Abstract
Only a few studies have dealt with the challenge of bridging the linguistic gap between the dialogic realm and the talk of disengaged students. Bridging this gap is particularly relevant to the CSCL community since one of its utmost aims is to promote the dialogic. This study aims to articulate how to harness the CSCL design and affordances to enhance dialogic pedagogy with disengaged students. Using temporal analysis of philosophical discussions for children, we focus on three disengaged 8th grade students participating in successive discussions mediated by a CSCL tool (Argunaut), and follow the way they talk with their peers in the classroom. The study shows the gradual emergence of the dialogic among those students. We describe the transition of their talk moves, from initially reproducing the way they talk to adopting dialogical norms. To explain this we conceptualize the notion of carriers of discursive norms and discuss its transformative role in dialogue. The dialogic transition was made possible by the pedagogical design and the design of the CSCL tools. These affordances allowed the students change the meaning of the conversational building blocks of space, silence, addressee, and the ethics of talk.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adler, M. J. (1984). The Paideia program: An educational syllabus. New York: Macmillan.
Alexander, R.J. (2004). Towards dialogic teaching: Rethinking classroom talk. Dialogos.
Alexander, R. J. (2008). Essays on pedagogy. New-York: Routledge.
Baker, M., Quignard, M., Lund, K., & Séjourné, A. (2003). Computer-supported collaborative learning in the space of debate. In B. Wasson, S. Ludvigsen, & U. Hoppe (Eds.), Designing for change in networked learning environments: Proceedings of the International Conference on Computer Support for Collaborative Learning (pp. 11–20). Dordrecht: Kluwer.
Baker, M., Andriessen, J., Lund, K., van Amelsvoort, M., & Quignard, M. (2007). Rainbow: A framework for analysing computer-mediated pedagogical debates. International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning, 2, 315–357.
Baker, M., Bernard, F. X., & Dumez‐Féroc, I. (2012). Integrating computer‐supported collaborative learning into the classroom: The anatomy of a failure. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 28(2), 161–176.
Bakhtin, M. M. (1981). The dialogical imagination. Austin: University of Texas Press.
Bernstein, B. (1972). A sociolinguistic approach to socialization; with some references to educability. In: J. J. Gumperz and D. Hymes (Eds.), Directions in Sociolinguistics (pp. 472–496). Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.
Blommaert, J. (2005). Discourse: A critical introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Cobb, P., Stephan, M., McClain, K., & Gravemeijer, K. (2001). Participating in classroom mathematical practice. The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 10(1&2), 113–163.
Cremin, A. L. (1961). The transformation of the school. New York: Vintage Books.
Dudley-Marling, C., & Michaels, S. (2012). High-expectation curricula: Helping all students succeed with powerful learning. New York: Teachers College Press.
Garfinkel, H. (1984). Studies in ethnomethodology. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Gumperz, J. J. (1982). Discourse strategies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hardman, M., & Delafield, B. (2010). Philosophy for children as dialogic teaching. In K. Littleton & C. Howe (Eds.), Educational dialogues: Understanding and promoting productive interaction (pp. 149–164). London: Routledge.
Holquist, M. (2002). Dialogism: Bakhtin and his world (2nd ed.). London: Routledge.
Honneth, A. (1996). The struggle for recognition: The moral grammar of social conflicts. Cambridge: The MIT Press.
Hymes, D. H. (1980). Language in education: Ethnolinguistic essays. Washington, D.C: Center for the Applied Linguistics.
Hymes, D. H. (1996). Ethnography, linguistics, narrative inequality: Toward an understanding of voice. London: Taylor & Francis.
Johnstone, B. (2008). Discourse analysis. Malden, MA: Blackwell.
Lipman, M. (1988). Philosophy goes to school. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Lipman, M. (2003). Thinking in education (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Lipman, M., & Sharp, M. (1978). Growing up with philosophy. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Lipman, M., Sharp, A. M., & Oscanyan, F. S. (1980). Philosophy in the classroom. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Ludvigsen, S., Lund, A., & Rasmussen, I. (2011). Learning across sites: New tools, infrastructures and practices. New York: Routledge.
Lund, A., & Eiliv Hague, T. (2011). Changing objects in knowledge-creation practices. In S. Ludvigsen, I. Rasmussen, A. Lund & R. Säljö, (Eds.), Learning across sites: New tools, infrastructures and practices (pp. 206–221). New York: Routledge.
Mehan, H. (1979). Learning lessons. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Mercer, N. (2004). Sociocultural discourse analysis: Analysing classroom talk as a social mode of thinking. Journal of Applied Linguistics, 1(2), 137–168.
Mercer, N. (2008). The seeds of time: Why classroom dialogue needs a temporal analysis. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 17(1), 33–59.
Mercer, N. (2010). The analysis of classroom talk: Methods and methodologies. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 80(1), 1–14.
Mercer, N., & Littleton, K. (2007). Dialogue and the development of children’s thinking. New York: Routledge.
Mercer, N., Warwick, P., Kershner, R., & Staarman, J. K. (2010). Can the interactive whiteboard help to provide ‘dialogic space’ for children’s collaborative activity? Language and Education, 24(5), 367–384.
Mirza, N. M., & Perret-Clermont, A. N. (Eds.). (2009). Argumentation and education: Theoretical foundations and practices. New York: Springer.
Mirza, N. M., Tartas, V., Perret-Clermont, A. N. & de Pietro, J. F. (2007). Using graphical tools in a phased activity for enhancing dialogical skills: An example with Digalo. International journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning, 2, 247–272. doi:10.1007/s11412-007-9021-5.
Nikulin, D. V. (2006). On dialogue. Lanham: Lexington Books.
Nystrand, M. (2003). Questions in time: Investigating the structure and dynamics of unfolding classroom discourse. Discourse Processes, 35(2), 135–198.
Passmore, J. A. (1970). Philosophical reasoning (2nd ed.). London: G. Duckworth.
Pifarré, M., & Staarman, J. K. (2011). Wiki-supported collaborative learning in primary education: How a dialogic space is created for thinking together. International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning, 6(2), 187–205.
Psathas, G. (1995). Conversation analysis: The study of talk-in-interaction. London: Sage.
Rampton, B., & Harris, B. (2010). Change in urban classroom culture and interaction. In K. Littleton & C. Howe (Eds.), Educational dialogues: Understanding and promoting productive interaction (pp. 240–264). London: Routledge.
Sacks, H., & Jefferson, G. (1992). Lectures on conversation. Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
Schwarz, B. B. (2009). Argumentation and learning. In N. Muller-Mirza & A.-N. Perret-Clermont (Eds.), Argumentation and education – theoretical foundations and practices (pp. 91–126). New York: Springer.
Schwarz, B. B., & Asterhan, C. S. C. (2011). E-moderation of synchronous discussions in educational settings: A nascent practice. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 20(3), 395–442.
Schwarz, B. B., & De Groot, R. (2007). Argumentation in a changing world. International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning, 2(2–3), 297–313.
Schwarz, B. B., Schur, Y., Pensso, H., & Tayer, N. (2011). Perspective taking and synchronous argumentation for learning the day/night cycle. International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning, 6(1), 113–138.
Simon, S., Johnson, S., Cavell, S., & Parsons, T. (2012). Promoting argumentation in primary science contexts: An analysis of students’ interactions in formal and informal learning environments. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 28(5), 440–453.
Singer, P. (1993). Practical ethics (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Slakmon B. & Schwarz, B.B. (2013). The contagious effect of dialogism with new technologies. In N. Rummel, M. Kapur, M. Nathan, & S. Puntambekar (Eds.), To see the world and a grain of sand: Learning across levels of space, time and scale. CSCL 2013 Conference Proceedings (pp. 161–165).
Stahl, G. (2006). Group cognition: Computer support for building collaborative knowledge. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.
Stahl, G. (2011). Social practices of group cognition in virtual math teams. In S. Ludvigsen, I. Rasmussen, A. Lund, & R. Säljö (Eds.), Learning across sites (pp. 190–205). London: Routledge.
Topping, K. J., & Trickey, S. (2007). Collaborative philosophical enquiry for school children: Cognitive effects at 10–12 years. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 77(2), 271–288.
Trickey, S., & Topping, K. J. (2006). Collaborative philosophical enquiry for school children socio-emotional effects at 11 to 12 years. School Psychology International, 27(5), 599–614.
Wegerif, R. (2007). Dialogic education and technology: Expanding the space of learning (Vol. 7). New York: Springer.
Wegerif, R., McLaren, B. M., Chamrada, M., Scheuer, O., Mansour, N., Mikšátko, J., et al. (2010). Exploring creative thinking in graphically mediated synchronous dialogues. Computers & Education, 54(3), 613–621.
Wortham, S. (2006). Learning identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Zhang, J., Scardamalia, M., Reeve, R., & Messina, R. (2009). Designs for collective cognitive responsibility in knowledge-building communities. The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 18(1), 7–44.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank the four anonymous reviewers for their supportive and in-depth comments. The first author would like to thank his colleagues in the ‘Chevruta’ research group. We wish to thank Rotem Abdu, Dani Ben-Zvi, Gerry Stahl, and Rupert Wegerif, for their helpful comments on drafts of this paper. We wish to thank the staff at the school in which the study was developed and conducted, especially to Shai Melamed, Avi Ben-Moshe, Yfat Gal, Yossefa Elkabetz, Niva Barda, Gila Ben-Yossef, Yafit Shriki-Megidish, Sara Brom, Tami Liani, Dr. Avi Golan, and Michal Franco-Dvash. The first author is also indebted to the Mandel Leadership Institute for providing the ideal context for writing this paper. Finally, we wish to deeply thank our students.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Slakmon, B., Schwarz, B.B. Disengaged students and dialogic learning: the role of CSCL affordances. Intern. J. Comput.-Support. Collab. Learn. 9, 157–183 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11412-014-9191-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11412-014-9191-x