Dialogic Teaching (Prof Robin Alexander)



1. First a few prompts

Dialogic Teaching: where Talk truly empowers

The power of talk to stimulate and extend students’ thinking and advance learning.

- As much about teacher talk as child talk.

- As much about high quality listening

- As much about how we respond to answers as the questions we ask in the first place. (ways of working with pupil contributions)

ENACTING DIALOGUE is one of 12 Core educational aims (CPR)

Dialogic teaching: a GENERIC approach to pedagogy across the ENTIRE curriculum to empower children as:

- Thinkers

- Learners

- Communicators

- Social beings

- Citizens

A REPERTOIRE for everyday talk, learning talk, teaching talk and classroom organisation on which the teacher draws flexibly according to PURPOSE and situation and which become dialogic when they are demonstrably informed by 5 principles:

- Collectivity

- Reciprocity

- Support

- Cumulation

- Purposefulness.

First 3 easier as requires a change in dynamics of teaching

Last 2 harder because about deeper forms of knowledge and understanding.

Key aspect is subject knowledge: This provides us with the map of the territory so as teachers we feel prepared to go in any direction with the discussion.

Talk must be accountable to knowledge.

Pace we should talk about is LEARNING pace – sometimes this means slowing down to allow for deeper interactions and exchanges which will in turn lead to an increased pace in learning.

2. Some school-based thoughts

Andy Griffiths’ level descriptors make strong reference to some aspects of dialogic teaching. Mostly about questioning though…we could develop to include more about responding to answers. Sense of accumulation through discussion and dialogue. Certainly central in 3 of Big 4: ownership /independence, challenge and feedback.

Areas we have identified to focus on:

- ALC

- challenge

- ownership/in(ter)dependence

- feedback

- engagement

- and now….Oracy (Dialogic teaching / enacting dialogue/ high quality teacher and child talk)

How do we manage this? How do we make it focused and accessible without overloading and confusing?

How could dialogic teaching be introduced?

- All at once

- To interested group of volunteers (bidding)

- To a nominated year group or KS

- In one subject across school

- In subject preference of CT

- Within group work

Already fits in with intention to develop coaching, peer observation, videoing etc…..

What evidence is there of the principles of dialogic teaching already at CtS?

WORKING TOGETHER: What about developing a small group of staff working with and incorporating dialogic teaching into their repertoire? (action research style) Will this build interest across staff, people looking in and wanting to know more? Are schools in our cluster already doing something in this area? Are there schools within MK we could partner with to extend expertise and support to the ‘action research team’?

How do we apply this to observations and feedback? Implication of watching one lesson and feeding back on that? – Observations over half a term with feedback built in to sense the journey the children and teacher are on?

What implications does Dialogic Teaching have for how we allow for professional dialogue in staff meeting, Leadership team meetings, KS meetings, professional dialogue 1:1 etc……?

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“If an answer does not give rise to a new question from itself, it falls out of dialogue.”

Mikhail Bakhtin

“What ultimately counts is the extent to which instruction requires students (teachers) to think, not just report someone else’s thinking.”

Martin Nystrand

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