Understanding tutors use of "interactures" : a comparison study of three different content-based subject areas at the Universiti of Brunei Darrussalam

Abstract

This study adhered to the belief that interaction plays a significant role in the co-construction of new knowledge in the classroom. Though, to understand the highly complex and rapid flow of classroom interaction require a system of analysing classroom talk. Most studies conducted on classroom interaction took place in the language classroom context where the language was used not only as a means for acquiring new knowledge, it was also the aim of the subject (see Walsh, 2011). However, the context of the researchdoes not indicate that understanding the use of verbal interaction in other subject areas was insignificant. To understand the use of the Englishlanguage in a content-based classroom requires adopting a system for analysis such as the Self-Evaluating Teacher Talk framework (SETT) to assess the tutors’ Classroom Interaction Competence (CIC) (Walsh, 2006; 2011). By raising the tutors’ and students’ awareness of their CIC, this study hopes to encourage participation and thus create a collaborative environment. In this study, a comparison was made on the tutors' and students’ use of interactional features (interactures) (Walsh, 2006) using the mode from three different courses at the Universiti of Brunei Darussalam (UBD).In line with the works of Vygotsky on socio-culturaltheory and social-constructivist paradigm, this study sought to conduct a qualitative approach through the use of non-participant video observation and stimulated recall interviews. Purposive sampling was used whereby the classes were chosen according totheir use of the English language as the medium of instruction and the representation of different content-based subject areas in UBD. For each class, recurring video observation of the whole lesson (around 2 -4 hours) was conducted. The interviews conducted was within 1-3 days after the observation. Since the participants selected were voluntary, the number of students participating in the interviews varies from 2 to 12 participants per class. For each interview, a random section of the lesson was shown for 5-15 minutes, depending on the response from the participants, which pushed the interviews to last around 30-45 minutes. Theinterview questions were semi-structured, focusing partly around the interactures used in the lesson, and the participant’s response. Using the SETT Framework on the video transcriptions, the study compared the different ways content-based subject tutorsuse selected interactures as a tool in comparison to the SETT Framework. Using thematic analysis on the interview data confirmed the reoccurring themes that arose from the observation data and its reflection on the tutor's CIC. The conclusions revealed how specific interactures, such as the use of display questions and humour, could be used to encourage participation by expanding the students' answers. Furthermore, the different types of lessons,for example, the tutorial, could lead to changes in the waysthe tutors' and students’ use of interactures. This study also suggested that different courses and different tutors could influence the level of participation in the classroom