Dialogic Learning
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Dialogic learning emphasizes learning through conversation by having learners converse and asking questions, sharing their experiences and feelings. The aim is to deepen their understanding and social skills. Dialogic learning develops critical thinking skills and advances empathy for peers. Bakhtin (1986) differentiates dialogic learning by the answers supplied by learners that lead to new questions. It is often contrasted with teacher centered traditional classroom learning. Dialogic learning is active and highly collaborative.
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Dialogic learning is meant to be performed in community, or for community. Dialogic learning requires a minimum of two people engaged in either verbal or written discourse. Multiple dialogues allow for a complex understanding of society resulting in a broader world view. Multiple dialogues also spawn nuance. Wegerif (2006) believed facts and knowledge have an expiration date, but knowledge gained through dialogue is constantly being constructed, deconstructed, and reconstructed. Resnick et al. (2018) shows students that engaged in dialogic learning score higher than control groups, had greater retention, showed improved reasoning and data transfer.engaged in either verbal or written discourse. Multiple dialogues allow for a complex understanding of society resulting in a broader world view. Multiple dialogues also spawn nuance. Wegerif (2006) believed facts and knowledge have an expiration date, but knowledge gained through dialogue is constantly being constructed, deconstructed, and reconstructed. Resnick et al. (2018) shows students that engaged in dialogic learning score higher than control groups, had greater retention, showed improved reasoning and data transfer.
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To utilize dialogic learning in your courses, recommend a classroom set up that facilitates group discussion like round tables and/or U shape desk set up. Anything where the learners are facing each other is helpful for dialogue. Choose a topic with wide appeal, or where new knowledge is not the focus; and where experience can elevate the learners. The key to dialogic learning is the development of good open-ended questions. Development of open-ended questions is a skill that needs to be developed and honed over time by facilitators.
Tips on how to use dialogic learning
Dialogic learning can take shape in the form of classroom discussions, debates, role-playing activities, and collaborative projects.
It is learner centered, so the majority of insight knowledge and revelations should be made by the learner and guided by a facilitator.
Facilitators need to create an environment conducive to learning by respecting diversity, pursuing fundamental equality and eschewing homogenization.
References
Bakhtin, M. M. (1986). The Bildungsroman and its significance in the history of realism. In C. Emerson & M. Holquist (Eds.), Speech genres and other late essays (pp. 10–21). University of Texas Press.
Racionero, S., & Valls, R. (2007). Dialogic learning: A communicative approach to teaching and learning. In B. J. Irby, G. Brown, R. Lara-Alecio, & S. Jackson (Eds.), The Praeger handbook of education and psychology (Vol. 3, pp. 548–557). Praeger.
Resnick, L. B., Asterhan, C. S., Clarke, S. N., & Schantz, F. (2018). Next generation research in dialogic learning. In D. H. Fisher, C. E. Hmelo-Silver, S. R. Goldman, & P. Reimann (Eds.), The Wiley handbook of teaching and learning (pp. 323–338). Wiley Blackwell.
Wegerif, R. (2006). Dialogic education: What is it and why do we need it? Education Review, 19(2), 58–69.