The author provides an example of the theory and practice of dialogic learning. By mixing educational and social theory with literature, life narratives, and personal accounts, he creatively narrates the practice of dialogic learning in a seemingly utopian reality: a literary circle in which low-literacy adults enjoy reading books by authors like Kafka, Dostoyevsky and Garcia Lorca. the book highlights both theory and practice; it is both expository and narrative; and it refers as much to educational and social science works as to classical literature.

The author came to the decision to embark on this journey into dialogic pedagogy when he firmly realised that education is essentially dialogic. It is not that pedagogy should be dialogic -- he rather argues that it is always dialogic. This is true whether the participants in it, or outside observers of it, realise it or not -- and even when the participants are resistant to dialogue. This statement is in contrast with views that promote dialogic interaction in the classroom as a form of instruction. This conceptualisation contrasts with views that dialogic interaction or conversational instruction are more effective instructional means in comparison to, let's say, a more monologic genre of instruction such as a lecture or a demonstration. This statement is also in contrast with views that assume dialogue is a pedagogical instrument that can be turned on and off. He argues that whatever teachers and students do (or not do) whether in their classrooms or beyond it, they are locked in dialogic relations.

Dialogue has long been used in primary classrooms to stimulate thinking, but it is not always easy to unite the creative thinking of good dialogue with the need for children to understand the core concepts behind knowledge-rich subjects. A sound understanding of key concepts is essential to progress through the national curriculum, and assessment of this understanding along with effective feedback is central to good practice. Dialogic Education builds upon decades of practical classroom research to offer a method of teaching that applies the power of dialogue to achieving conceptual mastery. Easy-to-follow template lesson plans and activity ideas are provided, each of which has been tried and tested in classrooms and is known to succeed. Providing a structure for engaging children and creating an environment in which dialogue can flourish, this book is separated into three parts: Establishing a classroom culture of learning; Core concepts across the curriculum; Wider dialogues: Educational adventures in the conversation of mankind. Written to support all those in the field of primary education, this book will be an essential resource for student, trainee and qualified primary teachers interested in the educational importance of dialogue.

This book examines social changes affecting education; amplifies case studies of school change; and analyzes the gap between the rhetoric and reality of educational reform.

Across the globe, students are speaking up, walking out, and marching for social and ecological justice. Despite deficit discourses about students, youth are using their voice and agency to call forth a better world. Will educators respond to this call to stand with students in relational solidarity as co-constructors of a new tomorrow? What is possible when teachers and students engage together in new ways? Pedagogies of With-ness: Students, Teachers, Voice and Agency offers insight into the transformative possibilities of education when enacted as the art of being with. Driven by student voices and their experiences of marginalization, this text takes a clear ethical stance. It asserts that students are both capable and competent. Taking a narrative approach, this book honors academic work that is rooted in educational practice. Expanding beyond traditional conceptions of student voice, chapters engage in meditations on three themes: identity, pedagogy, and partnership. This book is an exploration of with-ness, a way of knowing, being, and acting. By centralizing the all-too-often suppressed wisdom of youth, teachers and researchers engage in new forms of critique and possibility-making with students. Editors reflect on this central theme, exploring the dimensions of such pedagogies of with-ness. Through this book, teachers are invited to imagine pedagogy under this new framework, actively committed to students, their voice, and mutual engagement. Click HERE to watch the editors discuss their book. Perfect for courses such as: Social Foundations | Student-Teacher Partnerships | Secondary Methods | Service Learning Leadership Ethnic Studies | Democracy and Civics | Social Justice and Education | Student Voice in Classrooms/Education | Ethical Issues in Education | Leadership for Social Justice

This book provides a wide-ranging and in-depth theoretical perspective on dialogue in teaching. It explores the philosophy of dialogism and explains its importance in teaching and learning. The authors present the core concepts of dialogism as a social theory of language and consider the implications of these ideas for pedagogy.