Enacting Quality Talk Discussions About Text: From Knowing the Model to Navigating the Dynamics of Dialogic Classroom Culture

Murphy, P. Karen; Croninger, Rachel M. V.; Baszczewski, Sara E.; Tondreau, Cory L.

doi:10.1002/trtr.2110

Cited by 9 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 28 publications

(37 reference statements)

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“…QT is an approach to small-group discussion specifically designed to support participants' critical-analytic thinking and high-level comprehension about text and content Soter et al, 2009). Our use of QT adapts the key components of the framework (Murphy et al, 2022) for the present context (e.g., in-service teachers learning about PV; see also Starrett et al, 2022). Thus, discussions take place in small groups with in-service teachers as learners, are characterized by the asking and answering of meaningful, authentic questions, are learner-centered in that the discussion facilitator guides the discussion rather than using it for didactic teaching, and are guided by the principle that language is a tool for thinking and inter-thinking (Murphy & Firetto, 2018).…”

Section: Conceptual Framework For the Use Of Small-group Discussion T...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Embracing a culture of talk: STEM teachers’ engagement in small-group discussions about photovoltaics

Firetto¹,

Starrett²,

Jordan³

2023

IJ STEM Ed

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Background Small-group discussions are well established as an effective pedagogical tool to promote student learning in STEM classrooms. However, there are a variety of factors that influence how and to what extent K-12 teachers use small-group discussions in their classrooms, including both their own STEM content knowledge and their perceived ability to facilitate discussions. We designed the present study to specifically target these two factors in the context of photovoltaics, an interdisciplinary field at the intersection of all STEM disciplines with potential to yield widespread benefits related to the use of solar technologies as a sustainable, renewable energy source. Teachers engaged in a series of small-group discussions based on photovoltaic source material (e.g., scientific articles) to build both their STEM content knowledge and capability with discussions, promoting their potential to design and deliver STEM instruction in their own classrooms using small-group discussion. Results Overall, teachers productively engaged in rich STEM talk as they spent most of the time in the discussion asking authentic questions about photovoltaic topics in alignment with a variety of science and engineering disciplinary core ideas, responding to the questions with rich, elaborative talk, and taking on ownership of the discussions. Teachers also evidenced increases in their photovoltaic knowledge and their perceived capability to facilitate discussions. Finally, most teachers’ end-of-program lesson plans included the use of small-group discussions, and a subsample of teachers who completed a follow-up interview one year after the summer program reported greater enactment of discussion in their STEM classrooms. Conclusion Our manuscript forwards an important contribution that draws from a practice-based approach to professional development in a way that not only better prepares teachers on what to teach (i.e., through enhanced PV content knowledge), but it also supports their ability to implement this instruction into their classrooms more effectively (i.e., though the use of small-group discussion). As such, this manuscript illustrates an innovative pedagogical approach for potential use in supporting teacher education and informs ways to enable teachers to build enhanced curricula for their STEM students.

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Section: Conceptual Framework For the Use Of Small-group Discussion T...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Embracing a culture of talk: STEM teachers’ engagement in small-group discussions about photovoltaics

Firetto¹,

Starrett²,

Jordan³

2023

IJ STEM Ed

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“…enacted curriculum),” and it is in this gap between what is planned and what emerges that transformative learning and adaptive repertoires are honed (Roth, 2013, p. 393). Researchers have studied how teachers learn to adapt their discussion facilitation practices in ELA classrooms (Matsumura et al , 2019; Zook-Howell et al , 2020) and shown that learning to facilitate quality, dialogic classroom discussions takes time, practice and a decentering of the teacher as the sole arbiter of “correct” knowledge about a text or topic (Murphy et al , 2022).…”

Section: Developing Adaptive Repertoires: Improvisation and Empathy I...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“Live within the messiness”: how a digitally mediated inquiry community supported ELA teachers in cultivating adaptive repertoires

Monea

Burrows-Stone

Dunbar

et al. 2022

ETPC

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Purpose Adaptivity has long been recognized as a key aspect of teaching and shown to be particularly important for English Language Arts (ELA) teachers leading discussions about texts. Teachers' abilities to make such adjustments are especially important when facilitating discussions in digital contexts, as was made clear with the shift to virtual teaching caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this paper is to explore how the structure and process of teacher inquiry supported ELA teachers in enacting and cultivating adaptive repertoires for facilitating discussion in online contexts during the disruptions of the 2020–2021 school year. Design/methodology/approach As an inquiry team comprising teacher-researchers from secondary and university-based contexts, the authors used practitioner inquiry methods in the context of a multi-year, multi-sited study involving, design-based and teacher-research methodologies. Findings This paper shows how teachers’ engagement in digital teacher inquiry groups supported their willingness to be playful and adapt their practices in response to one another, creating conditions for powerful teacher learning through relational inquiry online. This paper identified three specific relational practices that were critical for cultivating adaptive repertories in teachers’ learning with and from each other: cultivating empathy; attuning to silences and actively listening; and decentering authority across multiple platforms and modalities. The authors discuss how teachers carried these practices to and from their digital discussions with their students and with each other, demonstrating how this recursive cycle of inquiry and practice deepened their learning, relationships and adaptive repertoires. Originality/value The authors discuss the implications of these practices for equity-oriented and dialogic teacher learning that can transform classroom practice, illustrating the power of online teacher inquiry groups for developing ELA teachers’ adaptive expertise – something urgently important for teaching in digitally mediated contexts and through unsettled times.

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“…The discussion groups require individuals to ask questions and get answers, which they write down. In the process, group members improve their explanations using the Language of Teaching and Learning (LoTL) as well as science language (Murphy et al, 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pre-Service Teachers’ Conceptual Understanding and Retention When Taught Osmosis Using Group Discussions

Kibirige

2023

JISE

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The effect of Group Discussions (GD) on pre-service teachers taught Osmosis was investigated using a quasi-experimental design with pre-and post-tests. Ninety-four pre-service teachers (N=47) for the Experimental Group (EG) taught using GD, and (N=47) for the Control Group (CG) were taught using the Traditional Approach (TA). Results from post-tests show EG performed better than CG, as indicated by Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA), p < .05, suggesting that GD improved conceptual understanding. A Mann-Whitney U-test shows no significant differences in performance between males and females in EG, implying GD favoured both genders. In addition, EG retention was higher than CG when tested after an extended period. Thus, the results show that GD improves pre-service teachers’ conceptual understanding and retention. The implication for educators is that the use of GD in teaching biology improves pre-service teachers’ conceptual understanding of Osmosis, and these results have far-reaching implications in teacher education.

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Enacting Quality Talk Discussions About Text: From Knowing the Model to Navigating the Dynamics of Dialogic Classroom Culture

Cited by 9 publications

References 28 publications

Embracing a culture of talk: STEM teachers’ engagement in small-group discussions about photovoltaics

Embracing a culture of talk: STEM teachers’ engagement in small-group discussions about photovoltaics

“Live within the messiness”: how a digitally mediated inquiry community supported ELA teachers in cultivating adaptive repertoires

Pre-Service Teachers’ Conceptual Understanding and Retention When Taught Osmosis Using Group Discussions

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