Dialogic practices in primary school classrooms

Abstract

Research into classroom dialogue suggests that certain forms are especially productive for students' learning. Despite the large number of studies in this area, there is inadequate evidence about the prevalence of the identified forms, let alone their productivity. However, scarcity is widely presumed. The overall aim of the study reported in this article was to examine the extent to which the forms are embedded within current practice in English primary schools. Video-recordings of two lessons from each of 36 classrooms formed the database, with two subjects from mathematics, English and science covered in each classroom. Each lesson was coded per turn for the presence of 'dialogic moves' and rated overall for the level of student involvement in specified activities. Results revealed that the supposedly productive forms were not always as scarce as sometimes presumed, while also highlighting huge variation in their relative occurrence. They also point to the role of professional development (PD) for teachers in promoting use of some forms.

Implications for Social Impact of Dialogic Teaching and Learning

“…To better understand the social nature of human cognition, as well as to contribute improvements to children's learning and to teaching practices, he is devoted to providing evidence that supports the view that learning and development, as well as creativity, are best attained in collaboration (Mercer, 2019). Being aware that not all classroom interactions lead to children's development and learning, Edwards and Mercer (1987); Mercer (1995), and Mercer and Dawes (2014) have studied different kinds of classroom talk in depth, providing repertoires of practices that lead to maximizing children's learning and development through particular types of dialogue and interactions (Vrikki et al, 2019b). As a result, three types of talk have been identified among students' interactions: disputational, cumulative, and exploratory talk (Littleton and Mercer, 2013) with different impacts on children's learning process.…”

“…Unlike the two former ones, exploratory talk is the collaborative sort of dialogue through which students exchange and challenge each other's ideas and critically, but constructively, analyze them. Evidence shows that it is the most productive and effective form of student interaction among the three identified ones, contributing to improvements in students' attainments in several domains including mathematics, science, and problemsolving (Vrikki et al, 2019b).…”

“…Exploratory talk is characterized by a critical engagement with each other's ideas to ultimately achieve an agreement (Vrikki et al, 2019b). In exploratory talk, students are not only participating in a collaborative activity, but they are interthinking (Mercer, 2000).…”

“…Therefore, this kind of interaction triggering collective thinking is essential for students in order not only to communicate with each other, but to understand other people's minds, help each other, reason, create knowledge, and solve problems together (Mercer, 2013). However, in spite of the positive impact collected, Mercer's analysis of different classroom interactions shows that exploratory talk has been observed to be used with less frequency (Mercer and Howe, 2012;Vrikki et al, 2019b). These authors explain that this is due to a set of conversational ground rules which are expected to be followed according to normal school culture, such as the monologic discourse in which teachers take up almost all classroom interactions (Mercer and Howe, 2012).…”

Peer talk in collaborative writing of primary school students: A conversation analytic study of student interaction in the context of inquiry learning

“…According to Alexander (2008) the interactions within dialogic events are collective, reciprocal, supportive, cumulative and purposeful. A dialogic perspective on learning (Wegerif 2011;Vrikki, et al, 2019 ), in which the interaction is regarded as both a cultural and a psychological tool, is grounded in the theory of Vygotsky. He perceived dialogue as the intermediary between individual and collective thinking, for instance regarding the development of meanings and scientific concepts (Vygotsky 1962).…”