Toward a more Dialogic Discussion in the English Language Classroom

Adler, M., Rougle, E., Kaiser, E., & Caughlan, S. (2003). Closing the gap between concept and practice: Toward more dialogic discussion in the language arts classroom. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 47(4), 312-322.

Background

Prior research has shown that classroom talk tended towards the monologic where the teacher controlled the pace and direction of discussion through the use of ‘interrogative’ questions rather than by helping students share ideas generated by the literary texts they read. Even while some teachers believed in a more dialogic form of discussion, they needed support in translating this idealized notion of classroom instruction into actual practice.

Aims

The study explored how the use of a dialogic facilitation framework in teacher teams increased the opportunities for reflection and practice toward more dialogic discussion in the English language classroom.

Sample

The article reported case studies of teacher teams in three American middle schools working in partnership with an instructional facilitator from a university to shift instruction from a monologic to a discussion-based discourse pattern.

Method

Over two years, regular team meetings were organised where teachers were supported in practising and reflecting on the use of authentic questions that invited students to contribute to the flow of the discussion and the use of teacher uptake which built on previous student responses to allow student ideas to influence the flow of the lesson. Four classroom lessons conducted by each teacher were observed by the facilitator and teachers discussed the videotaped recordings of the lessons at the team level. An analysis of discourse elements in the recorded lessons was carried out.

Findings

The writers documented a complex interaction of mediating influences on the changes in classroom discourse patterns. Teachers experienced a mixture of internal conflict and a sense of agency through the increased opportunities to practise and share new techniques. Collective teacher change influenced individual classroom practice described in terms of a decreased number of teacher ‘interrogative’ questions and of questions per minute, and an increased number of inviting questions and extended responses made to student comments. The interactions between the facilitator and individual teachers also opened up a discussion to extend teachers’ thinking on their own mental models. Teachers became resources for one another through feedback and validation.

Implications

Teachers found the curricular conversations engendered within a dialogic framework where joint contributions were valued were useful in helping to frame coherent dialogic classroom instruction. Effective professional development activities to foster a more dialogic approach call for a process of facilitation that models the kinds of talk that teachers are asked to consider for their classrooms.

Original article retrieved from JSTOR.