Selected as an Outstanding Academic Title by Choice Magazine, January 2010
Classroom talk, by which children make sense of what their peers and teachers mean, is the most important educational tool for guiding the development of understanding and for jointly constructing knowledge. So what practical steps can teachers take to develop effective classroom interaction?
Bringing together leading international researchers and drawing on the pioneering work of Douglas Barnes, this book considers ways of improving classroom talk. Chapters cover:
- classroom communication and managing social relations;
- talk in science classrooms;
- using critical conversations in studying literature;
- exploratory talk and thinking skills;
- talking to learn and learning to talk in the mathematics classroom;
- the 'emerging pedagogy' of the spoken word.
With an accessible blend of theory, research and practice, the book will be a valuable resource for teachers, teacher-trainers, policy makers, researchers and students.
Introduction - Steve Hodgkinson and Neil Mercer
Exploratory Talk for Learning - Douglas Barnes
Talking a Way to Understanding in Science Classrooms - Phil Scott
From Exploratory Talk to Critical Conversations - Kathryn M Pierce and Carol Gilles
The Value of Exploratory Talk - Neil Mercer and Lyn Dawes
Talking to Learn and Learning to Talk in the Mathematics Classroom - Yvette Solomon and Laura Black
Culture, Dialogue and Learning: Notes on an Emerging Pedagogy - Robin Alexander
Talking Texts into Being: On the Social Construction of Everyday Life and Academic Knowledge in the Classroom - Judith Green, Beth Yeager and Maria Castanheira
Teachers' Use of Feedback in Whole-Class and Group-Based Talk - Frank Hardman
Reflections on the Study of Classroom Talk - Courtney Cazden
Exploratory Talk and Dialogic Inquiry - Gordon Wells and Tamara Ball
