Understanding Dialogic Teaching With Different Epistemological Resources: Three Metaphors From Teachers in China

• In Event: Sunday Roundtable 9:45 am
  In Roundtable Session: Instructional Practices for Educational Development (Table 38)

Abstract

Although some researchers attributed the practical dilemma of dialogic teaching (DT) to teachers' epistemological limitations, recent studies have highlighted the value of teachers' multiple understanding about DT in specific context. This study examined how Chinese elementary teachers understood DT with the uptake of different epistemological resources. Ten participants were invited to conduct video-cued discussions on two instructional video clips. They mainly mobilized three epistemological resources for understanding the sources of knowledge, including knowledge as inherent, as propagated, and as constructed. The uptake of these resources led to three metaphors to understand DT, that is, DT as childbirth, as running train, and as gaming. This study provides new perspectives to approach teacher learning as finding wisdom rather than identifying flaws.

Authors

• Yixuan Zheng, East China Normal University

• Sihan Xiao, East China Normal University