ethnographic case study methodology, focusing on naturally occurring conversations of four teachers in one Maine secondary school. I employed two methods of data collection: daily logs and interviews. The logs recorded the recall of conversations on a weekly basis, and interviews captured additional information about those conversations. An initial interview, final interview, and two reflective interviews captured salient images, experiences and outcomes of informal teacher talk. Analyses involved taxonomies of the outer (context and conditions) and inner (opinions and experiences) frames of informal teacher talk. Teachers' perceptions of the value (benefits felt, experienced and/or revealed over time) of informal talk emerged from these reflective interviews.; The study revealed a number of similarities in the functions of teacher talk among the teachers: sharing, assessing, problem-solving, and giving or receiving help. Conversely, teachers used informal talk for different reasons: teacher talk for advocacy, reflection, personal support, and/or teamwork. In the perception of teachers, informal teacher talk had value for collegial advocacy, infusion and joy of new ideas, workable solutions, collegial support and relationships, and shared language. Personality, personal priorities, workload, fatigue and organizational constraints influenced teachers' access to such talk. The thesis concludes implications with regard to these mediating factors. |
