Questioning the Author in a Scandinavian context

Abstract

The present study is a follow-up qualitative study to a quantitative intervention study in which the pro-gramme Questioning the Author (QtA) was evaluated in a Scandinavian context. The aim was to evalu-ate how teachers develop QtA discussion moves in small groups of six participants. The video recordings from the sessions were investigated in terms of QtA discussion moves. The study suggests that (a) de-veloping QtA in the classroom takes time. During the first year of intervention, initial progress was made, but the teachers had difficulties to keep the discussion focused and constructive. During the second and third years, these difficulties had mostly disappeared. (b) Some discussion moves seemed to be practiced more fluently than others: turning back, recapping, revoicing, and annotating. (c) The teachers' strategies/discussion moves scaffolded the students' comprehension processes and provided opportunities for reflections. © 2014 International Association for the Improvement of Mother tongue Education.