Classroom discussion can take many forms, including paired talk, group discussion, debate and dialogic learning. The quality of talk in our classrooms affects how and what our students learn. As teachers, we are responsible for creating a classroom culture where students can learn to think and communicate effectively. To do this well, we must provide structured opportunities for our students to listen and speak to one another about the content that we teach them.

Students often benefit from the use of scaffolds to support their engagement in discussion, particularly in the areas of questioning and the development of vocabulary and key words. Prompts that facilitate dialogue between students, such as sentence starters and question stems, develop students’ confidence and increase participation.

Clear expectations around listening and talking in class should be reinforced to ensure that conditions for learning through and from discussion are established.   

STRUCTURED DIALOGUE AND DISCUSSION:

• Enhances students' 'cognitive development' and prepares them for 'participation in the wider world' (Mercer, 2018).

• Enables students to demonstrate knowledge and understanding through listening and talking.

• Establishes a curricular context for the teaching and practice of oracy skills. 

• Creates conditions for 'exploratory talk' and classroom enquiry (Mercer, 2018).  

• Develops students' capacity to attend to what others say by listening carefully to their views.

• Helps students to realise that 'knowledge' is not simply 'transmitted,' but is also 'negotiated' and 're-created' by them (Alexander, 2018).

• Supports constructive and critical engagment with different viewpoints and perspectives. 

• Promotes 'accountable talk' and a sense of collective responsibility for the discussion of ideas (Resnick, 2018).