Going ‘meta’: using a metadiscoursal approach to develop secondary students’ dialogic talk in small groups

Abstract

This paper reports on a year-long research study: four teachers of English, their Year 8 (13-14 year old) classes (110 students) in urban, secondary schools and a university teacher educator investigated the contexts for students to develop dialogic, exploratory talk in small groups. Assuming a Vygotskyan perspective, the study adapted a pedagogic model from an earlier project, endorsing a structured approach to talk, with 'ground-rules' and reflection. The study investigated how this guided model might intersect with other aspects of classroom culture, practice and identity to effect sustained development in students' use of exploratory, dialogic talk. The project involved research collaboration cross-school, including students exchanging formative feedback on videotaped talk. Qualitative research methods comprised comparative discourse analysis of audio and videotapes of representative group talk; semi-structured lesson observations; and sequential teacher and student interviews. The study concludes that practising a structured model and reflecting on discourse had a liberating effect on the majority of students, enabling experimentation with different forms of dialogic talk and identities. Shifts in discourse, confidence and identity positioning were particularly marked in 'lower-attaining' students of lower socio-economic status. Teachers' metadiscoursal reflection resulted in changes in teacher-student relationships and classroom talk characterised by tentativeness, permitting knowledge to be contested.

‘Just reading’: the impact of a faster pace of reading narratives on the comprehension of poorer adolescent readers in English classrooms

“…The FR + T strategies need to be embedded in teachers' practices over a longer time to make more of an impact, but this study has shown that the model tested has the potential to better support poorer readers to rapidly catch up and average + readers to be stretched. Specifically, FR + T teachers remediated students' sticking points through using the full range of comprehension strategies at the point of need in a more active ‘reading aloud’; graphic organisers supported students to understand the whole text, and seating students sociably in groups created inclusive communities of engaged and motivated readers (Oakhill et al, ; Sutherland, ). This was direct instruction in the context of a faster read of whole texts, integrated with cooperative learning, professional development and a flexible pedagogy, all four categories seen as effective in meta‐analyses of secondary reading programmes (Baye et al, ).…”

“…Such interactive strategies are seen in studies of effective teachers of reading (Topping and Ferguson, ) and emerge from a secure, theorised knowledge base (Moats, ; Risko et al, ; Shulman, ). Additionally, reading a text aloud creates a community of readers, who produce their own situated reading practices in the classroom over time (Brown et al, ; Sutherland, ).…”

“…The main premise of the mixed methods study reported here, drawn from the authors' research on comprehension (e.g. Oakhill et al, ; Sutherland, ;Westbrook, ), was that a faster than ‘normal practice’ read of challenging whole texts and explicit teaching of comprehension can benefit poorer adolescent readers. The first research question sought to find out if students' comprehension levels increased under such a premise: Is there a measurable impact on adolescent students' reading comprehension of an intervention based on two elements: a fast read of challenging texts (FR: both groups) and teachers having a theorised knowledge of reading and associated pedagogy (FR + T group) …”

Other people’s voices: a reflective inquiry into power and voice within the classroom and the implications of researching one’s own practice

“…In carrying out this study, we acknowledge its potential for helping to improve practices (BAXTER, 2002;HAWORTH, 1999;Myhill, 2006;SUTHERLAND, 2015). This recognition informs the emergence of a subsidiary research question: what are the implications of researching one's teaching practice in this context?…”

Adapting to Teaching and Learning in Open-Plan Schools

“…Informed by work on the use of exploratory talk in English and other subject areas (Barnes and Todd, 1977;Mercer, 2008;Sutherland, 2013), the initial draft of the curriculum featured several collaborative activities. Informed by work on the use of exploratory talk in English and other subject areas (Barnes and Todd, 1977;Mercer, 2008;Sutherland, 2013), the initial draft of the curriculum featured several collaborative activities.…”