195 Joko also has a tendency to informality towards his students. Figure 12 below describes
the relationship between Joko’s pedagogic disposition to informality, capital, field, and practice.
Field Pedagogic disposition to informality
• a private university at Malang,
Indonesia
• a large class with the majority
of low-proficiency students
Figure 12: Relationship between Joko’s disposition to informality and capital, field, and practice
7.4.3.1 Manifestations of Joko’s pedagogic dispositions to informality in his practice
This subsection describes how Joko’s teaching practices are driven by his pedagogic disposition to informality. Joko remembers his students’ names really well,
he sometimes jokes with his students, and he is also friendly and kind to his students.
Capital Practice
Physical embodied cultural capital •
being familiar with students’ names
• a tall body
• making jokes or using humour in the
• loud voice
class
Personal institutionalized cultural capital
•
being friendly and kind to his students
• ability to speak English fluently
•
punctual behaviour
• great enthusiasm for the subject
being taught
• choice of attire
Professional institutionalized cultural capital
• graduated from public universities
196 The excerpt below is taken from the video recording of Joko’s lesson and shows how he
is kind and friendly to his students and how he remembers their names.
[Joko starts his writing class by greeting the students] JOKO: OK. Thank you. Assalamualaikum warrahmatulohi wabarakatuh.
STUDENTS: Waalaikumsalam warrahmatulohi wabarakatuh [entire class answers together]. JOKO: Good afternoon.
STUDENTS: Good afternoon. JOKO: How are you guys?
STUDENTS: Fineeeeee, and you? [entire class answers together] JOKO: I’m very well. Thank you. It’s very nice to meet you again. Last week we discussed
about peer check. Have you got some benefits from peer check? Aisyah? [pointing to Aisyah to answer]
AISYAH: Yes. JOKO: Ya, what is the benefit of peer check according to your experience?
AISYAH: I easy to make correct my draft. JOKO: It means that your final product is much better than your first draft? Do you think so?
AISYAH: Yes. JOKO: Yes, I will check it. Wulan what do you think?
WULAN: It makes my paragraph much better. JOKO: It makes your paragraph much better. Trimo, what do you think, Trimo?
TRIMO: It develops my paragraphs and makes revision. JOKO: Revision. You make some revisions.
As illustrated in the above excerpt, Joko greets the students by saying “guys” when he starts the lesson. This informal greeting suggests that Joko wants to build close
relationship with the students. He also says, “it’s very nice to meet you again” as a friendly greeting to the students. It is also evident in the above excerpt that Joko refers
to some of the students by their names e.g., Aisyah, Wulan, and Trimo while he was previewing the previous topic at the start of the lesson and is familiar with the students’
names. The analysis of Joko’s classroom discourse in the above excerpt shows that Joko
uses the IRF Initiation, Response, Feedback pattern when he interacts with his students. However, the feedback Joko gives in the pre-teaching and during-teaching
activities is different. In pre-teaching activity, when Joko greets his students, he supports his interaction by utilizing third turn that invites more student talk. He provides
197 interactive feedback to expand or modify his students’ answer like in the below
analysis.
Initiation: How are you guys? Response: Fineeeeee, and you? [entire class answers together]
Initiative Feedback: I’m very well. Thank you. It’s very nice to meet you again. Last week we discussed about peer check. Have you got some benefits from
peer check? Aisyah? [pointing to Aisyah to answer] Response: Yes.
Initiation: Ya, what is the benefit of peer check according to your experience? Response: I easy to make correct my draft.
Initiative Feedback: It means that your final product is much better than your first draft? Do you think so?
Response: Yes.
However, during teaching, Joko is often in a ‘material mode’, that is a mode of teaching in which the organization of the interaction is almost entirely determined by the
materials and managed by the teacher Walsh, 2010. Here, Joko gives repetitive feedback and does not provide the third turn as we see in the following analysis.
Initiation: Yes, I will check it. Wulan what do you think? Response: It makes my paragraph much better.
Repetitive Feedback: It makes your paragraph much better. Initiation: Trimo, what do you think, Trimo?
Response: It develops my paragraphs and makes revision. Repetitive Feedback: Revision. You make some revisions.
Clearly, Joko limits students’ further learning opportunity about the topic discussed since he only repeats his students’ response. As a result, there is no more interactional
space between him and his students since the interaction is focused exclusively on the material Walsh, 2010, p. 128. Overall, the above excerpt suggests that Joko’s
pedagogic disposition to informality is manifested through his pre-teaching activity. Another Joko’s practice that is shaped by his pedagogic disposition to
informality is when he welcomes questions from the students if they are experiencing
198 difficulty with their task. When the students were busy writing their writing draft, Joko
asked, “if you have any question please raise your hand OK? I’ll help you.” Joko also moves around the classroom while his students are doing their task, approaching them
students if they have a question. The below excerpt demonstrate how Joko is open to questions from the students:
[Joko asks the students in the writing class to do a task] JOKO: Okay, now for those who have finished doing this one [showing writing on a piece of
paper]. Okay, you need to do peer check, but for those who haven’t finished writing rough draft, so I would like to give you a chance, you know, to write down your first rough draft. If you get
difficulties please contact me. I’m right here. So Wahab, maybe your first will read by Eka [giving the paper to Eka]. And then Rina yes ... yours [taking Rina’s paper] will be checked by
Zulia [giving Rina’s paper to Zulia].
As we can see, Joko communicates his willingness to help his students through his verbal statement in the class. Joko uses the following expression to encourage the
students to ask questions, “if you get difficulties please contact me. I’m right here.” Another example from the video recording of the lesson took place on a different
occasion:
[Joko has almost finished teaching the class] JOKO: After having peer check, you need to think that if the feedbacks are useful, if the
feedbacks make your draft better so you have to do it right? But if you think that the feedback given by your friend is not right, please try to consult with your friend, okay. What do you mean
by this one? Okay, if you’re still confused, please come to me. I’m right here, okay.
Again, as illustrated in the above excerpt, Joko offers students help by saying, “if you’re still confused, please come to me, I’m right here.” This suggests that Joko wants to
make sure his students understand what he teaches and provides help to those who still do not understand. Joko also refers to some of the students by their name e.g., Wahab,
Eka, Rina, and Zulia as further evidence that Joko knows his students well. Joko’s kindness is also reflected in his practice when he says “sorry” to the
students. For example, when he writes on the white board and he thinks that he is writing the words in a position that is too high on the board, Joko erases the words and
says “sorry”. In the interview, Joko asserted, “I often receive an SMS from my student telling me that heshe can’t join my class because heshe was sick and I always reply
199 that kind of SMS. I always write okay, get well soon” Interview 2, 3022012. Joko
also indicated, “I always tell my students that if they need my help just please raise their hand and I’m ready to help them Interview 2, 3022012. This implies that Joko is
happy to help his students and expects to have a positive relationship with them. Another example of Joko’s friendliness is presented in the excerpt below:
[Joko is trying to remind the students about the topic discussed during their last meeting] JOKO: “Last meeting we discussed about outlining, remember? Still remember last meeting we
discussed about outlining? Did you come here? Yes, last meeting last two weeks because last week I was absent right? I was sick … sorry, at that time I was sick, sorry”.
Joko’s declarations to his students that he was “sorry” for being absent may suggest that he respects his students and that his pedagogic disposition of informality encouraged
him to apologise. Joko’s pedagogic disposition to informality also manifests as sharing a joke with
the students as demonstrated in the excerpt below:
JOKO: Please have a look at the display. Okay, are you familiar with this beautiful heroine? Who is she?
STUDENTS: Angelina Jolie JOKO: Angelina Jolie? Are you sure?
Students: yesssss [students answer together]. JOKO: Dewita? Not Soimah, right? [entire class is laughing] Okay, what do you know about
Angelina Jolie? STUDENTS: She is … [some students want to answer].
JOKO: Yeah, one by one … [pointing to Eka] Eka: She is a play film.
JOKO: She plays film. She’s native from … America, right?
As the above excerpt illustrates, Joko mentions “Soimah” to make the students laugh. He compares Angelina Jolie with Soimah, an Indonesian comedian, who is quite
famous. This humour used by Joko to break the monotony of class so that the students
more inclined to pay attention in the class. Another example taken from the video recording of the lesson further demonstrates Joko’s disposition to informality:
JOKO: I’ll give second display. Look Please, have a look carefully. How beautiful she is right? STUDENTS: Yesssss [students answers together]
200
JOKO: Very, very beautiful. Like my wife, of course. STUDENTS: Huuuuuuu [students all laugh].
JOKO: I always say that my wife is the most beautiful lady in this world. STUDENTS: Whaaaaaaaa [students all laugh]
As we can see, the students laugh when Joko says, “very, very beautiful. Like my wife, of course” and “I always say that my wife is the most beautiful lady in this world.” Joko
shares jokes with the students to create a more relaxed classroom atmosphere, which is conducive to both teaching and learning.
Joko’s disposition to informality suggests that Joko really enjoys his relationship with the students. However, as discussed earlier, that the way Joko interacts with his
student in the pre-teaching activity is different from the while-teaching activity. In the pre-teaching activity, Joko acts like people talking with other people or in a non-teacher
mode; however when he is delivering lessons, he is in a teacher-mode a more impatient mode. In other words, like Andi, although Joko has a traditional approach in his
teaching, involving teacher centred instruction, but he builds positive relationship with his students. The next subsection of this chapter discusses the relationship between
Joko’s pedagogic disposition to informality, and capital, field, and practice.
7.4.3.2 Relationship between Joko’s pedagogic disposition to informality and capital, field, and practice
Joko’s teaching practices or behaviours are not only as a result of his pedagogic disposition to informality. They are also as a result between this and other aspects of his
habitus and between his different capitals within the field. In addition, there is an implicit tension between Joko’s pedagogic disposition to informality and his pedagogic
disposition to dominance. Through his pedagogic disposition to informality, Joko
acknowledges the importance of creating a warm and relaxed classroom environment, but at the same time, through his pedagogic disposition to dominance, Joko limits
student engagement and participation in the classroom. Furthermore, Joko’s institutionalised cultural capital, accompanied by his
embodied cultural capital, functions as powerbases to support his pedagogic disposition to informality. In particular, Joko’s state university education background, his ability to
speak English fluently, his great enthusiasm for the subject being taught, and his choice of clothing all combine to support his habitus. Moreover, as explained in detail in
201 Chapter 4, Joko’s sub-field is at a private university in Indonesia with low-proficiency
students. As such, the students needed more guidance from their teacher to effectively facilitate their learning. As a result, the students value friendly teachers as they are
viewed to be helpful to the students. Therefore, by being familiar with the students’ names, friendly and kind to them, and often making jokeshumour in the class, Joko
thinks that he is meeting the students’ expectations. As he explained:
I don’t want my student to be afraid to me. I want them to come to me if they have learning problem. I often said to my students, “don’t be afraid of me
because I’m not a ghost. Instead, I’m your father, I’m your lecturer, I’m your facilitator that will discuss anything” Interview 3, 14062012.
Clearly, Joko wants to be open and helpful to the students by being closer to them. Joko’s pedagogic disposition to informality generates practices that create positive
relationship with the students. Furthermore, Joko is of the view that having friendly and positive relationship with students is necessary. He asserted:
Having positive relationship with students is very important, both inside classroom and outside classroom. If the students feel comfortable with the
attitude of lecturers, they will learn well because they don’t have any pressure. I often say to the freshmen do not be afraid of me since I am not a ghost, but
your father. If you are under pressure in my class, meet me and we will discuss it together”. But I realise that some students do not like me, but at least I try to
close to them. Warmth relationship between teachers and students will create more conducive atmosphere. The students will feel free to express their opinion
and to engage in teaching and learning activity Interview 3, 14062012.
Joko’s comments reveal that he is of the belief that if a teacher establishes a warm rapport with the students it will increase student participation in class activities. As a
corollary to this, increase student participation will increase student achievement. Joko’s educational experience has shaped his pedagogic disposition to
informality as an aspect of his habitus that ensures the active presence of past experiences within individuals in the form of schemes of perception, thought, and action
Bourdieu, 1990, p. 54. Joko reflected:
202 I have some teachers who are very friendly to their student so that it created
positive relationship among them. Teachers wanted to listen to what students wanted. They were very patient and appreciate students’ opinion. They also had
good relationship outside class. The students, therefore, didn’t feel afraid and under pressure in their class Interview 3, 14062012.
Joko’s pedagogic disposition to informality is as a result of his past experiences with friendly teachers. Joko realises that such teachers help students to learn more effectively
and maintain student interest and enthusiasm in learning. The next section of this chapter discusses the productive disruptions of teacher self-evaluation in Joko’s identity
as a teacher and in his teaching.
7.5 Productive disruptions resulting from teacher self-evaluation as a mediational activity
Joko had practiced teacher self-evaluation prior to his participation in this study. He had held informal discussions with his colleagues who taught the same subject and
had asked a colleague to observe one of his lessons so that he might provide feedback on his teaching practices. Joko also audio recorded one of his own lessons. He asserted:
Yes, I ever did some teacher self-evaluation activities. First, I ever discussed with my colleagues about our teaching, especially with teachers who taught the
same subject as me. I shared with them my problem in my teaching and asked their opinion in case they’ve got similar problem. I also learnt from them to have
some new teaching methods and techniques. We learn from each other. Second, I invited one of my colleagues to come to my class, at that time, in my reading
class. I asked him to observe how I taught and then I asked his feedback about my teaching. Third, I ever audio recorded my lesson to know how I taught. I
realise that sometimes I had some unexpected things happened in my class. Some were positive and some were negative Interview 1, 19102011.
Joko was therefore already familiar with the practice of self-evaluation. By participating
in a series of teacher self-evaluation activities in this study, Joko was able to use different self-evaluation instruments of teacher self-reflection questions, lesson video
recording, and student feedback.
Like Maya and Andi, Joko perceived the semiotic affordance of each mediating tool he utilized to facilitate self-evaluation of his instructional practice. Firstly, when he
was asked his comments about the use of lesson video recording, Joko said,
