AfL and Dialogue

This resource is available to download as a pdf , or in editable form as a .doc File:AfL and Dialogue.doc. It is in an (edited) wiki form below.

Assessment for learning

Developing strategies that promote classroom dialogue

Use the table below - 'Features of effective dialogue and associated strategies' and our assessment and dialogue resources to provide prompts to help you think about the characteristics of effective dialogue that

• feature strongly in your teaching and the strategies used to achieve them
• are absent or might be improved

	Features of Effective Dialogue
Teacher Strategies	Everyone is engaged with the dialogue	Teacher talk does not over-dominate the dialogue	Pattern of dialogue is 'basketball' rather pingpong	Dialogue is reciprocal, that is, children respond to and build on what others have said	Children's contributions are well- developed sentences or phrases	Children are willing to take risks by sharing partial understanding	Children are willing to challenge each other's ideas in a constructive way	Children demonstrate higher levels of thinking	Children reprocess their thinking as a result of dialogue
Rich questions
Big questions
Higher-order thinking questions
Questions linked to resources or tasks
Peer discussion following a question
Wait time after a teacher question
Wait time after a child's response
Varying length of wait time
No-hands-up questioning
Pausing to survey
Eavesdropping on group dialogue
Cue in children using gestures and
Model prompts and body language to encourage continuation
Acknowledge where children demonstrate effective dialogue
Group Work Strategies

This resource is licenced under an Open Government Licence (OGL).