1. How does classroom discussion affect students’ learning? For further school friendly resources visit www.curee.co.ukwww.curee.co.uk

2. Key issue addressed by the study   This US study investigated the links between teachers’ use of dialogue and students’ – –participation in dialogue – –effort in assignments

3. The effects of particular approaches to using dialogue for learning  Different forms of dialogue had different effects  Some specific uses of dialogue to promote learning: –helped to improve the motivation and effort of low achieving and less vocal students –event though they didn’t necessarily increase students’ participation in learning conversations

4. Students’ participation in dialogue  An increase in teachers’ whole class questions led to: –more students being involved in exchanges –more students engaged in more extended discussion - although the overall number of students engaged fell –a small number of students dominating discussion

5. Teachers’ talk in different contexts  In individual and small group settings teachers tended to use open questions to create and sustain discussion  In whole class settings teachers tended to use more closed and evaluative questions

6. Teachers’ discussion strategies that were helpful to low achievers  Use of questions to explore students’ thinking rather than seeking the right answer was helpful  Management of dialogue – eg partnering vocal and quiet students and ruling that they must take turns also helped

7. Teachers’ discussion strategies that were helpful to low achievers  Giving students time to become more familiar with the task before talking  Balancing open- endedness with sufficient task direction, ensured low achievers knew what to do

8. Mixing different types of questions  The researcher identified two types of question and suggested a mix of both to involve students more in discussion  Embedded question cycles, where teachers probe for more detail on a single theme  Conjunctive question cylcles, where teachers ask students to provide a range of responses/examples to the same question and focus on the breadth rather than the depth of response - eg ‘Can you give me some nouns that are people?’

9. Who were the children in the study?  The study is based on data from 2,051 students and 117 teachers in the US  The students were aged 12-14

10. How was the information gathered?  The researchers observed classroom practice four times over one year  Students and teachers completed questionnaires towards the end of the school year

11. How can teachers use this evidence?  Quieter students became more involved in discussion when they had a rule to follow  For example, one rule was students could not speak a second time until the other student had said something  Could you introduce rules in your discussion work? Perhaps you could involve students in formulating them.

12. How can school leaders use this evidence?  The study suggests that teachers need practice to improve their skills in helping students use dialogue for learning  Would it be helpful for teachers in your school to observe discussion activities in each other’s classroom and write up a description?  The analysis of the observations might help you identify good practice which you could compare with the outcomes of this study

13. Follow-up reading  Study reference: Kelly, S (2007) Classroom discourse and the distribution of student engagement Social Psychology of Education (2007) Vol. 10, 00 331-352  You might like to read a more detailed summary about dialogue: GTC RoM summary Raising achievement through group work, accessible at: http://www.gtce.org.uk/research/romtopics/rom_manage mentoflearning/groupwork_nov06/ http://www.gtce.org.uk/research/romtopics/rom_manage mentoflearning/groupwork_nov06/

14. Feedback  Did you find this useful?  What did you like?  What didn’t you like? Any feedback on this Research Bite would be much appreciated. Please email your feedback to: research.summaries@education.gsi.gov.uk