Exploratory talk and dialogic teaching 2

Talking TogetherSeminar 32011-12

Objectives

• To understand dialogic talk makes talk a conscious tool for the teacher and pupils

• To understand dialogic talk• To consider role of teacher in dialogic talk• To consider questioning• Know about the work of Alexander• Present their talk box

Assignment

Everything we talk about in this seminar will be relevant to your assignment to be handed in W1 of semester 2 and for the essay preparation seminar in W9. You are advised to look at your handbook this week to familiarise yourself with the assignment title and guidance

Recap of key points from last week

• Answer these questions looking at your notes in groups from last week

• What is IRF?• What sort of words would you hear in

exploratory talk?• What is cumulative talk?• What happens in a community of enquiry?

Share talk boxes

What sort of talk experience is this?

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcgCx7tVBRo

Dialogic teaching

• “Dialogic teaching harnesses the power of talk to engage children, stimulate and extend their thinking and advance learning and understanding” Alexander 2006:37

Robert Fisher’s contribution

Talking to think: why children need philosophical discussion http://www.teachingthinking.net/thinking/web%20resources/robert_fisher_talkingtothink.htm

Robert Fisher’s homepage • http://www.teachingthinking.net/

Socrates

Knowledge must be pursued with a

ruthless intellectual

honesty

The search for true knowledge is a

cooperative enterprise pursued through dialogue

Knowledge can be pursued and can

lead to an understanding of

what is true

Questioning is the primary form of

education, drawing out true knowledge from within rather

than imposing knowledge from

outside

Types of question: a framework

1) Factual Questions which invite a

predetermined answer

2)Speculative Questions which invite a

response with no predetermined answer, often opinions, hypotheses, imaginings, ideas etc

3) ProceduralQuestions which relate to the

organisation and management of the lesson

4) ProcessQuestions which invite children to

articulate their understanding of learning processes/explain their thinking

Myhill, D., Jones, S. & Hopper, R. (2006) Talking, Listening and Learning Maidenhead: OUP

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A Productive Question is…

• Open – children answer as they see fit and at the level of their own understanding

• Probing – further information or clarification is sought

• Reflective – children have to consider and evaluate

• Hypothetical – children consider situations and convey opinions, values and perceptions

Primary National Strategy (2006) Excellence and Enjoyment DfES Ref: 0013-2006PCK-EN

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• Get children to explain, predict or give reasons (challenge)

• Help children express what they think, believe or know• Help children to apply their learning (challenge)• Help children to make learning explicit• Engage individuals such as more able children or those

who may be reticent in offering a response.

Source: Excellence and Enjoyment, Creating a learning culture, Conditions for learning.

Alexander’s 5 categories of talk

•drilling of facts ideas and routines through constant repetition

Rote•questions that test or prompt recall of what has previously

been encountered•Questions that cue pupils to work out the answer from the

clues provided

Recitation

•telling pupils what to do and imparting information and explaining facts, principles and procedures

Instruction/exposition

Alexander’s 5 categories of talk

•the exchange of ideas with a view to sharing information and solving problems

Discussion

•achieving common understanding through structured, cumulative questioning and purposeful discussion

Dialogue

Controversial issue• Should 9-11 year olds have access to such

magazines as Shout which encourage them to think about their body image, fashion and having boy/girl friends? Discuss.

1.Students should take a few minutes to think and write brief notes

2. Then discuss this with a partner and come to some sort of consensus which will form their argument

3. They meet with another pair and discuss in detail

• Watch: DVD Video of Romans Speaking and Listening video

• What do you see and hear?• Discuss : In groups which of Alexander’s 5

categories of talk does this most closely reflect• http://nationalstrategies.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/primary/publications/literacy/818497

Did we see any of these?

• Letting each other speak• Asking questions in order to understand• Paraphrasing – reflecting back what has been

said• Expressing uncertainty or tentativeness• Articulating their own point clearly• Exploring differences of opinion• Giving arguments to support their opinion

Locking it in

• In 10 seconds silence, think of the three most important/interesting things you have learned this seminar

• Share them with a colleague

Preparation for Session 4 ( Week 4) Independent task

• Read each of the following articles from your reading pack . In a group established by your lecturer make detailed notes on ONE article and be prepared to feedback to talk about it to other students in week 9

• Week 4 has NO English seminar

1) Myhill, D., Jones, S. & Hopper, R. (2006) Talking, Listening, Learning Maidenhead: Open University Press pp. 7-28

2) Fisher, R. (2006) ‘Talking to Think:why children need philosophical discussion’ in Jones, D. &Hodson, P. Unlocking Speaking and ListeningLondon: David Fulton pp. 33-47

3) Mercer, N. & Littleton, K. (2007) Dialogue and the Development of Children’s Thinking Oxon: Routledge pp. 57-82

4) Corden, R, (2000) Literacy and Learning Through Talk Buckingham: OUP pp. 131-145

Dialogic teaching

The five principles of dialogic teachingDialogic teaching is• collective: teachers and children address learning tasks together, whether

as a group or as a class • reciprocal: teachers and children listen to each other, share ideas and

consider alternative viewpoints • supportive: children articulate their ideas freely, without fear of

embarrassment over 'wrong' answers; and they help each other to reach common understandings

• cumulative: teachers and children build on their own and each others' ideas and chain them into coherent lines of thinking and enquiry

• purposeful: teachers plan and steer classroom talk with specific educational goals in view.

Dialogue

• Takes place in the intermental developmental zone• Offer opinions• Give reasons to support them• Ask for each other’s views• Check agreement• Make relevant information explicit• Engage critically and constructively with each other’s ideas• Challenge suggestions• Offer your own reasons and ideas• Share knowledge, evaluate evidence, consider options

Top 3 dialogic teacher skills

• Sound knowledge of the curriculum content• Require children to respond in extended

utterances• Listen and respond to the children –

challenging, probing and extending their meanings

• Dialogic teaching is about producing children “who are knowledgeable…reflective and critical about what they know, who can apply their learning creatively to practical situations, who are articulate in speech as well as writing, who can cooperate with others, who can see things from different perspectives, who are willing to revise their ideas…” 113-4 Fisher

Bibliography

• Alexander, R.(2001) Culture and Pedagogy International comparisons in Education Oxford: Blackwell

• Alexander, R. (2006) Towards Dialogic Teaching: Rethinking Classroom Talk Dialogos

• Fisher, R. (2008) Teaching Thinking: philosophical enquiry in the classroom London: Continuum

Scum? Discuss in groups