ABSTRACT

In this chapter, the authors provide highlights from their program of work to show how the particulars of dialogic interaction, the classroom participation settings in which interaction occurs, shape conclusions about productive dialogic interaction in the classroom. They focus on two ways in which student participation in dialogic interaction is enacted: students can explain their own thinking, and they can engage with others’ ideas. The mathematics assessments measured the sophistication and validity of students’ problem-solving strategies. In line with the Cognitively Guided Instruction foundation undergirding the research, the coding of student participation in dialogic interaction and teacher support for student participation built in heightened sensitivity to the mathematical detail of the interactions. Explaining one’s thinking and engaging with others’ ideas are at the heart of many researchers’ perspectives on productive classroom dialogue. They feature in N. Mercer’s “Exploratory Talk”, where everyone in the classroom offers the relevant information they have and engages critically but constructively with each other’s ideas.