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Abstract

This paper describes a study on content from secondary English Language Arts (ELA) teachers of TikTok and their potential influence on future teachers. There were two research questions: (1) What information is being dispersed through TikTok specifically for secondary ELA teachers?; (2) What connotations about secondary ELA teaching are implied implicitly or explicitly through the tone of the TikTok creator? TikToks were examined through a three-part framework, considering the constructs of performances (Goffman, 1956), stickiness (Zott et al., 2000), and affinity spaces (Gee, 2004). Using a systematic approach, 50 secondary ELA TikTok accounts were identified and the top 20 most-like videos were reviewed. Videos were placed into categories and analyzed. The understandings were two-fold: First, the TikTok data being dispersed was predominantly composed of teacher re-enactments. Secondly, the connotations of the TikToks were overwhelmingly positive, with a tendency to be humorous. These findings can help teacher educators better understand what their teacher candidates might learn about teaching in spaces outside the classroom.

Author Biography

Dr. Heather Wright is an Assistant Professor of English Education at Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, North Carolina where she teaches in the undergraduate and graduate programs. She completed her BA in English at Mars Hill College and her MA in English at Gardner-Webb University. She taught high school in North Carolina's public schools. She completed her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction at Virginia Tech in 2021. Dr. Lauren May is an Assistant Professor of English Education at Longwood University. She completed her BA in English Literature and MAT in Secondary Education at Christopher Newport University. She began teaching in Virginia Public Schools in 2016 and completed her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from Virginia Tech in 2022. Her general research interests focus on early career English teachers, English teacher identities, English education and TikTok, dialogical self theory, and dialogic pedagogy.

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