Revision as Dialogue: Exploring Question Posing in Writing Response

Abstract

As a component of dialogic writing response, question posing is an essential strategy for crafting meaningful writing experiences. The author used qualitative content analysis to explore the question‐posing feedback provided by eight secondary English teacher candidates in response to literary essays by ninth graders. Findings indicate that despite a focus on dialogic writing processes in their Methods course, teacher candidates defaulted to skills‐based views of language use and policed student discourse in ways that aligned with the policy climate and their own experiences of schooling. Three different question types were identified: power‐concealing, power‐conserving, and power‐conferring. The author argues that the power‐conferring questions helped deepen students’ textual analysis and allowed for ownership over the writing process, resulting in meaningful revisions. The author concludes with an inquiry framework designed to help teachers interrogate how their assumptions about writing and students’ literate selves manifest in their writing feedback.