Understanding the Cognitive and Socio-Emotional Dimensions of Dialogic Teaching and Learning Approach

Abstract

As a pedagogical approach aiming at increasing the quality of classroom talk, dialogic teaching and learning puts an emphasis on students’ understanding and thinking and supports their learning process in numerous ways. As recent studies show, alongside promoting students’ cognitive, social, and emotional development, dialogic teaching and learning pedagogy supports the acquisition of 21st-century skills as well as contributing to the internalisation of democratic values and active citizenship. Nevertheless, despite its importance for student learning, the present research literature also indicates that productive forms of dialogue are still not prevalent in most classrooms. Considering that one of the reasons for the limited adoption of this approach can be related to the tendency of considering dialogic pedagogy solely from a cognitive perspective (i.e. conceptualising dialogue as specific forms of verbal interactions and moves) while mostly ignoring its socio–emotional dimensions (e.g. classroom climate and ethos, interpersonal relations, emotions), this conceptual review study looks into well–known models and relevant literature to uncover and highlight the common characteristics of cognitive and socio–emotional dimensions of dialogic teaching and learning approach. It is hoped that this review study will be helpful for researchers and educators who wish to study and implement dialogic pedagogy in classrooms.