Dialogic teaching means finding out what students think, engaging with their developing ideas and helping them to talk through misunderstandings.
Dialogic teaching is about:
- Eliciting, explaining and comparing and contrasting ideas (“not all ideas are born equal!”).
- Achieving a balance between instructional, ‘authoritative’ teacher talk and more open discussion with students.
- Modelling and demonstrating useful ways of using language.
- Encouraging students to take extended turns in classroom discussions and not evaluating their responses immediately.
- Using students’ ideas and perspectives in teaching, by building on and challenging them.
- Making the most effective use of group work for exploration of ideas in a safe context.
- Using whole class discussion to reveal what students think and to stimulate their reasoning.
- Engaging all students actively in learning activities.

Read more about planning tips to encourage classroom talk
Whole class dialogue
Indicators and ways of promoting whole-class dialogue
Dialogue between peers
Indicators of dialogic interactions between learners