Tom Koole
Biographic Data
| ID | 100201 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Tom Koole |
| GIVEN NAMES | Tom |
| FAMILY NAME | Koole |
| SIGNATURE | KOOLE T |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Groningen |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-8237-211X |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 30 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 110 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 30 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2001 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Conversation Analysis and Education
Conversation analysis (CA) has been concerned with education from an interest in how educational practices are accomplished by participants as situated activities.
Peer-to-peer-talk in whole-classroom discussions
We observed stretches of peer-to-peer-talk during teacher-guided whole-classroom discussions aimed at sharing perspectives in Dutch Language and Literature lessons. This conversation-analytic study zooms in on how these stretches of peer-to-peer-talk emerge. Students are mainly found to respond to each other with challenges and assertions. A challenge is formulated as a wh-question - imperative, interrogative, declarative or phrasal - and is used…
Dealing with the dual demands of expertise and democracy: How experts create proximity to the public without undermining their status as experts
Credible expertise is no longer a given in our contemporary democracy: for knowledge to be authoritative, experts must take into account a wider audience than just scientific colleagues. This study uses conversation analysis and discursive psychology to investigate how experts deal with this role in practice. We show that experts in a Dutch public hearing on GM food orient to ‘speaking on behalf of the public’ without undermining their status as …
‘What would you do if…?’: On asking Experience Questions within classroom discussions, with a view to making room for subjectification
In this study, we observed classroom discussions in which teachers aimed to work on subjectification. Teachers were found to ask ‘Experience Questions’, which we define as questions that prompt the recipient to disclose how he/she would act or feel in a given situation. By applying Conversation Analysis, we show that post-expansion is provoked by either 1) inviting other students to respond to the initial response; 2) inviting the same student to…
Expanded and non-conforming answers in standardized survey interviews
Respondents in standardized survey interviews do not always answer closed-ended questions with just a type-conforming answer, such as “yes” or “three.” Instead, they sometimes expand the type-conforming answer or provide a response that does not contain a type-conforming answer. Standardized survey methodology aims to avoid such answers because they are found to cause interviewers to deviate from their script. However, we found that many expanded…
Scopes of recipiency: An organization of responses to informings
The workings of multiple principles in student-teacher interactions: Orientations to both mundane interaction and pedagogical context
In classroom interaction, participants are not only oriented to interactional principles for mundane talk, but also to pedagogical principles. In this paper, the interplay between these principles is revealed by means of a conversation analytic study into student-initiated student-teacher interactions during desk work in Dutch secondary schools. It is investigated from a participants’ perspective how teachers depart from the mundane interactional…
Meaning as referential work: Reflections on the research object of Interactional Semantics
This epilogue to the Special Issue on Interactional Semantics discusses the contributions to the Special Issue in relation to other research to support three arguments. (i) The choice of Interactional Semantics to take the referential function of language (Jakobson) as its object of research is a welcome choice. (ii) The use of the term ‘meaning’ for this research object is potentially confusing and could be replaced by ‘referential work’. (iii) …
Children's discussions about texts: Integrating and evaluating practices
This paper examines how primary school students discuss deeper comprehension and evaluation of text, while involved in dialogic reading in the context of inquiry learning. It takes a conversation analytic perspective on reading for understanding and critical reading. Analysis of the conversational details of peer talk, revealed how students collaboratively construct deeper meaning of text and take a more critical stance toward the text by means o…
“What do you think?” How interaction unfolds following opinion-seeking questions and implications for encouraging subjectification in education
This study investigates how classroom interaction unfolds following an opinion-seeking question asked by teachers or students. By using conversation analysis as a research method, the authors found that to an opinion-seeking question the preferred response of a student is to express an opinion as if it originated from their own thoughts. These responses are often followed by a non-minimal follow-up by both teachers and peers. We illustrate that t…
How primary school children address reading problems in dialogic reading
In dialogic reading during inquiry learning settings in primary school, pupils read, think and talk together about text fragments for answering their research questions. In this process, pupils may encounter reading problems, regarding word identification or meaning. Conversation analysis is used to demonstrate how these reading problems are collaboratively addressed. Word identification problems are mostly signalled implicitly during the genuine…
Asking for more
This paper addresses the ways in which teachers in whole-class discussions invite students to elaborate their previous turn. Our conversation analytic study uncovers that the teachers’ invitations are prompted by elicited as well as spontaneous student turns of both subjective and factual nature. While giving the students the space to expand on their previous turn, most invitations nevertheless steer towards a specific type of response, namely an…
Text formulations as practices of demonstrating understanding in dialogic reading
This paper examines text formulations in the interaction between peers in primary school during dialogic reading, in inquiry learning settings. In this context pupils collaboratively use information from texts to answer their research questions. The data analyzed include 25 excerpts of pupils demonstrating understanding of text. We used Conversation Analysis to analyze how pupils demonstrate their understanding by the use of text formulations, as…
Expertise in interaction - Introduction
Expertise as a domain of epistemics in intensive care shift-handovers
This paper examines how expertise is treated as a separable domain of epistemics by looking at simulated intensive care shift-handovers between resident physicians. In these handovers, medical information about a patient is transferred from an outgoing physician (OP) to an incoming physician (IP). These handovers contain different interactional activities, such as discussing the patient identifiers, giving a clinical impression, and discussing ta…
Sharing knowledge with peers: Epistemic displays in collaborative writing of primary school children
In focus for this study are epistemic displays in peer talk, throughout collaborative writing events in the context of inquiry learning. Conversational data was obtained from small groups of primary school students (aged 8–12 years). By means of Conversation Analysis, we found that epistemic displays are produced as (i) accounts, (ii) responses to a request for information, (iii) other-corrections, and with reference to the propositional content …
Text selection proposals in dialogic reading in primary school
In dialogic reading during inquiry learning in primary school, pupils read, think and talk together about text fragments for answering their research questions. This paper demonstrates from a conversational analytic perspective, how the shared activity of text selection is constructed in a goal oriented conversation and how text selection proposals are used. Two main practices are identified depending on the situation: (1) when all participants a…
Resolving knowledge discrepancies in informing sequences
This article investigates a specific practice that recipients in Dutch talk-in-interaction use when responding to turns that have as one of their main jobs to inform. By responding to an informing turn with an oh-prefaced nonrepeating response that has yes/no-type interrogative word order, recipients treat that turn as counter to expectation and request both confirmation of the inference formulated in his/her response, as well as reconciliatory i…
Aligning caller and call-taker: The opening phrase of Dutch emergency calls
This paper reports on conversation analytic research for the Dutch national emergency call-centre. In a corpus study of 120 emergency calls we show that callers’ orientations to their communicative tasks are not aligned to the institutional communicative tasks of the call-takers. In a subsequent workplace experiment involving over 2000 calls, it appeared that the use of an alternative question rather than a wh-question, significantly altered call…
When seconds count: A study of communication variables in the opening segment of emergency calls
The opening sequence of an emergency call influences the efficiency of the ambulance dispatch time. The greeting sequences in 105 calls to a South African emergency service were analysed. Initial results suggested the advantage of a specific two-part opening sequence. An on-site experiment aimed at improving call efficiency was conducted during one shift (1100 calls). Results indicated reduced conversational repairs and a significant reduction of…
Remembering and understanding with oh-prefaced yes/no declaratives in Dutch
‘And then you can decide’ – antenatal foetal diagnosis decision making in S outh A frica
BACKGROUND: Decision making is integral to genetic counselling and the premise is that autonomous decisions emerge if patients are provided with information in a non-directive manner. The pivotal activity in antenatal diagnosis counselling with at-risk pregnant women is decision making regarding invasive procedures. This process is not well understood in multicultural settings. OBJECTIVE: This study examined multicultural genetic counselling inte…
Pension helpdesk calls: A repair mechanism in the client communication of financial institutions
Using Conversation Analysis to Improve an Augmented Communication Tool
An ALS (amyotrofic lateral sclerosis) patient could only move her eyes and interacted through a MyTobii AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) tool with eye-tracking and speech synthesizing technology. Conversation analysis of 75 minutes of video-recorded talk-in-interaction with her family members revealed a timing problem with turn taking. In response, we provided the tool with keys for direct yes and no answers. We tested the results…
The epistemics of student problems: Explaining mathematics in a multi-lingual class
Displays of Epistemic Access: Student Responses to Teacher Explanations
This article presents an analysis of classroom encounters in which teachers explain mathematics problems to individual students. In these encounters, the students produce different displays of epistemic access, including displays of knowing and displays of understanding. This article argues in the first place that displays of knowing and displays of understanding are different interactional objects that come in different sequential positions. In …
The online support group as a community: A micro-analysis of the interaction with a new member
Generally, online support groups are viewed as low-threshold services. We challenge this assumption with an investigation, based on Conversation Analysis and Membership Categorization Analysis, of contributions to an online support group on eating disorders. In this analysis we show how a new member interacts with existing members in order to display legitimacy for membership of the group. The group operates as a Community of Practice, since memb…
The epistemics of student problems: Explaining mathematics in a multi-lingual class
Remembering and understanding with oh-prefaced yes/no declaratives in Dutch
The reconstruction of intercultural discourse: Methodological considerations
Expertise as a domain of epistemics in intensive care shift-handovers
This paper examines how expertise is treated as a separable domain of epistemics by looking at simulated intensive care shift-handovers between resident physicians. In these handovers, medical information about a patient is transferred from an outgoing physician (OP) to an incoming physician (IP). These handovers contain different interactional activities, such as discussing the patient identifiers, giving a clinical impression, and discussing ta…
Scopes of recipiency: An organization of responses to informings
Resolving knowledge discrepancies in informing sequences
This article investigates a specific practice that recipients in Dutch talk-in-interaction use when responding to turns that have as one of their main jobs to inform. By responding to an informing turn with an oh-prefaced nonrepeating response that has yes/no-type interrogative word order, recipients treat that turn as counter to expectation and request both confirmation of the inference formulated in his/her response, as well as reconciliatory i…
When seconds count: A study of communication variables in the opening segment of emergency calls
The opening sequence of an emergency call influences the efficiency of the ambulance dispatch time. The greeting sequences in 105 calls to a South African emergency service were analysed. Initial results suggested the advantage of a specific two-part opening sequence. An on-site experiment aimed at improving call efficiency was conducted during one shift (1100 calls). Results indicated reduced conversational repairs and a significant reduction of…
Using Conversation Analysis to Improve an Augmented Communication Tool
An ALS (amyotrofic lateral sclerosis) patient could only move her eyes and interacted through a MyTobii AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) tool with eye-tracking and speech synthesizing technology. Conversation analysis of 75 minutes of video-recorded talk-in-interaction with her family members revealed a timing problem with turn taking. In response, we provided the tool with keys for direct yes and no answers. We tested the results…
Inleiding in de Conversatie Analyse (Introduction to Conversation Analysis)
Meaning as referential work: Reflections on the research object of Interactional Semantics
This epilogue to the Special Issue on Interactional Semantics discusses the contributions to the Special Issue in relation to other research to support three arguments. (i) The choice of Interactional Semantics to take the referential function of language (Jakobson) as its object of research is a welcome choice. (ii) The use of the term ‘meaning’ for this research object is potentially confusing and could be replaced by ‘referential work’. (iii) …
Pension helpdesk calls: A repair mechanism in the client communication of financial institutions
Language in Late Modernity: Interaction in an Urban School
The reconstruction of intercultural discourse: Methodological considerations
Inleiding in de Conversatie Analyse (Introduction to Conversation Analysis)
Language in Late Modernity: Interaction in an Urban School
Displays of Epistemic Access: Student Responses to Teacher Explanations
This article presents an analysis of classroom encounters in which teachers explain mathematics problems to individual students. In these encounters, the students produce different displays of epistemic access, including displays of knowing and displays of understanding. This article argues in the first place that displays of knowing and displays of understanding are different interactional objects that come in different sequential positions. In …
The online support group as a community: A micro-analysis of the interaction with a new member
Generally, online support groups are viewed as low-threshold services. We challenge this assumption with an investigation, based on Conversation Analysis and Membership Categorization Analysis, of contributions to an online support group on eating disorders. In this analysis we show how a new member interacts with existing members in order to display legitimacy for membership of the group. The group operates as a Community of Practice, since memb…
The epistemics of student problems: Explaining mathematics in a multi-lingual class
Using Conversation Analysis to Improve an Augmented Communication Tool
An ALS (amyotrofic lateral sclerosis) patient could only move her eyes and interacted through a MyTobii AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) tool with eye-tracking and speech synthesizing technology. Conversation analysis of 75 minutes of video-recorded talk-in-interaction with her family members revealed a timing problem with turn taking. In response, we provided the tool with keys for direct yes and no answers. We tested the results…
‘And then you can decide’ – antenatal foetal diagnosis decision making in S outh A frica
BACKGROUND: Decision making is integral to genetic counselling and the premise is that autonomous decisions emerge if patients are provided with information in a non-directive manner. The pivotal activity in antenatal diagnosis counselling with at-risk pregnant women is decision making regarding invasive procedures. This process is not well understood in multicultural settings. OBJECTIVE: This study examined multicultural genetic counselling inte…
Pension helpdesk calls: A repair mechanism in the client communication of financial institutions
Remembering and understanding with oh-prefaced yes/no declaratives in Dutch
Aligning caller and call-taker: The opening phrase of Dutch emergency calls
This paper reports on conversation analytic research for the Dutch national emergency call-centre. In a corpus study of 120 emergency calls we show that callers’ orientations to their communicative tasks are not aligned to the institutional communicative tasks of the call-takers. In a subsequent workplace experiment involving over 2000 calls, it appeared that the use of an alternative question rather than a wh-question, significantly altered call…
When seconds count: A study of communication variables in the opening segment of emergency calls
The opening sequence of an emergency call influences the efficiency of the ambulance dispatch time. The greeting sequences in 105 calls to a South African emergency service were analysed. Initial results suggested the advantage of a specific two-part opening sequence. An on-site experiment aimed at improving call efficiency was conducted during one shift (1100 calls). Results indicated reduced conversational repairs and a significant reduction of…
Resolving knowledge discrepancies in informing sequences
This article investigates a specific practice that recipients in Dutch talk-in-interaction use when responding to turns that have as one of their main jobs to inform. By responding to an informing turn with an oh-prefaced nonrepeating response that has yes/no-type interrogative word order, recipients treat that turn as counter to expectation and request both confirmation of the inference formulated in his/her response, as well as reconciliatory i…
Sharing knowledge with peers: Epistemic displays in collaborative writing of primary school children
In focus for this study are epistemic displays in peer talk, throughout collaborative writing events in the context of inquiry learning. Conversational data was obtained from small groups of primary school students (aged 8–12 years). By means of Conversation Analysis, we found that epistemic displays are produced as (i) accounts, (ii) responses to a request for information, (iii) other-corrections, and with reference to the propositional content …
Text selection proposals in dialogic reading in primary school
In dialogic reading during inquiry learning in primary school, pupils read, think and talk together about text fragments for answering their research questions. This paper demonstrates from a conversational analytic perspective, how the shared activity of text selection is constructed in a goal oriented conversation and how text selection proposals are used. Two main practices are identified depending on the situation: (1) when all participants a…
How primary school children address reading problems in dialogic reading
In dialogic reading during inquiry learning settings in primary school, pupils read, think and talk together about text fragments for answering their research questions. In this process, pupils may encounter reading problems, regarding word identification or meaning. Conversation analysis is used to demonstrate how these reading problems are collaboratively addressed. Word identification problems are mostly signalled implicitly during the genuine…
Asking for more
This paper addresses the ways in which teachers in whole-class discussions invite students to elaborate their previous turn. Our conversation analytic study uncovers that the teachers’ invitations are prompted by elicited as well as spontaneous student turns of both subjective and factual nature. While giving the students the space to expand on their previous turn, most invitations nevertheless steer towards a specific type of response, namely an…
Text formulations as practices of demonstrating understanding in dialogic reading
This paper examines text formulations in the interaction between peers in primary school during dialogic reading, in inquiry learning settings. In this context pupils collaboratively use information from texts to answer their research questions. The data analyzed include 25 excerpts of pupils demonstrating understanding of text. We used Conversation Analysis to analyze how pupils demonstrate their understanding by the use of text formulations, as…
Expertise in interaction - Introduction
Expertise as a domain of epistemics in intensive care shift-handovers
This paper examines how expertise is treated as a separable domain of epistemics by looking at simulated intensive care shift-handovers between resident physicians. In these handovers, medical information about a patient is transferred from an outgoing physician (OP) to an incoming physician (IP). These handovers contain different interactional activities, such as discussing the patient identifiers, giving a clinical impression, and discussing ta…
Children's discussions about texts: Integrating and evaluating practices
This paper examines how primary school students discuss deeper comprehension and evaluation of text, while involved in dialogic reading in the context of inquiry learning. It takes a conversation analytic perspective on reading for understanding and critical reading. Analysis of the conversational details of peer talk, revealed how students collaboratively construct deeper meaning of text and take a more critical stance toward the text by means o…
“What do you think?” How interaction unfolds following opinion-seeking questions and implications for encouraging subjectification in education
This study investigates how classroom interaction unfolds following an opinion-seeking question asked by teachers or students. By using conversation analysis as a research method, the authors found that to an opinion-seeking question the preferred response of a student is to express an opinion as if it originated from their own thoughts. These responses are often followed by a non-minimal follow-up by both teachers and peers. We illustrate that t…
The workings of multiple principles in student-teacher interactions: Orientations to both mundane interaction and pedagogical context
In classroom interaction, participants are not only oriented to interactional principles for mundane talk, but also to pedagogical principles. In this paper, the interplay between these principles is revealed by means of a conversation analytic study into student-initiated student-teacher interactions during desk work in Dutch secondary schools. It is investigated from a participants’ perspective how teachers depart from the mundane interactional…
Meaning as referential work: Reflections on the research object of Interactional Semantics
This epilogue to the Special Issue on Interactional Semantics discusses the contributions to the Special Issue in relation to other research to support three arguments. (i) The choice of Interactional Semantics to take the referential function of language (Jakobson) as its object of research is a welcome choice. (ii) The use of the term ‘meaning’ for this research object is potentially confusing and could be replaced by ‘referential work’. (iii) …
Peer-to-peer-talk in whole-classroom discussions
We observed stretches of peer-to-peer-talk during teacher-guided whole-classroom discussions aimed at sharing perspectives in Dutch Language and Literature lessons. This conversation-analytic study zooms in on how these stretches of peer-to-peer-talk emerge. Students are mainly found to respond to each other with challenges and assertions. A challenge is formulated as a wh-question - imperative, interrogative, declarative or phrasal - and is used…
Psychology (29 works) · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies (21 works) · Computer Science (20 works) · Conversation (18 works) · Linguistics (16 works) · Communication (15 works) · Conversation analysis (14 works) · Pedagogy (13 works) · Discourse Analysis in Language Studies (10 works) · Epistemology (9 works)