Summary - Masaryk University

Summary This book deals with the ways teachers learn to implement dialogic teaching into theirteaching practice. The monograph opens with two theoretical chapters. The first oneintroducesthekeyconceptofdialogicteachingasacommunicationstructureofinstructionaimed at stimulating student thinking and deepening their understanding of educationalcontent. The main characteristics of dialogic teaching, its indicators and principles areindicated, in contrast to other types of educational communication configurations. Thechapteralsotouchesuponthefactthatthestyleofteachingcommonatschoolsbothinourcountry and abroad is still far removed from the parameters of dialogic teaching, whichexplainsthesustainedeffort(offoreignresearchers,butalsoourown)tomakethisapproacha reality of school practice. The objective of this book is to describe instruction inwhichteachersapplythemethodsofdialogicteaching.Thisstatemustbenecessarilyprecededbyastagewhenteacherslearnhowdialogicteachingworks.Hence,chaptertwodescribeshowteacherscanlearntotransformtheirwork,usingvideorecordingsoftheirownteaching,theiranalysisandreflection.

Thecoreofthebookisaempiricalresearchdesignedasactionresearch.Theaimoftheresearchwastoinitiatechangeintheschoolenvironmentandtosystematicallyexamineits impact. The researchwas centredon a teacher development programme consisting ofthreecomponents:theoretical,whichprovidedteacherswithspaceintheformofseminarswheretheywereintroducedtothetheoryofdialogicteachingandcoulddiscussthepossiblewaysofimplementingit;experiential,whichgaveteachersanopportunitytotrytoimplementthetheoryintotheirteachingpractice;andreflective,wherewewatchedthevideorecordingsof instruction and discussed their contents in teacher-researcher tandems. These threecomponentswerearrangedinafollow-upfashionandwererepeatedincyclesoverthecourseofapproximatelyonesemester.Asaconsequence,wefoundourselvesnotonlyintheroleofresearchers (which is in a way impartial and safe), but also in the position of thosewhoeducateteachersandacceptco-responsibilityfortheprogresstheymakeaswellasforthedifficultiestheyface.Thismadeusevenmoreawarethatvalidityandreliabilityoftheresultsofourresearch isconditionalonthequalityoftheresearchsurveyundertaken.Adetaileddescriptionofitsmethodologyisprovidedinchapterthree.

Thefocusofthisbookliesintheresultsobtained.Asmentionedabove,ourgoalwastochangetheparametersofeducationalcommunicationintheclassesobserved.Chapterfourpresents how successful this effort was in the perspective of numbers. First, we analysewhetherandhowsignificantlyteachercommunicationbehaviourchangedasaresultofthedevelopment programme and how this change was reflected in student communicationbehaviour.Inotherwords,weaddressthequestionofwhetherwecanarguewithcertaintythatteachersandstudentsstartedtocommunicatewitheachotherinanewway.Next,weshiftourattentiontostudentsandaskhowtheyperceivetheintroductionofdialogicteachingmethods.Weshowchanges instudents'attitudestothesubjectsaffectedbytheresearchsurvey.

Thefollowingtwochaptersallowusto followtheprocessof implementingdialogicteachingclosely,throughamosaicofstoriesofteacherswhocollaboratedwithus.Individualcasestudiesgiveanaccountofthetransitionfromclassicteachingtodialogicteaching.Theydocument not only how teachers were coping with their established ways of action andpotentialproblemspreventingthemfromapplyingtheprinciplesofdialogicteaching,butalsotheirabilitytoreflectontheirownteachingandmovetowardschange.Sevencasestudiesare

crownedbyasynthesisdrawingattentiontothefactthatchangingone'sownbehaviourisdifficult,especiallywhereacomplexanddeepchangeistobeachieved.

The book demonstrates that dialogic teaching is practicable, but also that teacherbehaviourcanbeeffectivelyinfluenced.Animportantpointisthatchangemuststemfromteacher experiences – teachers need to try new methods out in practice, explore theirpotentialbenefits,butalsoshortcomingsandlimitations.Thedevelopmentisdrivenbycriticalcommentsbytheresearchers,butteachersthemselveschoosewhichcommentsandinwhatordertheywould liketodealwith. Inaddition, it isalsotheir initiativeto lookforwaystoovercomethedeficienciesidentified. We consider the finding that the nature of development of change is non-linear asignificantcontributionmadebyourresearch.Wereachedtheconclusionthatthealternationof stages of acceleration with stages of stagnation or regress is not an anomaly, but aninevitablepartoftheprocessifacomplexchangeistobeachieved.Inthiscase,disharmonyor conflict between different features occurs easily, leading to a halt in the positivedevelopment.Probablyevenmoreimportantly,wefoundthroughouranalysisthatthestagesof stagnation or regress can be interpreted as a consequence of dissonance that oftensurfacedintheprocessofreflectiveinterviews.Asuperficialassessmentofthesituationmayconclude by saying that the researchers ruined by their interventions the progressmade.However,ouranalysis revealedthat inducingandovercomingofdissonance ledtogreatercomplexityanddeeperanchoringofthechange.Withoutexperiencingandovercomingthedissonance,teacherswouldprobablybecomeentrenchedinmethodsclosesttotheiroriginalroutines. In such case, concentrating on indicatorsmight actually lead to formalism – forinstancethenumberofopenquestionsofhighercognitivedemandwouldincrease,butthestudentswouldrespondtothemonlybriefly,or,asthecasemaybe,manyofthemwouldbeexcludedfromthistypeofquestions.Datashowthatourprocedurewasasfollows:selectasimplepath(indicators)andthenproblematizeit(inducingdissonance). As a result, the development took the form of gradual "clearing" of individualproblems,manyofwhichemergedinthecourseofthechangeasanunexpectedconsequenceofnewlyintroducedmethodsorformsofaction.Thisbringsustoanimportantrealization–changemeansuncertaintyandresultsneednotbealwaysgood.Thisrequiresagreatdealofcourageonthepartofteacherswhoneedtomovebeyondwhatisknown.Andtheyalsoneedpatienceas it takes timebefore thenewlyacquiredpedagogical tools start to serve themeffectively.Allofthiscannotbeachievedwithoutinvestingtime,theamountofwhichcannotbeeasilypredicted,aswellasanenormousamountofenergy.