8: Improving the Quality of Children’s Discussions about Learning

Long gone are the days when we might, as educators, expect – or desire – children to be silent in class. This chapter argues in favour of making space for pupil talk in order to enhance learning. The context for this chapter is the maths classroom, however, there is relevance for any educator – in any subject – seeking to encourage pupils to engage more deeply, and take a more critical approach to learning.

There is a growing body of research emphasising the role of pupil talk in learning (Leat & Higgins, 2002; McGrane & Lofthouse, 2010; Nichols, 2006) with some evidence suggesting that ‘by verbalizing their reasoning [pupils] accept reasoning at a higher level than they start out with’ (Hu et al., 2010, p. 5). In other words, by explaining their thinking – even obvious mistakes – pupils begin to identify errors or inconsistencies in their own reasoning, thereby developing understanding. Indeed, by cutting short discussions and simply giving children correct answers we may actually inhibit learning as ‘the right answer often puts a stop to the child’s thinking’ (Fisher, 1995, p. 173). Instead, allowing children to discuss their thinking makes it more ‘visible’ (McGregor & Gunter, 2006, p. 29), allowing us, as educators, to identify gaps and misconceptions as well as next steps for teaching and learning. In this way, talk has the potential to generate ‘a feedback loop, which has the potential to raise attainment’ (McGrane & Lofthouse, 2010, p. 94).