Using dialogue to teach science

Neil MercerUniversity of Cambridge

What is the dialogic approach intended to achieve?

• Get students more actively involved in mathematical and scientific thinking during lessons

• Help them to achieve a deeper understanding

• Encourage future participation in these subjects

• Raise the quality of whole-class and small-group discussion

Developing a dialogic classroom culture

Dialogic teaching is about...

- achieving a balance between instructional, ‘authoritative’ teacher-talk and more open discussion with students

- using whole class discussion to reveal what students think and to stimulate their reasoning

- using students’ ideas in teaching, by building on and challenging them

- encouraging students to take extended turns in classroom discussions

- making the most effective use of group work

Dialogic teaching is not about...- students talking all the time- teachers avoiding explaining, instructing or correcting when

appropriate

Developing whole class talk

Example 1: Year 7:Acids: Whole class talkyou remember the electric bell?Teacher: OK we're going to be doing some work with pH today.

Right - what have you written, Jacob?Jacob (reading): “An acid is a compound containing hydrogen

which when it is dissolved in water makes a solution with a pH of less than 7. Acids turn blue litmus paper indicator vapour red. Universal litmus paper changes the colour to yellow, orange or red in an acidic solution”

Teacher:OK thank you stop there. Right, one more then, um Jamie?

Jamie: “Sulphuric acid contained sulphuric acid with (Teacher writing on white board ) remove water from any substance with, with litmus can't, into contact for example; for example acids turn sugar in…”

Teacher:(Interrupts) Shall I read that bit? Yeah, “when you put sulphuric acid on sugar, you get smouldering black carbon”. That's something that we may show you in year 9 or year 10. Did you listen to that Jack?

Jamie: Yeah.

Teacher: OK, I look forward to marking those. Let me ask you a few questions about what I've written on the board then. Taylor - did you hear the names of those acids then? Taylor: No.Teacher: Sulphuric acid, acetic acid? (Reading from the white board)Taylor: Um nitric acid?

Teacher: OK, there's nitric acid as well. Yes, Taylor?Taylor: Hydrochloric.Teacher: Yeah. Can someone remind us how we know that um acids turn litmus red? Which experiment was that? (Lots of students raise their hands) Yes James? James: We got a drop of the uh either an acid or alkali, and we tested them on both red and blue litmus paper.Teacher:That's right. So we've used red litmus paper and blue litmus paper haven't we?Students (together): Yes.

Acids contd

What is the educational function of this kind of interaction?

Example 2: Year 7: Forces: Whole class talk

Teacher: Right now I’ve got to say, coming round to each group in turn, you were having some wonderful ideas. So can we start with your ideas please, what did you come up with? What forces were acting on this plasticine? Tamsin?

Tamsin: Would it be gravity?

Teacher: OK, gravity good.

Elan: I’ve got a question.

Teacher: Hang on a tick, let’s just go through this first, yeah, Amber.

Amber: Gravity and upward thrust.

Teacher: An upward thrust, ooh, that’s a good word. Upward thrust, what do we mean by upward thrust? Upward thrust.

Amber: Like when I’m sitting on this chair, like you said, this is forcing me up, like if I’m too heavy or fat.

Teacher: OK, so it’s sort of pushing you back up, is that right?

Amber: Well, yeah, until, until a certain point.

Teacher: Until a certain point, OK, good. Anything else, yeah?

Tom: Me and Jared and Michael, put our ideas together and we said that the air resistance and, and gravity and the, erm, surface area...

Teacher: Yeah, OK. Girls, girls, listen please. OK, Cameron.

Cameron: Water pressure.

Teacher: Water pressure, what’s that, what’s that mean, water pressure?

Cameron: Like it, it kind of balances itself out.

Teacher: OK, so the pressure from the water balances out, what, what does it balance out?

Cameron: It kind of balances out equally.

Forces contd.

What can students learn from this kind of dialogue?

•What they really understand, or do not, about a topic• How to ‘speak’ the language of a subject•How to reason aloud•What other students know (and do not know)

What can teachers learn from this kind of dialogue?

• What students really understand, or do not, about a topic

• Whether students can ‘speak’ a subject• What it might be most useful to teach students

next

Two kinds of whole-class talk

• Authoritative – Instruction– Demonstration– Lecture

• Dialogue– Eliciting students’ initial ideas– Hearing what groups have achieved– Discussing problems and misunderstandings

(Phil Scott)

Dialogic teaching…

…uses both authoritative talk and dialogue to best effect

Good teaching strategies for starting a new topic

• Ask some ‘open’ questions about it•Ask one or more students to explain their ideas to the class•Ask some ‘why’ questions•Ask students to comment on what has been said•Make a note of any misunderstandings that the discussions revealed, so you can draw on them later •Hold back on providing the correct explanations until students have realised what they think and have pursued some work on it

How do you use whole-class talk?

Introductory Activity 1: Teacher self-evaluation

(beginning of Term 1):

• Audio-recording your own teaching to be able to evaluate your own talk

• Listening back to it and consider:

– How much time did you speak compared with the students?

– What kinds of questions did you ask? Did you ask for reasons or factual answers?

– Did you give students the opportunity to make extended responses?

– Were students willing to share even tentative ideas? Did you pick up ideas that students offered and weave them into the discussion?

Improving the quality of small group work

•Research has shown that group work is really good for children’s learning

A paradox

•but in most classrooms group work is often a waste of time!

What makes a good group discussion’?

Using the software Function Machine, and working in 3s or 4s, Year 7 students have been asked to work out what functions have been performed to achieve a given series of numbers

GROUP 1: Sylvia, Alan and Tom

Sylvia: We can’t do this number ‘cos we can’t do decimals. Let’s start again.

(She enters a number)Alan: OK, 30. That’s your turn.Sylvia: Twenty-eight. I’ve got a rule right – if you halve that it’s 30 then you take away 10, and then from the 30 take away Alan: I’ve got an idea. That’s 14, then you’re adding 2.Sylvia: I know – I’ve got it half the inputAlan: It’s my turn.Sylvia: No – you don’t know what to do – I know.Alan: Yeah but it’s my turn.Sylvia: Wait!Alan: No. Me and Sylvia should have two turns then.Sylvia: No, but wait a minute. I didn’t have a turn before. I didn’t have a turn. 33 and then add 5. (Presses key to reveal answer.)Alan: My turn.Sylvia: I’ve got an idea, I’ve got an idea. Alan: You’re always having a turn.Sylvia: Yeah, but I’m faster than you and you can’t do anything.

Disputational talk

in which speakers…

are competitive rather than co-operative don’t listen each stick to their own point of view ('Yes it is! - No

it's not!') make their own decisions.

GROUP 2: Kylie, Rebecca, Maya and Tony

Kylie: 3! I think it’s take away Rebecca: What do you think? I think it’s take away 3.Maya: HalfKylie: Half the number. I think it’s half the number.Maya: Me too. Maybe Tony: Yeah.Maya: Let’s try number 4Kylie: 4?Maya: Yeah –should be 2Rebecca: Click on there. Click! (Indicates to Maya where to click.)Kylie: Stop arguing... We didn’t agree on 4 did we?Others: Yeah.

(4 entered and 2 appears in output)Kylie: (To Tony) So what do you think?Tony: I think you have to add on two more.Kylie: No ‘cos, I think like Rebecca, I think it’s halving because we

had 6, and it ended up 3. Now we’ve got 4 and it ended up in 2. Do you think half the number or subtract? Do you want to check? Do you want the reveal thing?

Tony: No, I think it’s what Maya said.

• all actively participate• ask each other questions

“What do you think…?” “Why do you think that…?”

• share relevant information“Do you remember….?”

• give reasons for their views “I think that because…..”• constructively criticise

“Yes, but if……• try to reach agreement “Do we all agree that….?”

Exploratory Talk, in which speakers

How can we improve the quality of student’s talk in groups?

Establish with them some ground rules for talk

Class 7’s ground rules

When we work in a group…

• Everyone offers relevant information• Everyone's ideas are treated as worthwhile – but are critically evaluated

• We ask each other questions• We ask for reasons and give them• We try to reach agreement

• People trust each other and act as a team!

Worksheet 2A: Are these useful rules for discussion?

Rules Yes, No or Maybe(give your reasons!)

1. Stick to your point of view, despite what anybody says

2. Ask everyone in turn for their opinion.

3. Ask for reasons why.

4. If you don’t understand something, keep quiet

5. Be critical of the idea, not the person who put it forward.

6. If people challenge your ideas, you should give reasons for them.

7. Choose as quickly as you can so that you get finished.

8. Discuss all the alternatives before deciding.

9. If a wrong decision is made, point out who is to blame.

10. If you hear a good reason, you can change your mind.

AND SO ON TO No. 27

Organizing small-group discussion

• Students need suitable tasks • Students need sufficient time• Avoid premature intervention but support where needed

• Ask students to come to some agreement before they can get help and address a group as a whole

• Remind students of the ‘ground rules’ and focus them on explanation and meaning, not only right answers

• Scaffold and model good discussion without performing the task for the students

• Ask students to evaluate, and feed back from, their discussion

Reactions from teachersI have been surprised with the epiSTEMe module lessons that the

children have been able to do things I didn’t expect they’d be able to do. A year ago I would have said no way. (Maths teacher co-researcher, 2009/10)

There’s this boy who is very low ability and doesn’t always speak out, I got him to explain to the whole class and he did! And the boy who is the class ‘messer’ also put his hand up and said ‘actually I disagree with so and so because...’ although he normally would not bother even listening so I though that’s something! (Science teacher co-researcher; 2009/10)

The epiSTEMe approach has been extremely valuable with both sets. With the middle set it helps focus on getting the students actually do the thinking, rather than expecting to be spoon fed. The high ability group on the other hand sometimes just accept things and don’t question as much as they perhaps could or should. They are used to getting it and getting on with their work, not being challenged. So actually asking why, highlighting to them that there is more to it than understanding it on surface level. (Maths teacher co-researcher, 2009/10)

Reactions from teachersHaving tried [dialogic teaching] my confidence has

grown because I have seen that it works. (Maths teacher co-researcher 2009/10)

I’m so much braver now in doing nothing! I am so much less ‘I need to get in there and I need to do something’. I’m actually getting quite good at standing back rather than just giving the answer and it’s made me so much calmer, I love it! That bravery of standing back has been quite useful. (Science teacher co-researcher 2009/10)

Everyone knows that group work is good but it is difficult to do it, to get the right tasks, the right ideas, the right real world examples, those lessons take a lot of preparation and a lot of forethought. But actually with the epiSTEMe project, the thought has gone into it and I’ve seen real benefits. (Maths teacher co-researcher 2009/10)

For more info•http://www.educ.cam.ac.uk/research/projects/episteme/

• http://thinkingtogether.educ.cam.ac.uk/