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.