Mediation in staff development: Instructional conversations to address student diversity and teachers' concerns for teaching and learning

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to establish a staff development model that would assist teachers to: (1) develop a deeper understanding of their diverse student population; (2) develop a deeper awareness and understanding of their perceptions of the teaching/learning process; and (3) help teachers use their enriched knowledge and skills to promote instructional techniques that enhance all students' linguistic, academic and cognitive development. Guiding this process were three research projects: Langer and Applebee's (1987) work on teaching and learning; Goldenberg's (1991) instructional conversation (IC) Rating Scale and; Au's (1990) interpretations of Vygotsky's (1962; 1978) work on mediation in practice. Underlying these works, and also incorporated into this study, were Vygotsky's ideas on mediated assistance within one's zone of proximal development. Seven data sources were collected and analyzed for this study. These included: pre-post surveys and interviews, teachers' scripted lessons, individual discussion sessions, whole group in-services, IC Rating Scale, and ethnographic notes. Four formats were used to analyze these data: IC scoring, graphs, charts and triangulation of various data sources. Results of these procedures afforded the following findings: (1) there were substantial changes in both the quantity as well as the quality of teachers' instructional practices based on teachers' central or main concerns for their students; (2) teachers gained deeper understanding of their instructional practice through mediation and discussion; and (3) teachers noted that changes in their instructional practices enhanced learning for their diverse student population.