In the realm of elementary education, the influence of teacher empathy on Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) remains a critical yet nuanced aspect. This qualitative study explores the integral role of teacher empathy in shaping SEL environments in K-5 classrooms. Teacher empathy, defined as the capacity to perceive situations from students'…

Within the context of schooling, conceptions of literacy are increasingly being associated with the capacity for learners to engage in disciplinary meaning making through face-to-face deliberation and dialogue. In this commentary, the author explores how a conversational infrastructure--meaning routines for talk, norms, scaffolds, and a repertoire…

Interest in reflective practices, within the broader framework of teachers' professional knowledge, has been ongoing in educational research for the past few decades. The idea from which reflection itself stems is that of teachers' agency in their own professional development. The initial positivist approach viewed the relationships between…

This study explores how academics create safe spaces in university classrooms to engage in dialogue about education protest actions in South Africa. Utilising the research methodology of narrative inquiry and the theoretical framework of Pedagogy of Compassion, this paper explores how academics reflect on their responses to change and protest…

Drawing on Robin Alexander's theory and method of 'Dialogic Teaching', this paper engages with debates about the need to reconceptualise the teaching of sexuality education. By exploring the complexities of educating about sex and sexuality it calls for attention to be paid to the how patterns of talk may function to open up spaces for more robust…

In this paper we examine two systematic observation methods intended to be used by pre-service and in-service teachers to help increase their awareness of children's participation in productive classroom dialogue. We identify the affordances of these methods for supporting teachers' reflective practice, focusing in this case on students' equitable…

Prior research across disciplines has established the value of dialogic, whole-class discussions. Previous studies have often defined discussions in opposition to the notorious triadic pattern called recitation, or IRE/F, focusing on variations to the teacher's initiating question or evaluative follow-up on students' responses. Recent scholarship…

Research has documented that mathematics teachers rarely use communicative activities; activities that allow for the sharing of ideas and clarification of understandings (NCTM, 2000). Teacher metacognitive awareness provides a possible framework for understanding the difficulties secondary mathematics teachers face when attempting to incorporate…

A new methodology is proposed for qualitative discourse analysis (QDA) aimed at gaining enhanced insights into learning possibilities and indicators that arise during classroom group discussions. The constitution of this new methodology has two principle components: a discourse analysis approach that aims to identify the relationships between…

Racial tensions have been part of the landscape on college campuses since before the Civil Rights Movement. Not only was racism experienced on college campuses, but spaces were not created for conversations about these tensions. Dialogue in the classroom is needed, especially with the increasing diversity of college students. Dialogue skills are…

Talk is a key component of teaching and learning and teacher talk is an important part of how a teacher teaches. This paper discusses principles and approaches for analysing teacher talk in classroom interaction in order to investigate its effectiveness. The paper presents four reasons for analysing teacher talk: the role of interaction in the…

This conceptual paper presents the concept of second order teaching as developed by the authors. The concept was developed through system theoretical concepts as second order observation and context learning, and it relates to theories on metacognition -- thinking about thinking. Implications for teaching and learning are described, and the paper…

The aim of consensus is essential to deliberative democracy. However, this aim has also been frequently criticized. In this article, I present two different forms of criticism against consensus in democratic education. The first, articulated by scholars of education for democracy, claims that the aim of consensus fails to account for the…

This article focuses on one common type of many different classroom discussions, open-strategy sharing (OSS), because it offers a starting point for teachers new to mathematical discussions. The goal of an OSS discussion is to explore multiple possible ways to solve a single mathematical task. Students share strategies, listen to others'…

This study aimed to explore Ethiopian middle school physics teachers' content knowledge (CK) and their implementation of Dialogic teaching (DT). A qualitative method, case study design, and purposive and convenient sampling employed in the study. Data collected using Classroom observation and Questionnaire from nine physics teachers. The…