11. Other people's experiences
Here suggestions on how to successfully plan for and implement dialogic teaching, which has are some and come from a project that has been run in a number of secondary and primary schools in Dagenham. Alexander, R.J. (2005) Teaching through Dialogue: the first year, London Barking and Dagenham Council
1. explain to the class/gruoup what is going to happen and what your expectations are, for example
The teacher will start the discussion and ask one pupil to respond
then pupils will talk and respond to each other through a question , or building on what someone has said
The teacher will intervene now and again to stop the discussion, or to bring in another pupil,or to stop the discussion
2. Demonstrate and discuss the process at the front of the class with 3 or 4 pupils, or show and discuss a piece of video where another class is involved in dialogic talk.
4. Discuss, agree and set ground rules such as
Respect each other's opinions;
Only one person speaks at a time;
Each person should speak clearly so that others can hear,
Give reasons for your views and ideas;
Listen carefully,
Try to build on what others say;
Support and include each other;
You can ask another person to support your view,
You can ask another person for their view even if it's different to yours;
Ask when you don't understand
Try to reach an agreement
Review and evaluate the process with the class to identify strengths and ways to improve.