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This small case study investigated the use of the Quality Talk framework to empower students to pool their knowledge in group discussions around a novel topic or event. The main goals of the Quality Talk approach were to provide teachers with a prescriptive framework for increasing their students' critical-analytical thinking by providing greater opportunity for student voice. The quasi-experimental methodology involved students and a teacher from a low socioeconomic secondary school in a large city in New Zealand in the curriculum area of Geography. The students, on self-report, identified as coming from predominantly Pasifika backgrounds. Following the intervention and additional opportunities to conduct group discussions, many of the students identified how other opinions contributed to their understanding of the topic. An episode of talk is considered a 'dialogic spell', rather than a discussion, if the discussion begins with a student's question and is followed by at least two more questions from other students. When students used higher numbers of uptake questions and high-level questions, they increased their levels of 'dialogic spell'. The students' increase of critical-analytical thinking in their pre- and post-test was assessed and graded. The study was important because it also showed that when the teacher relinquished their role as facilitator of the discussions, the students self-facilitated the dialogue amongst themselves., This case study aimed to contribute to our knowledge about the effectiveness of group discussions among a group of secondary school students, in a low socio-economic environment, using a Quality [...]

An enduring problem in English curriculum and pedagogy is that listening and speaking, as intricately interconnected interactional practices, are often treated separately. In classroom discussions, attention is predominantly drawn to vocalisation as the key element of dialogue. Furthermore, listening as a silent embodied activity, is often taken to be either passive or a behavioural performance to be demonstrated; yet understanding what this means in practice remains not well understood by teachers. This article considers how different responses demonstrate listening actively in classroom lessons. Drawing on data gathered in practitioner action research conducted in twelve primary classrooms where teachers deliberately sought to promote dialogic pedagogies, lesson transcripts are examined to further understand how listening is connected to recipiency, meaning-making and co-production in talk-in-interaction in the multipartied conversations experienced in lessons. Conversation analysis delineates five interaction responses practices displaying activeness in listening. By drawing attention to the intricacies and multidimensionality of listening in classroom discussions, how the different dimensions align with a dialogic ideology are considered. It is argued that teacher knowledge of these realms of listening will assist teachers to recognise 'active' listening among and between students in lessons., Introduction Listening is a fundamental aspect of productive classroom discourse. However, a problem with listening is accentuated in many classrooms where students' listening is attributed to behaviour signalled through constant [...]

This paper investigates the types of talk moves used by teachers and students following the implementation of a dialogic teaching professional development program. It draws on talk data derived from 42 video-recorded primary English lessons collected as part of a larger impact evaluation of the intervention. The video recordings were subjected to a systematic analysis and quantification of teacher and student talk moves together with a more nuanced, micro-level analysis of a sub-sample of 18 lesson transcripts. The findings showed that teachers in the intervention compared to the control schools made significantly greater use of discussion and dialogue, characterised by open/authentic initiation questions and follow-up talk moves that resulted in students participating more in the whole-class talk and elaborating on their thinking and that of other students. Implications of the findings for classroom practice and teacher professional development are discussed., Introduction Promoting the use of spoken language in the classroom for students' cognitive, social and linguistic development is seen as one of the major goals of education (Alexander, 2018). In [...]

Classroom dialogue has been the focus of educationists' attention for over 60 years (Myhill 2018), most recently manifest in the work of Alexander (2017); Edwards-Groves & Davidson (2017); Resnick, Michaels & O'Connor (2010) and Mercer, Dawes & Kleine Staarman (2009). In concert with this work, systemic functional linguists have developed useful tools for describing the character and quality of talk in classrooms (e.g. Christie, 2002; Hammond & Gibbons, 2005). However, despite such activity, the interaction patterns through which learners become constituted as more or less successful remain largely invisible to many teachers and students. This paper builds on recent work exploring the intersection of systemic functional linguistics (SFL) and dialogic pedagogy (Jones & Hammond, 2019). Here, we report on collaborative research from three different Australian classrooms in which teachers worked to enhance the quality of talk (Jones, Simpson & Thwaite, 2018). We draw on SFL (Halliday & Matthiessen, 1999), in particular, the systems of Speech Function (Eggins & Slade, 1997) and Exchange Structure (Martin & Rose, 2007), to illuminate how different pedagogic practices are enacted in the unfolding interactions between teachers and students. We argue that a functional linguistic approach makes visible, in a theoretically principled way, how micro-level adjustments to talk patterns can lead to more productive, dialogic classrooms., Introduction The burgeoning of interest in classroom dialogue that we are currently witnessing is by no means new. The study of classroom talk has a long and rich history informed [...]

Marx notoriously claimed that Judaism was particularistic and must be sacrificed in the process of universal human emancipation. In the past few decades, some Marxists have responded to Marx's alleged antisemitism and attempted to rethink his work in relation to Jewish identity by supplementing his theory with poststructuralist critiques of universality. However, such methods risk ontologizing both Jewish identity and universal emancipation, being blind to how their conditions change historically. Moishe Postone's rereading of Marx's work enables us to avoid the political pitfalls associated with both the violent teleology of the universal and the radical indeterminacy of the particular by historicizing them in relation to capitalism. This article brings Postone's work into dialogue with other Marxists and argues that he presents a Jewish, nonteleogical reading of Marx's theory of history, which is especially relevant for us today. Key words: Marxism, Jewish identity, antisemitism, capitalism, Since its publication in 1844, Karl Marx's 'On the Jewish Question' has haunted Marxism. Scholars have generally treated the text in one of two ways. At one extreme are those [...]

Purpose: Despite the import of conversational entrainment to successful spoken dialogue, the systematic characterization of this behavioral syncing phenomenon represents a critical gap in the field of speech pathology. The goal of this study was to acoustically characterize conversational entrainment in the context of dysarthria using a multidimensional approach previously validated in healthy populations (healthy conversations; Borrie, Barrett, Willi, & Berisha, 2019). Method: A large corpus of goal-oriented conversations between participants with dysarthria and healthy participants (disordered conversations) was elicited using a 'spot the difference' task. Expert clinical assessment of entrainment and a measure of conversational success (communicative efficiency) was obtained for each of the audio-recorded conversations. Conversational entrainment of acoustic features representing rhythmic, articulatory, and phonatory dimensions of speech was identified using cross-recurrence quantification analysis with clinically informed model parameters and validated with a sham condition involving conversational participants who did not converse with one another. The relationship between conversational entrainment and communicative efficiency was examined. Results: Acoustic evidence of entrainment was observed in phonatory, but not rhythmic and articulatory, behavior, a finding that differs from healthy conversations in which entrainment was observed in all speech signal dimensions. This result, that disordered conversations showed less acoustic entrainment than healthy conversations, is corroborated by clinical assessment of entrainment in which the disordered conversations were rated, overall, as being less in sync than healthy conversations. Furthermore, acoustic entrainment was predictive of communicative efficiency, corroborated by a relationship between clinical assessment and the same outcome measure. Conclusions: The findings confirm our hypothesis that the pathological speech production parameters of dysarthria disrupt the seemingly ubiquitous phenomenon of conversational entrainment, thus advancing entrainment deficits as an important variable in dysarthria, one that may have causative effects on the success of everyday communication. Results further reveal that while this approach provides a broad overview, methodologies for characterizing conversational entrainment in dysarthria must continue to be developed and refined, with a focus on clinical utility. Supplemental Material: https://osf.io/ktg5q, Conversational entrainment, the communication phenomenon whereby communication partners synchronize their behavior, is considered key to productive and fulfilling communicative interactions. This relationship has been observed with entrainment of numerous verbal [...]

Over the past quarter century, charter schools have evolved from a fringe educational philosophy to a prominent academic option for American school children and their families. While the history and political positioning of charter schools have been well documented, the tenet of choice continues to be central in the debate regarding the merit of the charter alternative to traditional public schools. In this essay, I seek to dispel the notion that choice is a simple selection between binary opportunities, but rather a complex exchange between stakeholders. I present how educational options such as charters present a different paradigm of values when compared to precedents of the common schools of the mid-nineteenth century and established public education policy. Although some practices in charter schools may challenge the comforts of long-standing educational traditions, I assert that within these choices there may be opportunity for the music education community to truly reimagine its practices. I conclude with a call to music educators to make important decisions regarding charter schools and music education. Thoughtful steps can be taken to develop this curricular conversation and music educators have a professional duty to begin the dialogue. Failing to do so will be, by default, a choice to limit music education to traditional venues, thereby ignoring one of the fastest growing educational enterprises of our generation and an opportunity to provide a music education for all. Keywords: Charter schools, choice, curriculum, advocacy, Charter school advocates assert educational choice is an important option for all school children. Over the past quarter century, the underlying philosophy behind this choice has driven charter proponents to [...]

State-owned enterprises (SOEs), in the aggregate, emit more energy greenhouse gases than the entire European Union and every country except China. SOEs are also major providers of zero-carbon power and other low-carbon alternatives. Succeeding in the low-carbon transition will require their engagement. Yet, they receive relatively little attention in the global dialogue on climate mitigation. In contrast to private sector companies, many of these SOEs operate under conditions that mute the impact of carbon pricing mechanisms. Moreover, they have government owners that can and are willing to use their shareholder power to support low-carbon SOE action. These distinctive features of SOEs alter the suite of climate policies and instruments to influence their operations to lower emissions. Government ownership of SOEs can provide a useful avenue for effective climate action, with the right tools ... but challenges exist, particularly government ambivalence about climate action. Given the important but under-appreciated and under-analyzed role that SOEs will have to play in reducing emissions, this paper will identify some of the opportunities and challenges in generating greater SOE engagement in the low-carbon transition, a climate outcome that cannot happen without them., INTRODUCTION Government-owned enterprises are frequently viewed as wasteful, inefficient entities that burden economies or, even worse, operate as conduits for corruption and political patronage. As a result, there is significant [...]

Studies in higher education and womanist scholarship have shown that black women in academia are pressed to shoulder a matrix of raced and gendered expectations and perceptions that negatively impact their personal and professional quality of life. In this essay, I bring these two sources together to underscore the urgency of this issue and the imperative for all persons, and especially black men, to rise to the challenge. My essay consists of three parts: 1) a discussion of the history and function of 'Mammy' as a trope of black womanhood and its manifestation as a significant problem for black women in academia; 2) an interpretation of Emilie Townes's notion of communal lament among black women scholars and colleagues as an extension of self-care and as a practice of resistance; 3) a recommendation for male scholars to share the burdens of black women scholars through dialogue in the work of solidarity. Keywords: academia, black men, dialogue, solidarity, womanism, I tell you, being a Black woman--be strong, they say. Support your man. Raise a man. Think like a man. Well damn, I gotta do all that--who's out here working [...]

Ethnic Studies classrooms in many respects are spaces wherein healing, solidarity, and social change occur, particularly surrounding discussions about race. The discussion around race is a language in itself--complete with levels of engagement. Students from privileged groups may not have many opportunities to explore the language of race and marginalization, thus being an 'outsider' to the language of these experiences. This often times leads to miscommunication and missing meaningful engagement toward collective social action and change in classroom spaces. As a result, students have powerful emotional responses to these topics, and if students' affective and intellectual responses are not acknowledged and respected, teachers can be met with what is perceived as impermeable resistance. Drawing from the framework of Critical Race Theory, this qualitative work presents tenets of race as a language that allows for understanding identity formation and entry point into conversations of race and ethnicity. Furthermore, consistent dialogue as a way of gaining proficiency and a space for marginalized identities to share their lived experiences as a way to build upon their proficiency. This research assists in expanding the work in the pedagogy of Ethnic Studies as a space to radically connect, heal, and implement social change. KEYWORDS: Critical Race Theory, dialogue, classrooms, Ethnic Studies, language, listening, pedagogy, My introduction to Ethnic Studies is a case in point of this language of experience. I teach Ethnic Studies courses--cultures, lived experiences, and topics of ethnic identity are the central [...]

Over the course of a ten-month stay in Berlin from 1928 to 1929, W.H. Auden encountered a group of heterodox psychologists and lay analysts whose teachings would help shape his theories of illness, sexuality, and desire. In his experimental writing of that period, Auden constructs an idiosyncratic poetics that assimilates strategies of psychological diagnosis, prognosis, and taxonomization into its lyrical texture. While parodying the epistemological and therapeutic heteronormative regimes that target queer subjects, Auden expands the role of poetry in the diagnosis of personal and social ills. Keywords: W.H. Auden / queer poetics / psychoanalysis / psychology, W.H. Auden's experiments in poetry and prose of the late 1920s and 30s evince a passion for diagnosis. This passion was no doubt fueled by the psychological and medical frameworks [...]