Positively Transforming Classroom Practice Through Dialogic Teaching

Alina Reznitskaya, Ian A.G. Wilkinson

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

This chapter discusses the challenges and possibilities of helping elementary school teachers engage in dialogic teaching, a pedagogical approach that capitalizes on the power of talk to foster students' thinking, understanding, and learning. It explains the concept of dialogic teaching and related terms and uses two excerpts to illustrate the key differences between more monologic and more dialogic discussions. In addition to evaluatist epistemology, dialogic teaching reflects a social constructivist perspective on learning. Research reveals that dialogic classrooms have more egalitarian social organization, with authority over the content and form of discourse shared among discussion participants. To address the apparent disparity between the higher educational goal of teaching argumentation and the reality of typical classroom practices, the authors have designed a comprehensive professional development program in dialogic teaching. The chapter reviews empirical research on dialogic teaching, demonstrating both the pedagogical potential of this approach and its limited use by practitioners.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationPositive Psychology in Practice
Subtitle of host publicationPromoting Human Flourishing in Work, Health, Education, and Everyday Life: Second Edition
Publisherwiley
Pages279-296
Number of pages18
ISBN (Electronic)9781118996874
ISBN (Print)9781118756935
DOIs
StatePublished - 30 Jun 2015

Keywords

  • Argument skill
  • Comprehensive professional development program
  • Dialogic classroom
  • Dialogic teaching
  • Evaluatist epistemology
  • Inquiry dialogue
  • Pedagogy

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