Abstracts - Earli

visible that collaboration processes show cognitive, social and affective dimensions which cannotbe separated because they are integral to the process of collaborative knowledge building. Thesymposium will end with a discussion of the papers led by Karen Littleton.From exploratory talk to exploratory teaching talk. The dynamics of teaching through dialogue.Judith Kleine Staarman, University of Cambridge, United KingdomNeil Mercer, University of Cambridge, United KingdomThis paper describes research on dialogue between teachers and students in primary and secondaryclassrooms. A central concept for our investigation is ‘dialogic teaching’, which, using the recentcomparative, cross-cultural research of Alexander as a basis, has been strongly identified witheffective classroom teaching. A second key concept is ‘Exploratory Talk’, a form of reasoneddiscussion which our own research has shown is associated with successful problem solving insmall groups. In the current paper, we bring these two concepts together in an analysis of thestrategies that teachers can use to engage students in constructive dialogues related to the teachingand learning of science. The research provides new insights into the discursive processes ofteaching and learning in science classrooms and how teachers can use dialogue to support studentlearning more effectively. Using qualitative and quantitative methods we have identified‘Exploratory Teaching Talk’ as a specific kind of whole class dialogue within various possibleteaching strategies that form part of a dialogic pedagogy. As with Exploratory Talk, ExploratoryTeaching Talk aims to open up a dialogic space in which people are expected to participate, ideasare compared, mistakes are allowed and agreement and shared understanding is sought. We arguethat the teacher and the students need to establish ground rules for this kind of dialogue to becomepossible because the normative basis for this type of whole-class interaction is fundamentallydifferent from more common and well-established transmissive and authoritative styles ofinteraction.The generality versus specificity of using exploratory talk in different tasks.Sylvia Rojas-Drummond, National Autonomous Univerity of Mexico, MexicoNancy Mazon, National Autonomous Univerity of Mexico, MexicoGuadalupe Vega, National Autonomous Univerity of Mexico, MexicoMaricela Velez, National Autonomous Univerity of Mexico, MexicoIn this paper we will compare the talk used by 6th grade children (11 to 12 years old) in twodifferent tasks. In both tasks children worked in triads. The children studied in a state primaryschool in Mexico City and came from a poor socioeconomic background. They participated in aninnovative educational program called "Learning Together". This programme strives to form alearning community with the participation of the children, their teachers, the administrationauthorities and University researchers. The first task administered to the children was a closed task– an adaptation of the Ravens Test of Progressive Matrices created by R. Wegerif. In this type oftask there is only one correct answer to the problem. In contrast, the second task is an open onewhere there is not one correct solution. In particular, the task is a psycholinguistic problem wherechildren have to read three texts of different linguistic genres. One is a note from anEncyclopaedia, the second one is a news report and the third one corresponds to an interview. Alltexts are genuine and talk about the same topic. Children had to read the three texts and write asummary integrating them. Results will be reported comparing the use of the talk by the childrenin the close versus the open task.– 588 –