The action of recording students’ ideas on the board is a revoicing move (O’Connor & Michaels, 1993) where teachers are giving a bigger voice to students’ contributions. Specifically, when a student presents his/her ideas, which are originally directed at the teacher and chosen to be written by the teacher on the board, it is now relayed back to the entire classroom community. This action communicates to the entire classroom community that each student’s thoughts are valuable and worthy of acknowledgement.
The use of a nameplate also serves the function of visualising students’ standpoints and allows them to claim ownership of their ideas. Students feel that their contributions are listened to and valued when they see their ideas being represented on the chalkboard along with their names.