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Challenging Learning Through Dialogue
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Challenging Learning Through Dialogue
Strategies to Engage Your Students and Develop Their Language of Learning

First Edition

Foreword by Douglas Fisher



January 2017 | 208 pages | Corwin

Using classroom discussions to teach good habits of thinking 

Classroom discussion has a major effect on student learning. In fact, dialogue is one of the best vehicles for learning how to think, make moral decisions, and understand another person’s point of view. Research also indicates that most teachers talk too much in the classroom and don’t wait long enough for students to respond. How do we improve the quality of classroom discussion? Challenging Learning Through Dialogue transforms the most up-to-date research into practical strategies that work. Readers will learn

  • How to build in more “wait-time” for better quality thinking and questioning from students
  • How to use dialogue to teach reasoning, collaboration, and good habits of thinking
  • The three types of dialogue and how to teach the most effective version: exploratory talk
  • Dozens of practical strategies for exploratory dialogue
  • Global examples of fun ways to teach dialogue
  • An innovative new instructional strategy called Classroom Mysteries

Written by an internationally known team of educational innovators, this book is for all educators who aim to use effective classroom dialogue to engage students in learning. 

"This valuable book is a must for teachers and families who wish to have their children learn to think and communicate with greater precision and clarity.”
Arthur L. Costa, Ed. D., Professor Emeritus
California State University Sacramento and Co-Director, International Institute for Habits of Mind


"James Nottingham’s work on Challenging Learning is a critical element of creating Visible Learners. This new series will help teachers hone the necessary pedagogical skills of dialogue, feedback, questioning, and mindset.”
John Hattie, Professor & Director, Melbourne Education Research Institute
University of Melbourne


 
List of Figures
 
The Challenging Learning Story
 
Foreword by Douglas Fisher
 
Acknowledgments
 
About the Authors
 
Contributors
 
Introduction
 
The Language of Learning
 
Chapter 1: Why Dialogue?
1.0 Why Dialogue?

 
1.1 Reasons for Dialogue 1: Learning How to Think

 
1.2 Reasons for Dialogue 2: From Surface to Deep

 
1.3 Reasons for Dialogue 3: Creating a Climate of Trust

 
1.4 Reasons for Dialogue 4: Developing Language to Express Understanding

 
1.5 Review

 
1.6 Next Steps

 
 
Chapter 2: Dialogue Essentials
2.0 Dialogue Basics

 
2.1 Putting Dialogue in the Context of Educational Objectives

 
2.2 The Hidden Classroom

 
2.3 Active Engagement

 
2.4 Conditions for Successful Dialogue

 
2.5 Language for Dialogue

 
2.6 Exploratory Talk

 
2.7 Review

 
2.8 Next Steps and Further Reading

 
 
Chapter 3: Dialogue to Engage Students
3.0 Preview

 
3.1 Getting the Ethos Right

 
3.2 Issuing Invitations

 
3.3 Encouraging and Engaging

 
3.4 Restating

 
3.5 Reformulating

 
3.6 Review

 
3.7 Next Steps and Further Reading

 
 
Chapter 4: One Way to Learn How to Think: Develop Reasoning
4.0 Preview

 
4.1 The Language of Reasoning

 
4.2 Developing the Language of Reasoning

 
4.3 Process of Reasoning

 
4.4 Routines to Develop Reasoning

 
4.5 Developing a Reasoning Repertoire

 
4.6 Reasoning Moves

 
4.7 Review

 
4.8 Next Steps

 
 
Chapter 5: Dialogue Groupings
5.0 Preview

 
5.1 Dialogue Groupings

 
5.2 Ground Rules for Dialogue Groups

 
5.3 Whole-Group Dialogue

 
5.4 Splitting Large Groups Into Two

 
5.5 Small-Group Dialogues With a Teacher

 
5.6 Small-Group Dialogues Without a Teacher

 
5.7 Final Word About Groupings

 
5.8 Review

 
5.9 Next Steps and Further Reading

 
 
Chapter 6: Dialogue Detectives
6.0 Preview

 
6.1 Appointing Dialogue Detectives

 
6.2 Clues to Detect: Focusing on Performance

 
6.3 Clues to Detect: Focusing on Thinking Structures

 
6.4 Other Clues to Detect

 
6.5 Review

 
6.6 Next Steps and Further Reading

 
 
Chapter 7: Dialogue Structures
7.0 Preview

 
7.1 Paired Dialogue

 
7.2 Opinion Lines

 
7.3 Opinion Corners

 
7.4 Choosing Corners

 
7.5 Talking Heads

 
7.6 Jigsaw Groups

 
7.7 Clustering

 
7.8 Review

 
7.9 Next Steps and Further Reading

 
 
Chapter 8: Mysteries
8.0 Preview

 
8.1 Mysteries

 
8.2 Running a Mystery

 
8.3 Mysteries in Practice

 
8.4 Questioning Cause and Effect Within Mysteries

 
8.5 Reviewing a Mystery Using the SOLO Taxonomy

 
8.6 Writing Your Own Mysteries

 
8.7 Review

 
8.8 Next Steps and Further Reading

 
8.9.1 Mystery: Should Bjørn Move to France?

 
8.9.2 Mystery: Louis Pasteur and the Anthrax Vaccine

 
8.9.3 Mystery: Is Sally a Good Friend?

 
 
Chapter 9: Odd One Out
9.0 Preview

 
9.1 Odd One Out

 
9.2 Benefits of Odd One Out

 
9.3 How to Use Odd One Out Effectively

 
9.4 Why and When to Use Odd One Out

 
9.5 Odd One Out Variations

 
9.6 Odd One Out Examples

 
9.7 Extending Odd One Out With Venn Diagrams

 
9.8 Review

 
9.9 Next Steps and Further Reading

 
 
Chapter 10: Fortune Lines
10.0 Preview

 
10.1 Fortune Lines

 
10.2 Using Fortune Lines

 
10.3 Fortune Line of Henry VIII

 
10.4 Fortune Line for a Visit to Grandma's

 
10.5 Review

 
10.6 Next Steps and Further Reading

 
 
Chapter 11: Philosophy for Children (P4C)
11.0 Preview

 
11.1 Philosophy for Children

 
11.2 The Community of Inquiry

 
11.3 Philosophical Questions

 
11.4 Dialogue Through P4C

 
11.5 P4C Sequence—Overview

 
11.6 P4C Sequence—In Depth

 
11.7 Review

 
11.8 Next Steps and Further Reading

 
 
Chapter 12: Dialogue Exercises in P4C
12.0 Preview

 
12.1 Dialogue Exercises

 
12.2 Make a Choice, Give a Reason

 
12.3 Concept Stretching: Fairness

 
12.4 Review

 
12.5 Next Steps and Further Reading

 
 
Appendix 1. Dialogue Detectives
 
Appendix 2. Louis Pasteur Script
 
Repertoire and Judgment Notes
 
References
 
Index

"James Nottingham’s work on Challenging Learning is a critical element of creating Visible Learners. This new series will help teachers hone the necessary pedagogical skills of dialogue, feedback, questioning, and mindset. There’s no better resource to encourage all learners to know and maximize their impact!"

John Hattie, Professor & Director, Melbourne Education Research Institute
University of Melbourne

"Challenging Learning Through Dialogue provides educators with meaningful, purposeful, and practical strategies to create high quality dialogue. Underpinned by extensive educational research, these methods will help students achieve deep level thinking and learning through the power of our language. It is inspiring, insightful, and a MUST read for all educators. Absolutely Brilliant!"

Sophie Murphy, Clinical Teaching Specialist, Lecturer & Researcher
Science of Learning Research Centre, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, Australia
  •  
Key features
Teachers will find:
  • How to build in more "wait time" for better quality thinking and questioning from students
  • How to use dialogue to teach reasoning, collaboration, and good habits of thinking
  • The three types of dialogue and how to teach the most effective dialogue: explorative
  • Dozens of practical strategies for explorative dialogue
  • Global examples of fun ways to teach dialogue

Sample Materials & Chapters

Chapter 1


For instructors

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