Between Talk And Teaching: Reconsidering the Writing Conference

by Laurel Black

The teacher-student conference is standard in the repertoire of teachers at all levels. Because it's a one-to-one encounter, teachers work hard to make it comfortable; but because it's a pedagogical moment, they hope that learning occurs in the encounter, too. The literature in this area often suggests that a conference is a conversation, but this doesn't account for a teacher's need to use it pedagogically. Laurel Johnson Black's new book explores the conflicting meanings and relations embedded in conferencing and offers a new theoretical understanding of the conference along with practical approaches to conferencing more effectively with students.

Analyzing taped conferences of several different teachers and students, Black considers the influence that power, gender, and culture can have on a conference. She draws on sociolinguistic theory, as well as critical theory in composition and rhetoric, to build an understanding of the writing conference as an encounter somewhere between conversation and the classroom. She finds neither the conversation model nor versions of the master-apprentice model satisfactory. Her approach is humane, student-centered, and progressive, but it does not ignore the valid pedagogical purposes a teacher might have in conferencing. Between Talk and Teaching will be a valuable addition to the professional library of writing teachers and writing program administrators.

177 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1998

Reviews

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

A critical (in all senses of the term) look at one-on-one conferences between professors and students that illuminates and offers antidotes for the problems and power struggles that characterize them. Black is reflective and provides incredible ideas for how all teachers might engage in the same self-reflection, particularly in service of empowering their students. I'll be (at least I hope) using insights I gained from this reading for some time!