Dialogue is one of the best vehicles for learning how to think, how to be reasonable, how to make moral decisions and how to understand another person's point of view. It is supremely flexible, instructional, collaborative, and rigorous. At its very best, dialogue is one of the best ways for participants to learn good habits of thinking. There is also substantial evidence that teachers currently talk too much in classes, often only waiting .8 seconds after asking a question before jumping in with the answer if a student doesn't quickly volunteer. This book guides teachers through the different types of dialogue and how they can be used to enhance students' learning.

Teachers will find: • How to build in more "wait time" for better quality thinking and questioning from students • How to use dialogue to teach reasoning, collaboration, and good habits of thinking • The three types of dialogue and how to teach the most effective dialogue: explorative • Dozens of practical strategies for explorative dialogue • Global examples of fun ways to teach dialogue.

If done incorrectly, feedback has minimal effect or even a negative effect. In this book, the authors show how to avoid the common mistakes teachers make in giving feedback. The authors argue that effective feedback answers these three questions: What am I trying to achieve? How much progress have I made so far? And what should I do next?

Using classroom discussions to teach good habits of thinking Classroom discussion has a major effect on student learning. In fact, dialogue is one of the best vehicles for learning how to think, make moral decisions, and understand another person’s point of view. Research also indicates that most teachers talk too much in the classroom and don’t wait long enough for students to respond. How do we improve the quality of classroom discussion? Challenging Learning Through Dialogue transforms the most up-to-date research into practical strategies that work. Readers will learn How to build in more "wait-time" for better quality thinking and questioning from students How to use dialogue to teach reasoning, collaboration, and good habits of thinking The three types of dialogue and how to teach the most effective version: exploratory talk Dozens of practical strategies for exploratory dialogue Global examples of fun ways to teach dialogue An innovative new instructional strategy called Classroom Mysteries Written by an internationally known team of educational innovators, this book is for all educators who aim to use effective classroom dialogue to engage students in learning. "This valuable book is a must for teachers and families who wish to have their children learn to think and communicate with greater precision and clarity." Arthur L. Costa, Ed. D., Professor Emeritus California State University Sacramento and Co-Director, International Institute for Habits of Mind "James Nottingham’s work on Challenging Learning is a critical element of creating Visible Learners. This new series will help teachers hone the necessary pedagogical skills of dialogue, feedback, questioning, and mindset." John Hattie, Professor & Director, Melbourne Education Research Institute University of Melbourne

Through numerous examples in a variety of settings, Vella illustrates the effectiveness of her train-the-trainer program: in Chile with community health educators, in rural Arkansas with small business developers, in rural Vermont with trainers from diverse nonprofit organizations, in Syracuse, New York, with literacy professionals, in a southern U.S. veterans hospital with professionals teaching about substance abuse, and in Haiti with community AIDS educators. Each chapter ends with a summary that invites critique and suggestions and presents indicators of changed behavior from individuals who took part in that particular program.

This is a brand new multi-media resource to support new and experienced primary school teachers develop skills of critical reflection in order to improve teaching and learning. An integrated DVD and textbook present a range of innovative case studies comprising video clips of real teachers in the classroom, together with context and narrative, step-by-step guidance through key issues, and commentary and debate from experts and professionals in the field.

Challenging Learning offers advice and techniques for helping children of all ages develop into confident, thoughtful and independent learners. Based around the acronym ASK (Attitudes, Skills and Knowledge), this essential guide explores attitudes, skills and knowledge to learning. It considers the strategies that can help teachers to challenge their pupils to think more skilfully and logically and how to develop these techniques more effectively. Drawing on the latest research from some of the most respected experts in the field, Challenging Learning encourages independent thinking and a spirit of inquiry in pupils of all ages. Through the use of rich examples of classroom interactions, this book offers strategies that will help pupils to produce their own thoughtful conclusions, develop their own concepts, examine logic and remain open to alternatives. Highlights include: effective teaching strategies including FACTS, the Teaching Target Model and the Learning Pit Models; up-to-date research and theory from leading experts; practical suggestions and principles to help you design and develop your own lessons. For everyone living or working with children – particularly teachers, parents, carers and youth workers - this book shows some of the best ways to enhance children’s learning, including how to question, praise, give feedback and encourage more effectively.