Building a culture of oracy in your classroom

Building a culture of oracy in your classroom Aims of the session To consider how pupils learn through talk To develop an understanding of different types of talk and how these can support thinking. To become aware of a range of strategies that can be used to promote talk in the classroom. To consider the role of the teacher in developing a discussion-rich classroom

What does an oracy-rich classroom look and sound like? Pupils know how an effective discussion works Pupils listen and learn from each other What does an oracy-rich classroom look and sound like? Tallk is planned for and is an integral part of every lesson Pupils are confident sharing their ideas and can do so effectively

Three kinds of talk in groups Disputational talk There is a lot of disagreement and everyone just makes their own decisions There are few attempts to pool resources, or to offer constructive criticism There are lots of interactions of the ‘Yes it is! – No , it’s not!’ kind The atmosphere is competitive rather than cooperative Cumulative talk Everyone simply accepts and agrees with what other people say Children do use talk to share knowledge but they do so in an uncritical way Children repeat and elaborate each others’ ideas, but they don’t evaluate them carefully

Three kinds of talk Exploratory talk Everyone listens actively People ask questions People share relevant information Ideas may be challenged Reasons are given for challenges Contributions build on what has gone before Everyone is encouraged to contribute Ideas and opinions treated with respect There is an atmosphere of trust There is a sense of shared purpose The group seeks agreement for joint decisions

Presentational talk vs. Exploratory talk Exploratory talk ‘exploratory talk which is typical of the early stages of approaching new ideas […]Exploratory talk is hesitant and incomplete because it enables the speaker to try out ideas, to hear how they sound, to see what others make of them, to arrange information and ideas into different patterns.’ Presentational talk ‘The difference between the two functions of talk is that in presentational talk the speaker’s attention is primarily focused on adjusting the language, content and manner to the needs of an audience, and in exploratory talk the speaker is more concerned with sorting out his or her own thoughts.’ Barnes, 1992

Exploratory talk Presentational talk *Douglas Barnes (Exploratory Talk for Learning) Presentational talk, on the other hand, offers a ‘final draft’ for display and evaluation: it is often heavily influenced by what the audience expects. Presentational talk frequently occurs in response to teachers’ questions when they are testing pupils’ understanding of a topic that has already been taught. Exploratory talk Presentational talk Exploratory talk provides an important means of working on understanding, but learners are unlikely to embark on it unless they feel relatively at ease, free from the danger of being aggressively contradicted or made fun of When learners ‘construct’ meanings they are manipulating what is already available to them from various sources, exploring its possibilities, and seeing what can and cannot be done with it. Teachers should […] consider at what point in the sequence of learning this [presentational talk] should take place. In my view many teachers move towards presentational talk (and writing) too soon, when pupils are still at the stage of digesting new ideas.

Talking and thinking are the same thing. Group activity is good for learning. You can think without words.

University of Cambridge Thinking Together

What is an effective stimulus for talk?

Get pupils talking about talk

Developing a shared language

Talk detectives!

What role does the teacher play in developing a discussion rich classroom?

What does most teacher-pupil talk look like? Initiation Teacher: can anyone remind us what oxygen is? Colin? Response Colin: it’s a gas. Feedback Teacher: yes, that’s right. The IRF exchange Mercer

Talk about literary texts that promotes students’ high-level comprehension has the following characteristics: teachers reformulate and summarise what students say, which provides an opportunity for other students to build on these ideas; teachers encourage students to put the main idea in their own words; teachers press the students for elaboration of their ideas, e.g. ‘How did you know that? Why?’ (Wolf, Crosson & Resnick, 2005) teachers ask authentic questions Students hold the floor for extended periods of time (Wilkinson & Soter, 2009) Mercer

Planning for talk in your classroom Consider the balance between presentational talk and exploratory talk. Where in the teaching/ learning sequence do each of these come in your classroom? How do you share expectations of presentational/ exploratory talk with pupils? How can you structure talk in your classroom? E.g. groupings, talking points, guidelines for talk. How will you plan for different types of talk in your classroom? How will you measure your success? Mercer