'When Anybody Speaks, We All Need to Be Involved': Classroom Conditions That Support Dialogic Space

This article discusses classroom conditions that support the co-creation of dialogic space--where our different ideas and perspectives are in conversation with others such that we might take in what other people are saying and be open to it affecting our thinking. Drawing on ethnographic case study data, we provide context to illustrate ways this classroom community was committed to practicing behaviors that support the likelihood of dialogic space. We then focus on a whole-class lesson to elucidate ways 2 related discourse practices--response-able talk practices and language of possibility--signal a dialogic discourse modality that supports exploration of differences in ways that can deepen and widen our understandings.