Ahmed, Farah

Calcagni, Elisa

Hennessy, Sara

Kershner, Ruth

Apollo (Cambridge)

Review of Education. 2021;9:e3294.    | 1 of 6https://doi.org/10.1002/rev3.3294wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/roeDOI: 10.1002/rev3.3294  C O N T E X T  &  I M P L I C A T I O N SContext and Implications Document for: Supporting practitioner- led inquiry into classroom dialogue with a research- informed professional learning resource: A design- based approachSara Hennessy1 |   Ruth Kershner1 |   Elisa Calcagni2 |   Farah Ahmed11University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK2Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, GermanyCorrespondenceSara Hennessy, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.Email: sch30@cam.ac.ukThis guide accompanies the following article: Hennessy, S., Kershner, R., Calcagni, E. & Ahmed, F. (2021) Supporting practitioner- led inquiry into classroom dialogue with a research- informed professional learning resource: A design- based approach. Review of Education. https://doi.org/10.1002/rev3.3269Authors’ IntroductionActive participation by students in classroom dialogue is increasingly linked to learning outcomes on a range of measures including standardised tests of subject content knowl-edge. It also promotes mutual understanding and respect for others' knowledge and views. However, dialogue is rarely observed in classrooms around the world. There is a need to develop awareness and practice in educators and students.In our study, 74 practitioners across all educational levels and located in seven countries used the evidence- informed Teacher Scheme for Educational Dialogue Analysis (T- SEDA) resource pack to support their own inquiries, systematically analysing classroom dialogue and reflecting critically on the outcomes. The success of this model in developing new dia-logic practices is linked to the pivotal role that local research leaders and facilitators played. They carved their roles according to the characteristics and needs of their institutions, sup-porting colleagues to develop understanding of dialogic pedagogy and to adapt the non- prescriptive resources to their own purposes, needs and diverse contexts.This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.© 2021 The Authors. Review of Education published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Educational Research Association2 of 6 |   CONTEXT & IMPLICATIONSAlthough the importance of research in teacher professional development is well un-derstood, the value of a dialogic exchange between teachers and researchers has been demonstrated by the T- SEDA project. An iterative, collaborative process of designing the pack and the approach meant that research knowledge about the value and promotion of dialogue was mobilised and jointly constructed between researchers, facilitators and prac-titioners. Inquiry materials, case stories, outcomes and insights, along with emerging aca-demic research findings, are continually incorporated into pack updates so the resource is a ‘living’ form of knowledge exchange. The outcomes were very promising in terms of pointing to a low- cost, scalable and sustainable approach to teacher learning in this area.Implications for PolicyAn established tradition of ‘What Works’ style approaches is based on a belief that policy mandates are the main drivers for educational change. Gorard et al. (2020) argue that the use of evidence could be enforced, perhaps by being built into the curriculum or by law. This approach, however, necessitates a strong consensus around the ‘best available evidence’, which risks rapidly becoming outdated and which does not always take sufficient account of contextual variation. The growing body of research converging on the dialogic teaching strategies that are proving powerful for learning offers some guidance on how such strate-gies can be integrated at a general level of curriculum and overall pedagogy.However, diverse settings require context- specific approaches to be effective. A semi- structured professional inquiry approach enabling practitioners to harness the existing dia-logic research findings can facilitate local implementation. We argue that the ‘best available evidence’ is actually generated when practitioners conduct their own local systematic inquiries informed by rigorous research evidence that is made accessible for their use. The T- SEDA programme supports practitioners in locally contextualising and further adapting the approach through testing its applicability and boundaries in their own teaching settings. Therefore, en-shrining opportunities, protected time and facilitator support for such inquiries into institutional and regional structures, as opposed to prescribing their content, would be an effective policy. Some countries have already mandated extensive, timetabled opportunities for teacher profes-sional development (e.g., the Netherlands, Singapore, South Korea, Sweden) or lesson study (China, Japan) and this approach would benefit other countries. Moreover, encouraging collab-oration with academic researchers enables a more dialogic model of researcher- practitioner knowledge exchange that benefits all parties. It potentially leads to wider consolidation and dissemination of useful approaches, improving the evidence base.Recommendations for national and institutional policy makers:1. Integrate dialogic pedagogy into official curriculum guidance.2. Provide protected time and opportunities for collaborative practitioner inquiry and researcher- practitioner exchange, with further external support and feedback from school networks and inspection agencies.3. Endorse use of T- SEDA and similar practical tools.4. Offer professional development and guidance to support local facilitators who can lead their colleagues in generating collaborative dialogic professional inquiry.Implications for Practice1. Local facilitation of school- based inquiry    | 3 of 6CONTEXT & IMPLICATIONSOur model of educational change is based on developing professional learning commu-nities with a strong sense of collective responsibility for student outcomes. This is very likely to be undermined, however, in contexts where reluctant teachers are forced to participate. Instead, we hope that supporting teachers’ agency in their inquiries will increase buy- in. Our study shows that understanding of the benefits of learner participation in classroom dia-logues and a considerable degree of autonomy are motivating factors in conducting inquiry into existing practice and in incorporating new dialogic practices, along with the all- important support from a local facilitator with some form of leadership responsibility for professional development or research. While solo practitioners can use T- SEDA, the most powerful model is one of interaction and collaboration with peers in developing, trialling, critiquing and reflecting on new approaches.2. Understanding the power of dialogic pedagogy across diverse educational contextsClassroom dialogue involves participants exploring, building on and engaging critically and respectfully with others’ ideas, practising open- mindedness, and making reasoning explicit. Our study and others show that dialogic teaching applies across a wide variety of settings, curricula and subject areas and it can benefit students of all ages from pre- school to higher education. Developing awareness of the power of the approach and ability to apply it in different contexts requires explicit information about dialogue along-side sufficient flexibility within the approach and underpinning materials. It also requires recognition of the T- SEDA approach as distinctive and feasible to use in practice, es-pecially when schools are deluged with competing policy- driven advice and resources. Integrating T- SEDA into pre- service as well as in- service education would assist here and it responds to the call by Gorard et al. (2020) for teacher education to be evidence- led and evidence- relevant.3. Guidance and resources to support close analysis of dialoguePractitioners develop their own impressions and assumptions about teaching and learn-ing interactions in their classrooms, but these are often challenged when systematic analy-sis takes place; for example, it often reveals a higher proportion of teacher monologue and lower levels of participation by some students than expected. Enormous benefits can be derived through first characterising existing practice using the self- audit tool in the T- SEDA pack and using the range of systematic observation, coding and rating tools provided to chart detailed changes in dialogic interactions over time.Recommendations:1. Support local facilitation of school- based inquiry conducted by groups of practitioners through conducive organisational structures and dedicated time for participation by practitioners themselves and peer facilitators.2. Embed the T- SEDA practical tools supporting dialogic pedagogy into pre- service teacher education and make them widely available to in- service teachers at all educational levels and across subject areas.3. Encourage practitioners to invest the time to conduct systematic inquiries into their prac-tice using the range of dedicated analytic tools in the T- SEDA pack and to share findings and subsequent actions with colleagues.4 of 6 |   CONTEXT & IMPLICATIONSResources for Teaching & Learning in Higher EducationAuthor recommendsGorard, S., See, B.H. and Siddiqui, N. (2020) What is the evidence on the best way to get evidence into use in education? Review of Education, 8(2), 570– 610.Mercer, N., Wegerif, R. & Major, L. (Eds.) (2020) International handbook of research on dia-logic education. London: Routledge.Hennessy, S., Warwick, P., Brown, L., Rawlins, D. and Neale, C. (Eds.) (2014) Developing interactive teaching and learning using the IWB. Maidenhead: Open University Press.Kershner, R., Hennessy, S., Dowdall, K., Owen, H. & Calcagni, M.E. (2020) Teachers as ‘natural experimenters’: Using T- SEDA to develop classroom dialogue. In L. Rolls and E. Hargreaves (Eds.) Reimagining professional development in schools (Chapter 8). Abingdon: Routledge.Kershner, R., Hennessy, S., Wegerif, R. & Ahmed, A. (2020) Research methods for educa-tional dialogue. London: Bloomsbury Academic.Mercer, N., Hennessy, S. & Warwick, P. (2019) Dialogue, thinking together and digital tech-nology in the classroom: Some educational implications of a continuing line of inquiry. International Journal of Educational Research, 97, 187– 199.Robinson, V., Hohepa, M., & Lloyd, C. (2009). School leadership and student outcomes: Identifying what works and why best evidence synthesis. Wellington: Ministry of Education.Useful linksResources for dialogic inquiryTeacher- SEDA webpage with downloadable pack and resources: https://www.educ.cam.ac.uk/resea rch/progr ammes/ tseda/Cambridge Educational Dialogue Community Hub for practitioners and researchers (https://www.edudi alogue.org/)MOOC for T- SEDA facilitators, teachers and practitioners: https://mbrug ha.github.io/cours e- in- a- box/ED:TALK— Evidence and Dialogue Toolkit for Teachers: http://edtoo lkit.educ.cam.ac.uk/Lesson Study— A website to support teachers to collaboratively study their own practice: https://lesso nstudy.co.uk/Video resourcesSeries of short videos introducing educational dialogue and T- SEDA: https://www.edudi alogue.org/resou rces/intro ducto ry- video - serie s/Cambridge Education Dialogue Research (CEDiR) group— Resource bank of lesson vid-eos: https://sms.cam.ac.uk/colle ction/ 2827689Websites with practical resources for educational dialogueThinking Together: https://think ingto gether.educ.cam.ac.ukOracy Cambridge: https://oracy cambr idge.orgDialogic Teaching: https://robin alexa nder.org.uk/dialo gic- teach ing/    | 5 of 6CONTEXT & IMPLICATIONSExploratory Talk: https://think ingto gether.educ.cam.ac.uk/resou rces/Accountable Talk: https://www.thete acher toolk it.com/index.php/tool/accou ntabl e- discu ssionsPodcastPodcast by Neil Mercer, Balancing Teacher and Learner Talk: https://www.tes.com/news/how- much- your- lesso n- shoul d- be- teach er- talkFocus questionsFor practitioners conducting inquiries:●	 In	 what	 ways	 is	 my	 existing	 practice	 dialogic?●	 In	what	ways	might	my	practice	become	more	dialogic?●	 How	can	I	use	research	to	improve	my	practice?●	 How	can	I	use	a	professional	inquiry	to	improve	my	practice?●	 How	would	you	adapt	the	resources	from	the	T-	SEDA	pack	to	your	setting?For facilitators of professional inquiry:●	 What	 facilitation	 model	 do	 you	 think	 could	 work	 well	 in	 your	 setting?	 What	 needs	to be in place for this to work?●	 How	can	you	maximise	the	synergy	with	your	institutional	goals	and	agendas?	What	links	can be made between existing projects and T- SEDA inquiries into dialogic practice?●	 What	do	you	think	will	be	the	biggest	challenges	to	secure	buy-	in	in	your	setting?●	 What	 levels	of	scaffolding	are	needed	to	support	your	colleagues	at	different	stages	of	their inquiries?●	 What	 support	 can	 you	 provide	 when	 teachers	 are	 formulating	 their	 inquiry	 foci	 and	questions?●	 How	can	you	ensure	 that	 teachers	don’t	 lose	momentum	when	conducting	a	 reflective	inquiry into their practice?Seminar/project idea●	 Practitioner	 inquirers:	 To	 present	 their	 own	 inquiry	 cycle,	 methods	 and	 findings	 and	gain feedback from peers. This applies to graduate students who are doing any form of teaching as well as practitioners in any educational setting.●	 Facilitators:	For	those	who	have	facilitated	a	group	of	teacher	inquiries	in	one	or	more	set-tings, to present their facilitation plan and their reflections on its successes and areas for improvement, and solicit peer feedback.Sample syllabusTITLE: Educational dialogue— A course for facilitators1Week 1: The role of the facilitatorWeek 2: Revisiting the theories and impact of educational dialogue6 of 6 |   CONTEXT & IMPLICATIONSWeek 3: Self- audits and reflective inquiryWeek 4: Identifying key dialogic features in the classroomWeek 5: Conducting an inquiryWeek 6: Continuing the role of facilitator and your inquiriesReadingsO’Connor, C. & Michaels, S. (2019) Supporting teachers in taking up productive talk moves: The long road to professional learning at scale. International Journal of Educational Research, 97, 166– 175. Accessible from: https://educa cion.udd.cl/files/ 2018/04/Conce ptual izing - Talk- Moves - as- Tools.pdfA Teacher’s Guide to Dialogic Pedagogy Part 1: The What and the Why: This is a series of posts where Neil Phillipson explores ‘what dialogic pedagogy is, why it might be valuable and how a classroom teacher or school might get started with it’. See the reading list at the bottom of the page as well; these are useful for further reflection.Knight, S. (2014) Creating a supportive environment for classroom dialogue. In S. Hennessy, P. Warwick, N. Mercer, L. Brown, D. Rawlins & C. Neale (Eds.) Developing interactive teach-ing and learning using the IWB: Teacher resource. Maidenhead: Open University Press. http://oro.open.ac.uk/36484/END NOTE 1 The structure of this suggested course and some of the prompts in this section have been taken from a MOOC designed by Meaghan Brugha.How to cite this article: Hennessy, S., Kershner, R., Calcagni, E., & Ahmed, F. (2021). Context and Implications Document for: Supporting practitioner- led inquiry into classroom dialogue with a research- informed professional learning resource: A design- based approach. Review of Education, 9, e3294. https://doi.org/10.1002/rev3.3294

Context and Implications Document for: Supporting practitioner-led inquiry into classroom dialogue with a research-informed professional learning resource: A design-based approach

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