Geography Teaching Today

Table 1 is a useful tool to use when reflecting on the current use of talk to support learning in the geography classroom. It focuses on both what the teacher needs to do in order to facilitate class talk and also helps identify what students are currently able to achieve. Completion of the first two columns requires the teacher to reflect on their current skills and practise. They should traffic light the statements:

Green: Secure/embedded practice
Orange: Occasional/not specifically planned
Red: Not evident

The second column requires the teacher to consider current student practise and again the traffic light system is adopted. On completion of the two columns it is useful if the teacher can discuss the findings with a colleague and in particular focus on those statements coloured orange. This serves the purpose of clarifying the situation and supports the teacher in identifying a focus for future development in the classroom.

The foci should be small, however from discussions it may be apparent that if the teacher works with students on establishing ground rules, this will support students and will also introduce collaborative working to solve a problem. The final column is completed after a focus has been determined and involves the teacher considering the next unit of work to be taught and then identifying opportunities to plan for the focus. For example Lesson 3 in a unit of work on trade asks students to consider how much money should be given to workers involved in the manufacture of trainers. This would be an ideal opportunity to plan for talk in the lesson.

The focus should be derived from orange and red statements. It is not suggested that these are all tackled in one unit of work, indeed it may be necessary to prioritise specific foci, for example ground rules for work need to be established before the teacher is confident in doing less teaching from the front.

After completing the activity the teacher should have a clearer understanding of the current situation in terms of talk for learning in the classroom, and should have identified a focus which could inform an action plan on developing talk for learning in the classroom.

In addition to Table 1, it may be useful for students themselves to reflect on their own practice - Table 2 is intended for use by students. Students are asked to self assess their own practice in talk for learning by traffic lighting the statements. There are additional columns for peer and teacher assessment. It is suggested that the exercise is completed at the beginning and the end of a unit of work focusing on talk for learning and ideally should be revisited in each lesson.

Table 1 will have already led to some teachers thinking about what talk for learning looks like in the classroom - the characteristics of talk. It is necessary to think about student outcomes and what we expect to see if students are actively engaged and participating in talk for learning. There are obvious overlaps, in terms of questioning, higher order thinking and group work but the 'characteristics of talk' table we saw earlier is an attempt to identify the specific characteristics of talk for learning.

• Participation in talk
• Working as a team collaborating with others
• Use of questions
• Use and understanding of language which underpins discussion
• Understanding of the value of exploratory talk

The 'characteristics of talk' table is a starting point, which should be revised and adapted, it is intended to stimulate teachers' own thoughts. It may serve a further purpose for some teachers wishing to build up elements of progression within talk.

It may be useful consider the following questions:

• Is it possible to identify progression in talk?
• What does talk for learning look like in the classroom?
• What would I expect to see a student in year 7 achieve in terms of talk for learning?
• What would the most able student be capable of in terms of talk for learning?
• What literacy links are there with speaking and listening?