A record of reflective thinking about dialogic teaching

A record of reflective thinking about dialogic teaching

Teachers do not only teach their subjects, they develop the students’ ability, shape their views and character, their attitude to life and people. This is a big responsibility, and the teacher must be a model of competence himself. It is not as easy as it first seems, but I think a combination of love for children, knowledge, and training will help me succeed in my work.

Adolf Disterverg said: "A bad teacher presents the truth; the good teaches how to find it.” If before, teachers have presented new information to pupils giving them ready-made answers, now we must guide them to the knowledge through dialogue in order to give them reason for reflection and develop critical thinking.

The dialogue occupies an important position in the lesson. The dialogue itself contributes to the development of language skills, so the child begins to behave more freely in the lesson. Children, who have less knowledge, try harder to be up to standard. Through dialogue, the children begin to understand the process of the lesson more exactly, so they behave more freely.

Every teacher should have a dialogue with their students, so that students understand easily what the teacher requires of them. In the words of Claude Levi-Strauss, "The scientist is not the one who gives the right answers, but the one who puts the right questions."

I use different kinds of questions: lower-order questions and higher-order questions. I use lower-order questions in order to attract the attention of the class or to interest the weak pupils and encourage them to try to answer my questions. I use higher-order questions in order to give children the opportunity to reflect, to develop and expand their thinking. Most of all I use such questions as "how" "why?", "For what purpose?" I give everyone an opportunity to express their thoughts freely, give them time to think for three to seven seconds, and the number of voluntary responses increases as a result. Even less capable students express a desire to answer my questions. In addition, they give deeper answers. I paraphrase the answers for clarity and to focus their attention on the answers, so that they can be included in the current and the next part of the discussion. During the dialogue, I usually try to correct the "wrong answers". First, I ask the students to mutually help each other, then I give direction, and, if it is necessary, I ask them to stay after classes, and explain it to them individually.

If the students’ answers do not satisfy me, I help them express their thoughts, guiding them to the truth, by using high-order questions.

I facilitate the learning process by repeating students’ answers to improve clarity with the purpose of emphasizing their point of view or bringing it to the attention of those who may not have heard it. I repeat part of the answer to emphasize certain elements of it, paraphrase the answer for more clarity, praise correct answers, inspire the students to obtain additional information on the internet during the debate, and I always give enough time for students to answer. I think that it is possible to measure students’ learning based on their responses to questions. If a student gives a complete and specific answer, thinking logically, I remain satisfied and I think it is sufficient for evaluation.

Critical thinking is developed through dialogue and discussion. I observe Mercer’s three forms of argument during discussion in the classroom.

Disputational talk takes place during a dispute or debate. Students want to persuade others of their views. For me it is interesting to watch how hard they think about the topic, how involved they are, what new ideas are born, how they argue their points of view, and how they try to find the best argument and win.

Cumulative talk mainly takes place when children work in pairs. I use cumulative talk to explore my passive pupils, and I achieve my goal. They do not argue, but they calmly discuss the situation on topic, agree among themselves and share their knowledge, and are uncritical of the contributions of each other.

Exploratory talk is the most interesting for the students. During the preparation for the presentation of various topics, including «Our Environment», «Cyber English», or when discussing video clips like «Ants» or «Ballet» I find many interesting things. I know my own pupils, but, on the other hand their creativity, interthinking, ability to reflect, and think critically greatly surprise me. How they are able to have such stormy debates, exchange views, know how to listen to each other! How beautifully they paint, try to find better explanations, how they argue when they cannot find the necessary words in the English language and how fast, hard, and purposefully they search in their dictionaries! How they try to use new words in their speech!

I want to note that I notice how a psychological approach affects the responses of students. Even when active children are upset about something, they do not want to answer questions. And when they are in a good mood, they feel more confident and the desire to answer questions increases. Therefore, I try to keep a favorable psychological climate in all of my lessons. They always attentively follow the questions so that they can be first to raise their hands and answer, which makes them very satisfied.

Alexander argues that “talk in learning is not a one-way linear communication but a reciprocal process in which ideas are bounced back and forth and on that basis take children’s learning forward.”

Of course, the teacher should come to class prepared to control the course of the discussion. In my opinion, a teaching method using dialogue must be developed in the future, as the mentality of children varies from year to year. In these lessons the child expands vocabulary, begins to speak literately and express their thoughts more accurately. Intellectual games, fictional performances will give new trends in the development of talented students. The teacher's role in the development of talented students is one of the important aims of teaching through dialogue. It is also one of the important methods of teaching where the teacher must interest and stimulate the student. If the teacher is successful, the student will be interested and look forward to every lesson anticipating new, interesting topics. Students will try to create something bright and unexpected in the class. When there is a relationship between teachers and their students, teachers enjoy their work more, and students – learning.

Generally, in my experience, dialogue occupies an important role in the education process. Every teacher should have his own method of presentation of a subject to motivate pupils even more. I want to finish my reflection with the words of Thomas Fuller: "If you own knowledge, let others light their lamps from it.”

References

Handbook for Teacher. University of Cambridge Faculty of Education

Kubarkov K.L., Timaschuk V.A. Collection of 1000 topics of Modern English