Talking in Class: Student Dialogue Activities
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Increasing Structured
Student Dialogue
​in the Classroom results in

  • Increased content understanding
  • Increased academic vocabulary use
  • Enhanced engagement and motivation
  • Alternative methods for assessment

About the project...

Research strongly suggests that when a learner is exploring a concept for understanding, trying to answer a question, or attempting to solve a problem, she's more successful if there is an opportunity to engage in dialogue with another learner.  The depth of understanding of a concept that can be achieved, and the ability to internalize the learning to be able to apply it in new or different applications, is increased. According to one study by Arreaga-Mayer and Perdomo-Rivera, in many schools, student-to-student dialogue makes up less than four percent of the classroom learning experience of students, when approximately forty percent of their time should be used in dialogue in order to maximise effective learning.
Student-to-student dialogue enables each learner to "think out loud,” and share perceptions and thoughts without concern for being "right"; they can express their level of understanding without fear of failure or rebuke from a person of authority; they can be playful with their thoughts and enjoy exploring ideas. Their questions and uncertainties can be more freely expressed.  Richer and more detailed meanderings through ideas can take place, with more opportunities for challenges to understanding naturally occurring as part of a conversation that can bring greater clarity and understanding. 

Jake Rosch and Brianna Gray have worked with teachers around the world to develop supplemental classroom activities based upon this and related research and the "Five Core Skills for Academic Conversation" developed by Jeff Zwiers and Marie Crawford (2011). They have used the data gathered from the project team to develop an interactive book, which will be of use to any educators who are interested in enhancing their curricula with student dialogue.
Talking in Class: Increasing the Quality and Quantity of Student-to-Student Dialogue in the Classroom 
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Sponsored by ACS INternational School's centre for inspiring minds


© Copyright 2018 Jake Rosch and Brianna Gray