The research: how student talk fosters learning
Guest Contributor: David Brazer
At TeachFX we emphasize the importance of student talk as a means of generating student engagement and deeper learning.
Experimental research (Saunders & Goldenberg, 2009) demonstrates that students who talk more learn more when that talk is focused on higher-order thinking. In the research, a fourth grade teacher used a technique the authors call instructional conversations (a more academic term for student talk) in a class of predominantly English learners. Students in the experimental group that emphasized open-ended questioning and encouraged student-initiated talk performed better on a content-focused essay compared to students engaged in a recitation-based lesson.
Instructional conversations are set up with direct instruction that prepares students with sufficient content knowledge to answer open-ended questions. The setup may consist of readings, exercises, teacher presentation, videos, review, or some combination. Instructional conversations themselves are generated by open-ended questions and may be sequenced to move from simple to complex and/or from pairs to small groups to large group.
The essay results that measured student growth in this study revealed both better comprehension of prior reading and more nuanced and complex understanding of the focal content. When students formulate original thoughts and express them orally under a teacher’s guidance, learning is enhanced — for English learners and for all students.
The research on instructional conversations
The study (Saunders & Goldenberg, 2009) described in the previous post is unusual because it uses an experimental approach in the classroom to test the efficacy of instructional conversations. Part of its value is that it tested the technique in a manner that kept the experiences of the control and experimental groups distinct from one another and internally consistent.
Generating Instructional Conversations
A graphic representation of Saunders and Glodenberg’s research.
Another strong feature is that a natural means of assessing student growth was used — the post-discussion essay. Research methods used reveal precisely how the authors analyzed the quantitative and qualitative aspects of their approach. Knowing how the study was conceived and carried out helps us understand how to value the results.
Instructional conversations are powerful generators of student learning. We believe this conclusion is robust and applicable beyond the specific grade level and content within which the research took place. Any teacher could adapt and simplify the method to conduct action research on “tracers” that are indicative of students’ use of academic language specific to a particular content area.