Classroom Talk

By (author) Rupert Knight Edited by Val Poultney

Publication date:

10 January 2020

Publisher

Critical Publishing

Dimensions:

199x129mm
5x8"

ISBN-13: 9781912508853

This book summarises the theoretical principles behind talk in school and briefly maps the research tradition in this field. It examines the evidence relating to a variety of forms of classroom talk, including whole school culture and oracy; classroom environments conducive to talk; whole class teacher-pupil talk and pupil-pupil peer talk. The final chapter explores up-to-date issues and influences relating to talk, such as mastery learning, informed by international comparisons. Firmly grounded in evidence and the latest thinking, the book also offers practical advice for everyday implementation and evaluation of these principles.

Evidence-based teaching is fast becoming a new orthodoxy. There are many strong voices, including policy voices, advocating its adoption. Understanding the underlying principles allows you to better evaluate the benefits of different approaches to evidence-based teaching and how they relate to your own school context.

Introduction and mapping the area
Learning as a social activity and the place of oracy
Typical features of whole class interaction
Creating a dialogic classroom
Promoting productive peer talk and collaboration
Classroom talk and the twenty-first century learner
Conclusion: implications for practice

At its heart, this book presents a resolute and modelled commitment to criticality as being central to any professional development and progress in practice....The strongest and potentially most provocative moments in this book come when the relationship between theory, practice and (vitally) impact on pupils is made direct: the summaries of and signposts to further reading would support any teacher to take their thinking in this direction.