Research School Network: High quality dialogue – Yes, but what does it look like? By Rachael Wilson, Deputy Director of Norfolk Research School and Year 6 teacher

We know that we should develop our pupils’ language capabilities (as outlined in recommendation 1 of the EEF’s Guidance Report: Improving Literacy in KS2). The report recommends that we should use purposeful speaking and listening activities and promote high quality dialogue, using collaborative learning activities where pupils can share their thought processes. But what does this look like in practice?

With experience, teachers become experts in understanding that even the most seemingly simple of classroom activities sits suspended on a complex web of prior experiences and knowledge, and that every task will fly or fail on the way we introduce, instruct or support it.

Teaching approaches that emphasise the importance of spoken language and verbal interaction have been shown to have a high impact on pupil outcomes, but this goes way beyond simply including a ​“speaking” element to our lessons.

In this Clip from the Classroom, we see Lisa Jaworski, a Year 5 teacher from a rural school in Cambridgeshire, working with a group of children on scaffolded discussion. She elaborates on the approaches used to make this evidence come to life in the classroom, directly benefiting pupils.

What does high quality dialogue look like? Take a look at the video to see one class in action.