Constructing Literacy: How Goals, Activity Systems, and Text Shape Classroom Practice

Abstract

Social interaction is important in students' reproduction and transformation of culturally, socially grounded knowledge and skills, as well as their appropriation of the various roles that participation in social groups entails. A focus on social interaction in classrooms provides important perspectives on how teachers' and students' actions and the characteristics of the learning environment shape classroom interactions and outcomes. Using situated learning and cultural-historical activity theories as a framework, our purpose in this case study was to identify and describe features of the classroom context that were important in shaping students' participation in the classroom literacy community. Goals for participation, activity systems, and texts used and produced emerged as profound influences on students' opportunities to participate. Research into how students and teachers construct classroom literacy communities can deepen our understanding of the mutually constitutive relation between contextual elements within classrooms and students' opportunities to learn and to succeed. Interviewer: What does it mean to do English in Camilla's class? Students: English is boring. It makes you want to go to sleep. If you know how to write sentences and spell and you know how to read, you know English. Interviewer: What does it mean to be a reader in this class? Students: To know what you're reading about. Not just reading the words, but understand. I love to read. (Student focus group #2)