Ideas, Evidence and Argument

Developing dialogic teaching

“ Knowing why the wrong idea is wrong matters just as much as Knowing why the right idea is right”

What is dialogic teaching?

Collective: teachers and children address learning tasks together, as a group or as a class.

Reciprocal: teachers and children listen to each other, share ideas and consider alternative viewpoints.

Supportive: children articulate their ideas freely, without fear of embarrassment over "wrong" answers; and they help each other to reach common understandings.

Cumulative: teachers and children build on their own and each other's ideas and chain them into coherent lines of thinking and enquiry.

Purposeful: teachers plan and steer classroom talk with specific educational goals which are chosen based on prior lessons.

Learning goals

• Cognitive learning goals – Ability to reason and think

• Epistemic learning goals – “How do we know”

• Social learning goals – Develop use of subject specific language and terminology, interaction and listening.

Structure

• My idea is…..• The evidence to support my idea is…..• This evidence supports my idea because…..• Arguments against my idea are…..• I would convince someone who doesn’t

believe me by…….

Statement Agree/Disagree/ Unsure Evidence

Salty water is a compound

Air is a mixture of different elements and/or compounds

Elements have only one type of atom in them

Elements can join together to form compounds

Pure substances are substances that don't have harmful things in

them

Food miles

Using the information you have found out do you think it is ok to carry on importing fruit and vegetables into the UK or should we use alternative local sources?

Give examples to support your ideas.You must relate to: • The Environment.• The Economy.• Society.

Each person in your group must be finding out information about one of these and collecting strong evidence to SUPPORT your argument.

Extended project

The aim of the exercise is for pupils to generate arguments for and against the funding of a new zoo.

In this activity pupils have the opportunity to:• Generate ideas• Learn to use evidence to

justify conclusions• Construct arguments

collaboratively

Stimulation Q’s. • Are wild animals killed by

hunters and poachers?• Are animals in Zoos well

fed?• Can zoos release animals

back to the wild?• Would animals have become

extinct of it wasn’t for zoos?• Do Zoos allow scientists to

study rare animals?

Toulmin Model of Argument

The purpose

• The aim is to establish a way of thinking for students which encourages them to check they have all the facts necessary before making a final conclusion.

• In line with PEED.• Gives individuals a clear structure to work

through.• Can encourage motivation and enjoyment in

lessons.

Links

• http://www.robinalexander.org.uk/dialogic-teaching/