Dicussion assignment

Classroom discussion transcription, double spaced

Due Monday October 23; please bring recording to class

            In groups of two, you will record a class discussion in a class of your choice (though I hope we end up having a range of classes to choose from, ideally from middle school to college level).  I recommend that you start this early, so that you have time to return to the class if for some reason the recording is botched. (Note, by the way, my politeness in using the passive construction in the previous sentence.)  After you have recorded it, you will listen to the discusssion and choose a five minute section to transcribe for the assignment.  You should also take notes in the class you record so that you can provide details that might not be captured in the recording.  You should preface the transcription you complete with any details that you think will make the transcription more understandable (this might include the level and kind of class, the layout of the room, the tenor of the previous or subsequent discussion, or anything else you think your readers should attend to during as they read the piece).  You will bring a hard copy to class, along with your recording, and you will send me an electronic copy as an attachment (either as a Word document or a Rich Text Format document – if this confuses you, talk to me).  We will then put the whole set together and use them as a class text.  You must have the permission of the teacher to do this, and you must change the names of all participants.  Please explain the nature of the assignment to the teacher, and assure the teacher that you do not intend to use this as an evaluative tool; instead, we will be using the set to better investigate the dynamics and challenges of classroom discussion.

While transcribing your texts, there are particular features I would like you to pay attention to.  Here are ways to represent them in your transcription:

// indicates that the next speaker overlaps at this point:

P: but umm in the high school ummmm// they

R: //Don’t they use ‘em?

An asterick should be used to show where the overlap ends:

M: It’s very // very

H: // interesting*

M: yes interesting uh

The // can also be used to show when two speakers start simultaneously:

R: // I mean it’s not time.

P: // We can go.

= is used for “latching,” to show that there is no gap between utterances:

M:  mmhmm (+) yes:s =

H: = like saffron

The (+) here means a short pause (about one syllable), where a (++) means two syllables, and each plus added signifies another syllable; the colon (:) here indicates that the syllable is lengthened.  More colons mean it is lengthened even further:

J: Wo:::::w (held equivalent of five syllables)

Uppercase type is used for stress (pitch and volume) –do this only if it seems especially meaningful to the conversation:

A: to my BOYfriend ann NOTHING else.

(h) indicates explosive aspiration.

S:  (h) What?

Single parentheses may be used when the transcriber is unsure of accuracy (i.e. when you can’t understand the recording, which will on occasion happen.  The parantheses can represent a guess, or it can indicate that you had no idea what was said at that moment.) Double parentheses indicate non-verbal sounds such as ((cough)) or ((telephone ringing)).