As a trained anthropologist, I am always interested to see how other disciplines and practitioners apply ethnographic techniques to further understanding of complex social settings. In this case, Douglas Kaufman observed a successful language arts teacher, Linda Rief, through a year in her middle school classroom. Kaufman selected Rief, who has already written extensively about her teaching, in order to demonstrate better how an expert teacher engages and struggles with her philosophy of teaching in daily practice. He intends this "thick description" of routine classroom interactions to inspire other teachers to reflect on their practice, to try new approaches in the classroom, and to welcome close observation from fellow teachers.

Rief's teaching philosophy stresses the importance of students "developing a love of literacy, an ability to find information, a life-long practice of reading and writing, and a sense of intellectual independence" (13). Kaufman notes that he conceived of this ethnography to respond in part to his own students' comments about Rief's writing about teaching: "'This looks great, but what does she do to actually get there? More importantly, how can I get there?'" (3-4). Rief welcomed Kaufman's observation in hopes that it would enhance her own understanding of her practice and improve her listening to students.

The bulk of this text is extensive description of specific conferences-that is, conversations about writing-between Rief and different students. Kaufman's documentation of these dialogues allows us room to create our own interpretation of the conversation. Each description includes a later response from Rief about her own sense of the quality of that particular encounter.

Rief's classroom approach emphasizes strategic organization (of the classroom environment, class time, assignments, conference components) and relationship building with and among her students.

Rief invests consider time (weeks and even months) to orient students to the procedures and expectations of her classroom environment. This environment is usually different from anything students have experienced before. Much of the classroom organization puts students in charge of their work and gives them the power to make decisions about what they will do in class that day. The elaborate effort Rief puts into teaching classroom organization reminds us that we cannot pay better attention to student voices simply by doing nothing. Instead, her approach suggests that we need to create a thoughtful method for routine classroom procedures and communications that supports student-directed learning.

Rief also fosters thinking relationships with and among her students. She frequently brings her own writing into the classroom to share, and draws upon her own writing process as fodder for students. Students also talk to each other in Rief's classroom: They read sections of their work aloud to each other, try out a new word, tell a story, or listen to another student's conference for ideas. While Kaufman notes that sometimes these conversations can overtake writing, Rief is skillful at redirecting students to use conversation as an informant for their work. The depth of social contact in this learning setting requires Rief to be on her toes: It is easy for her and her students to have too much fun talking, instead of using talking for writing. Kaufman's description of specific conferences also demonstrates how easy it is for teachers to be inattentive to impact of their social connections with students.

For teachers in higher education, Conferences and Conversations offers a number of stimulating ideas about how to have richer conversations with students-whether in the classroom or during office hours. We may believe that student talking is "good," and we may know that when students talk about their work, they hear themselves and are often able to refine their ideas. It can be more confusing, however, to have a practical understanding of a teacher's role as listener in that conversation, or as supporter of a conversational learning environment. This text is especially recommended to teachers who are considering taking a "workshop" approach to their classroom structure. Kaufman's work may also be stimulating to teachers who are interested in how conversation-whether in the classroom, office hours, or an advising meeting-might take a form that stimulates student thinking and initiative.

Lynne Degitz,
UNC Chapel Hill