Using Talk for Learning in the Primary School

Using Talk for Learning in the Primary SchoolHistorically, parley was discouraged in a classroom.It was a place for the teacher to give instructions and the class simply to learn. However, the design of communion for learning has been studied in recent years, indicating that it thunder mug in fact be constructive.In this study, I explored how address could be mappingd for two particular purposes. Firstly, as a tool to optimise childrens learning in a classroom surround secondly, for a teacher to assess the childrens understanding by listening to the childrens remonstrate in return. Alexander (2008 p.93) states, If children need talk in order to learn somewhat the world, teachers need talk in order to learn about children.My theory was that talk is non the obstruction to learning that it was considered in the past, but rather a powerful tool in the classroom. I believed that teachers could use talk constructively in order for children to gain a deeper understanding of the mat erial presented to them. To investigate how to use talk in the classroom effectively, I looked at past question and conducted my get observations and investigations during a four week placement. This will help me to rise my own educational activity techniques in the future.I conducted this study at a Grade 2 Leicester city school with nearly 400 children on roll, aged from 4 to 11. The pupils at heart the school were mostly from minority ethnic backgrounds, predominantly Asian and Asian British and speaking English as a second spoken language (Ofsted, 2009). I was found with 27 children in one of two Year 3 classes.Literature ReviewIt is only during the last 40 years or so that the quantity and quality of talk in the classroom has been studied and evaluated. A key concern is that constructive talk in the classroom is nevertheless underused (Alexander, 2008 p.92). The Primary National Strategy which was introduced in 2003 b a entrust touches upon talk at all (DfES, 2003a cited in Cambridge Primary Review, 2009 p.15) and as a result teachers are left hand with little advice on how to use talk effectively for learning.This isnt the case elsewhere in Europe. Alexander (2008 p.99) reported that in France dialogue has a much great emphasis in the classroom. He famed that corking skills in speech, reasoning and the tycoon to argue would identify an educated person in France, whereas in Britain good readers and writers are valued higher in society.Despite this emphasis on denotation and writing skills in Britain, the Confederation of British Industry reported in 2006 that spelling and grammar skills are of a low standard (Alexander, 2008 p.99). The National Curriculum requires children to read from age quintuple, but Sage (2000 p.135) thinks that children are sometimes being needed to read before they have develop the necessary language and communication skills to read with comprehension. The National Strategies argue that talk is an acquired skill rath er than one that croup be taught (Alexander, 2008 p.100), but this does not mean that the teacher cannot support childrens talk development. Language can be modelled and gain groundd in the classroom and this would particularly hit children with English as a second language, where it may not be spoken or supported effectively at home.Alexander (2008), cited in Mercer and Hodgkinson (2008 p.105), gave five conventions to outline the key features of dialogic article of belief, all of which can encourage classroom talk and augment these language and communication skills. The first three principles were teaching moldiness be collective, reciprocal and cumulative. To achieve this, the teachers and children must learn together as a group, share ideas and build on the ideas of their peers as well as their own. The fourth principle was the teachers plan must be purposeful with particular learning objectives, a matter that is now generally used in every lesson. Finally, Alexander (2008 p.185) emphasizingd the importance of a supportive learning environment children should be able to express ideas without the worry of being embarrassed if they give what the teacher sees as an unsatisfying response.Alexander (2003, 2004b), cited in Alexander (2008 pp. 115-116), appoint that following a period of dialogic teaching, children answered questions with to a greater extent clarity and confidence, listened better, thought aloud more and were more helpful and courteous to their peers. Furthermore, following the increase in talk, the childrens skills in reading and writing showed procession, especially the less able. This supports Sages theory that language is essential for literacy.However, Smith et al. (2004 cited in Alexander, 2008 p.108) strand that, in the classes they studied, childrens answers only lasted an average of five seconds and in 70% of occasions were limited to a maximum of three words. This indicates that dialogic teaching is not being widely used.Ques tion-answer methods are more commonly used, filling to develop understanding, improve recall and encourage imagination (Sage, 2000 p.64). Questions encourage children to verbalise their thoughts (Van Ments, 1990 p.77), which can provide the vital link between language, reading and writing. Questioning techniques are popular because they enable the teacher not only to control the use and context of talk, but to also gauge the childrens level of understanding, acquaintance and creativity.Questions allow for another perspective to be added and misconceptions to be corrected immediately, making them more accessible than written comments, which can easily be ignored. However, Barnes (1976/1992, cited in Barnes 2008 p.6) noted the difficulty in teachers gaining a full understanding of a childs thinking by relying on short answers to questions. Thus, although skeptical provides an immediate way of informally assessing the children and braggart(a) feedback, it can be a vague and narrow minded approach to assessing a childs ability, so it should be used alongside other methods.In England, hand questions are generally thought of as preferable children think by means of the answers themselves rather than merely repeating a teachers pre-determined answer. However, teachers still tend to ask a large proportion of unkindly questions (Barnes et al, 1986, Alexander, 1992 both cited in Myhill and Dunkin, 2005 p.416). Myhill et al. (2006 p.72) used a complex model, creating four categories of questions process, procedural, factual and speculative. We may generally think of factual questions as closed and speculative as open. They ready that the majority (60%) of questions asked by teachers were factual.Sometimes closed questions are preferable. Sullivan (1992) found that use open questions to teach mathematics had no advantage. This may be due to the extremely factual nature of mathematics, with a right or wrong answer which is not negotiable. Open questions are more e ffective when the child can use their personal experiences and ideas to extend their understanding.Barnes (1976/1992, cited in Barnes 2008 pp.5-7) constructivist approach divides talk into exploratory and presentational. Exploratory talk defines the child verbalising ideas, taking others contributions into cover and ordering these to develop their own understanding. Open questions can encourage children to use exploratory talk. Presentational talk takes the audience into account and happens frequently when children recall information, allowing the teacher to assess their knowledge (Barnes, 2008 p.6), thus the teacher can ask closed questions to encourage presentational talk.Barnes believed a child should have the opportunity to order their ideas through exploratory talk before being asked to present them through presentational talk (Barnes, 2008 p.7). In the classroom both talk display cases are vital, but teachers must use them appropriately by being aware of the benefits of both many teachers dont give children enough time to grasp new ideas through exploratory talk before using presentational talk (Barnes, 2008 p.7). Children need time to talk, develop and share before they can gain a firm understanding (Barnes, 2008 p.2).Piaget tacit the importance of exploratory talk. He believed that a childs intelligence is based on their interactions with their environment and their commitment to develop their own understanding (Mercer and Littleton, 2007 p.8-9). Piaget believed that every child has a precis an understanding of the world around them. Exploratory talk supports new knowledge and experiences to be either suck ind if they fit a childs live schema, or accommodated if the schema must be changed corresponding to the new information (Piaget and Inhelder, 1969). Piaget labelled the teacher simply as the assessor and provider to give children these facilities to learn actively (Moore, 2000 p.13). sort work provides children with this opportunity, since it allows the children to self-discover and share their ideas with one another. Piaget believed that children worked most efficiently when grouped into corresponding stages of development. Children are less likely to be intimidated if placed with others of a similar ability, encouraging them to talk through their ideas together.Vygotskys theory contradicts this. He named the bridge between a childs current level of knowledge and their potential level the Zone of proximal Development and described the support given to reach this potential level as scaffolding (Mercer and Littleton, 2007 pp.14-15). Due to the structured and guided nature of scaffolding, Vygotsky believed that dialogue worked top hat when children were guided by an adult or a child of a higher level of knowledge.Methods and ProcedureMy investigation was based on two cognizance tasks on floating and sinking, a topic in which the children had very little prior knowledge. The kindred four children attended two twenty min ute sessions and my aim was to develop their knowledge on why objects float or sink (see Appendices A and B for lesson plans).I planned the tasks after observing the teacher and children in a wide range of subjects (Appendices C and D) to gain an understanding of the teachers practices and record how talk was used in the classroom. I particularly notice the types of questions the teacher used, the use of exploratory and presentational talk, how the children were grouped together and the use of dialogic teaching, to see their influence on the childrens learning and the teachers assessment opportunities. Reflecting upon the effectiveness of these methods influenced my own lessons within the class (Appendix E). I used a lot of talk within these lessons, so the post-lesson evaluations (Appendix F) allowed me to observe which talk methods were the most effective, which in turn influenced my intelligence task plans.My TE1 partner observed and took notes of the talk overion and activitie s during these tasks (Appendix G). Worksheets also allowed me to record the childrens ideas (Appendices H and I). The first recognition task was to assess the childrens initial understanding of floating and sinking. I documented the general misconceptions that were state during this session (Appendix J). The second science task, influenced by these misconceptions, provided the children with experiences aimed to develop their understanding.Analysis and Interpretation of EvidenceI analysed the areas of dialogic teaching, exploratory talk, questioning and ability grouping with relation to talk for learning and assessment.Dialogic article of faithAlexanders dialogic teaching principles were all present in an observed lesson (Appendix C). The children were sat on the carpet for the starter, sharing and developing their ideas. The teacher had a specific learning objective and used questions to structure the lesson and assess the childrens understanding. This technique was successful in forcing the children to think for themselves and vocalise their ideas aloud, so that their ideas could be shared and developed together. Using talk in the classroom allowed the children to gain a deeper understanding, as misconceptions could be discussed and good contributions verbally rewarded, which encouraged the children to carefully think through their answers. Dialogic talk kept the children engaged, whereas in lessons that did not include much dialogic talk, I observed that the children tended to lose interest sooner, suggesting that talk can aid concentration.Aspects of dialogic teaching were present in all lessons but not necessarily all five principles, supporting previous research which indicates that dialogic teaching is not widely used (Smith et al, 2004). The lessons of all time had a purposeful plan and usually incorporated a collective approach, for example via class discussions. However, the other three aspects (reciprocal, cumulative and a supportive environment) were not always present children didnt always have the opportunity to share and develop ideas together and the teacher often expected a certain answer, which resulted in many children not being confident enough to answer in case they were wrong.Shy children and those of a lower ability struggled more in these lessons, possibly due to a lack of structured idea sharing. Appendix K shows the work of a less able child during a literacy lesson before and after dialogue the improvement of her writing after using talk based on dialogic teaching is astounding. This supports Alexanders (2008) findings the writing of less able children improved following dialogic teaching. Thus, Alexanders principles of dialogic teaching are all important and dictate how talk can be used constructively to create a positive learning environment.I include dialogic teaching myself within my tasks. I used talk to assess the childrens knowledge, develop their understanding and encourage them to share their ideas w ithout being intimidating the children had time to express and develop their ideas, or expand on their peers ideas. They gave long answers, such as I was surprised that the wooden cube floated because I thought it would sink because of its shape. This contradicts Smith et al.s (2004) research, which found that 70% of answers didnt exceed three words.The children added to each others ideas politely and seemed genuinely interested in the opinions of others. For example, when one child stated that wood sank, another pointed out that in a film they had recently watched as a class, the boat was made from wood and floated. The first child then admitted that this was true this new insight allowed them to assimilate this new concept into their schema. Without conversation different perspectives like this, which can be the link to understanding, might be lost.Exploratory TalkWithin the observed science lesson the teacher set up an experiment. A lot of exploratory talk was encouraged (Appendi x C) before the children made their own predictions. During the follow up lesson, the experiment was entire the children used presentational talk to explain the results. This allocation of talk types worked well, supporting Barness (2008 p.7) theory that giving children time for exploratory talk is favourable, allowing them to gather their ideas before expressing their conclusions using presentational talk.I found exploratory talk to be very beneficial in my second science task to encourage self-discovery. I found that the childrens talk didnt always flow fluently, but as Barnes (2008 p.4) observed, exploratory talk is hesitant and incomplete because it enables the speaker to try out ideas, to hear how they sound, to see what others defend of them, to arrange information and ideas into different patterns. Using exploratory talk allowed the children to express opinions and consider everyones experiences, thus gaining a deep understanding of the topic.QuestioningMy findings extend t he research of Barnes et al (1986), Alexander (1992) and Myhill at al (2006), who found closed questions were dominant in the classroom overall. I found that in numeracy and some foundation subjects, closed questions were dominant they simply follow the facts, e.g. What is half of 50? According to Sullivan, although open questions are generally preferable, they have no advantage in numeracy. However, within literacy and science most questions were open, e.g. why do you think the egg will disappear? (Appendix C). The children were encouraged to refer to their own experiences and ideas to construct their own predictions. Therefore, the dominant question type depended on the subject.I found open questions to be an advantage in my science task children were encouraged to provide and develop their own original ideas, e.g. Why did you think the cork will float? Soon the children offered developed ideas without encouragement, e.g. I think the cork will float because it is made from wood. O pen questions allowed me to model responses until children expand their answers naturally.Ability GroupingThe groupings I saw generally supported Piagets approach of ability grouping, which is common practice across the UK. Numeracy consisted of two ability groups and lower ability children were often grouped together in literacy. I found this approach preferable to encourage peer talk within a familiar topic, since they were not intimidated to discuss their ideas.Vygotskys approach of putting a learner with someone of a higher level of knowledge was rarely used on a peer level. It concentrates on developing the skills of the lower ability child and is of little aid to the higher ability child. However, this scaffolding was present in adult-child teaching, for example an sick child had a teaching assistant someone of higher ability who supported his development. It was a very effective method, but this level of personalised teaching is too time-consuming and impractical to use on every child.My science task consisted of both the children developing their ideas together (similar ability teaching) and myself aiding them (higher ability teaching). I found that when I wasnt controlling the discussion the children were very enthusiastic share ideas, but often presented inaccurate ideas to one another as facts. Therefore, I needed to amount in to avert the children sharing their misconceptions. The children were more relaxed by having no input from someone of a higher ability, but I found that this method did not work in this case. This may have been because it was a new topic therefore the children had little experience to call upon.ValidityI have based this study on a series of observations within a wide range of subjects to gain a thorough insight into talk for learning within a particular class. However, I concentrated on one teacher, one class and my science task was based on only four children. Therefore, my conclusions strickle that other classes would a ct similarly. On the other hand, my findings are often supported by other studies which have used a larger test sample. These studies increase the validity of my own findings. shutdown of FindingsDialogic program lineDialogic teaching is very effective when encouraging new and creative ideas. It builds confidence, as the children are encouraged not to rely too heavily on their teacher, but to be in charge of their own learning. Children can share ideas, develop their own, improve their communication skills and the teacher can assess the childrens talk content. I found that dialogic talk improved childrens imagination and understanding. My research supported Alexanders (2003, 2004b) findings that dialogic teaching encourages children to answer questions confidently and clearly and listen respectfully to their peers. Using dialogic teaching also allowed me to assess the children quickly and subtly. Children who needed extra help could be identified before the main activity if dialogi c talk is used during the lesson starter.Exploratory TalkI found that it is good practice to give children time for exploratory talk when starting a new topic, to discuss and develop ideas in an informal setting. Only when children have personally ordered these ideas should presentational talk be introduced. Exploratory talk allows new concepts to be assimilated or accommodated into the childs existing schema.QuestioningI think open questions are vital to encourage children to think for themselves, allowing the children to achieve a deeper understanding. However, closed questions are appropriate in factual based subjects such as maths, since there is not much room for opinion. Questioning can gauge the general understanding of the class and encourage the children to share and develop their ideas. Individual knowledge can be assessed and immediate feedback given. However, as Barnes (1976/1992) notes, it is difficult to gain a deep understanding of individuals knowledge, so questionin g should be used alongside other methods.Ability GroupingPlacing children with someone of a higher ability was preferable when developing a new concept, to avoid misconceptions being shared and amplified. However, ability grouping was topper to encourage talk when the children were applying and developing their understanding, since the children could discuss their work at the same level and without being intimidated.Conclusion of InvestigationFocusing on specific areas of classroom talk allowed me to produce a focused analysis. My study was carefully planned, based on my areas of focus and observations of existing practice to analyse the use of talk for learning. I compared my findings to those of existing studies, drawing links between my literature review and my own research to increase validity.The low test sizes within this investigation may have negatively affected my results. For example, I found dialogic teaching effective, stating that the children were comfortable in expre ssing their ideas. However, the small group size might have created a less intimidating environment and in fact be the cause to the effect, rather than dialogic teaching itself. My observations were based on the same class, so discrepancies in location, age and teaching will not have been picked up. Therefore, to improve the accuracy and validity of my results, I would have to look at a wider range of schools and age groups.Overall, by developing my investigation in a structured and focused manner, I gained a well rounded insight into the best ways of using talk for learning, which I will apply in my own teaching.(Word Count 3500)ReferencingAlexander, R. 2008 Essays on Pedagogy. London, UK Routledge.Alexander, R. 2008 Culture, Dialogue and Learning Notes on an Emerging Pedagogy. In Mercer N. and Hodgkinson S. (ed.). Exploring Talk in School. London, UK Sage Publications, pp.91-114.Barnes, D. 2008 Exploratory Talk for Learning. In Mercer N. and Hodgkinson S. (ed.). Exploring Talk in School. London, UK Sage Publications, pp.1-15.Cambridge Primary Review. 2009 Towards a new Primary Curriculum. Accessed 27/10/10www.primaryreview.org.uk/Downloads/Curriculum_report/CPR_Curric_rep_Pt1_Past_Present.pdfMercer, N. and Littleton, K. 2007 Chapter 2 How Does Interaction Help Learning and Development? in Dialogue and the Development of Childrens Thinking A Sociocultural Approach. London, UK Routledge, pp.8-23.Myhill, D. and Dunkin, F. 2005 Questioning Learning. UK University of Exeter, Vol. 19, No. 5, pp.415-428. Accessed 10/12/10 http//eric.exeter.ac.uk/exeter/bitstream/10036/15292/1/MyhillDunkinQuestioningLearning.pdfMyhill, D. et al. 2006 Chapter 4 Questioning and Learning in Talking, Listening, Learning Effective Talk in the Primary Classroom. Maidenhead Open University Press, pp.68 -84.Ofsted (2009) separate 5 Inspection. Accessed 05/12/10 http//www.ofsted.gov.ukSage, Rosemary. 2000 Class Talk Successful Learning Through Effective Communication. Stafford, UK Network E ducational Press Ltd.Sullivan, P. 1992 Using Open Questions For Teaching A Classroom Experiment. 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