The study reported in this dissertation investigated the relationships between thinking style, participation in classroom dialogue and learning outcomes. Classroom dialogue is a commonly used method for teaching and learning, and ways/strategies of taking advantage of classroom dialogue to optimise learning need to be specified. The study addresses this issue. Talking has traditionally been viewed as the main way of participation in classroom dialogue, and there is evidence for its learning benefit. However, silent participants have largely been overlooked and little is known about the function of listening with regard to learning. There is arguably a need to investigate the effects of both talking and listening on learning outcome. At an individual level, talking and listening do not serve all students equally well and individual characteristics should be considered when studying how students benefit from diverse participation behaviours. Thinking style, one aspect of individuality, is rarely related to participation in classroom dialogue nor has the corresponding learning outcomes been investigated previously: this will be addressed in the study. The study focuses particularly on high school students in mainland China, a group of people about whom there is relatively little material. A mixed-method research design was adopted, with the quantitative approach dominating. The Thinking Style Inventory - Revised II (Sternberg, Wagner & Zhang, 2007) was used to measure thinking styles. Talking and listening were considered as two forms of participation in classroom dialogue, with systematic observation being employed to collect data on talk and a newly designed questionnaire used to measure listening. Learning outcomes were illustrated through academic achievement and cognitive ability, with the former being measured by final-examination scores and the latter by the Sternberg Triarchic Ability Test (Sternberg, 1993). A series of statistical analyses were conducted and the results can be summarized as follows. Both talking and listening in classroom dialogue were found to be likely to facilitate academic achievement. Thinking style was significantly associated with participation in classroom dialogue. No relationship was found between thinking style and learning outcomes. Students’ thinking styles affected how they benefited from talking and listening, especially in mathematics. This study provides new perspectives on making use of classroom dialogue at both classroom and individual levels.

Talk is the vehicle of exchange in language classrooms when communicative competence is being developed. Turns of talk then facilitate the meaning-making process as students and teachers collaboratively come to understand the discourse of knowledge they are co-constructing. During the pivotal third turn in the essential teaching exchange, there is potential for teachers to realise productive pedagogies as they facilitate their students' organisational and pragmatic skills in the foreign language. This study brings a lens to Initiation-Response-Evaluation (IRE) triadic dialogue, which has been criticised for its monological overuse and limitation of students' language production. Analysis of the third turn shows the uptake to be an implicit move in the exchange. Teachers appear not to be aware of the potential benefit it offers them for co-constructed language use at that point in teacher-student interactions. Teachers draw on students' background knowledge and experiential learning in the four domains of productive pedagogies (intellectual quality, supportive classroom environment, recognition of difference and connectedness) when they engage them through an authentic use of language. For this study, potential for productive pedagogy was investigated in the classroom talk of two teachers of Japanese at year 10 level. In a case study, six transcribed and translated lessons were subjected to conversational and membership categorisation analyses using Bachman's (1990) communicative language ability framework to describe language production around the third turn and to hypothesise its effectiveness in providing opportunities for students to generate output in the target language.

This essay is a MFS case study conducted at a South African high school in 2010. The study examines how students and teachers perceive the meeting with apartheid in a post-apartheid classroom within the framework of History and English. The empirical data consists of observations and interviews with Grade 11 students and teachers in an affluent school environment in Cape Town. The study shows that there are gaps between how the teachers and learners perceive apartheid as relevant and relatable and how a silencing classroom climate limits the space for interaction on the subject matter. From the position of the South African steering documents and a socio-cultural perspective on learning, I discuss the didactical challenges that arise from a gap between the student and teacher perceptions.

Engagement with global children's literature is an effective way to introduce multiple perspectives into the classroom dialogue. Yet teachers are often unfamiliar with ways of helping students understand diverse cultural practices and beliefs. The result is that global children's literature continues to be an underused resource. This action research study looked at 25 highly diverse educator study groups as they used global literature with pre-K - 12 students. The goal was to support the development of intercultural understanding. The study groups received $1,000 grants from Worlds of Words (wowlit.org) to fund their yearlong inquiry. The groups met face-to-face throughout the year to reflect on the interactions taking place in their classrooms. All groups met online on a members-only site. Data collected included proposals, reports, teacher vignettes, and interviews. The data was used to document range of study group structures and interactions with global literature. The study groups and online forum were supported by a grant from the Longview Foundation. Through constant comparative analysis, new transformative understandings were identified. Key elements in the development of intercultural understanding included open inquiry, recognition of complexity and multiple perspectives, thinking about culture at a conceptual level, and engaging in open dialogue. Teachers reported an increased understanding of their competence as professionals, their student's competence as problem-posers and thinkers, and the parents' competence as important contributors to intercultural understanding. The study concludes with implications for practitioners wanting to engage in classroom inquiries using global literature to support developing intercultural understanding. A second set of implications suggests ways in which the study group process can be made more effective. New questions are proposed for future research related to the use of global literature in various contexts, including classrooms, online professional development, and libraries.

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Abstracts in English, Afrikaans and Zulu / This study explored teachers’ effective use of questioning as a teaching strategy in Social Studies in grade seven within a primary school in the Kingdom of Eswatini (formerly known as Swaziland). The advent of free primary education has brought about large class sizes, but the desire to produce quality education persists. The literature distilled in the study showed that, although a considerable body of studies has established that questioning in the classroom helps direct learning, many teachers fail to utilise it as such. Those who endeavour to use it succeed in engaging their learners, and this results in teaching effectiveness and good outcomes for their learners. The study employed the interpretive paradigm because of the in-depth nature of the investigation. It therefore was a qualitative study that used observation and in-depth semi-structured interviews to gather data and attain the objectives of the study. It was a case study in which four Social Studies teachers took part. Observations were made for at least for 60 minutes in each classroom. Field notes were taken and later analysed. Individual interviews were conducted with the teachers. The results of the study showed that teachers did not use questions to direct teaching and learning, and had no knowledge of the concept of wait time. They also said that they had not been taught questioning strategies in their pre- service teacher training. This was consistent with the literature. Though research shows that questioning promotes effective teaching, the studies reviewed indicated that few teachers use it as an instructional tool. The implications derived from the present study are therefore that pre-service teacher training has to be improved to cater for such important topics as classroom questioning. Also to be improved is further professional development. There is a significant need for action at the macro- and micro-levels of the educational system towards improvement. The actions at the micro-level will be determined by diligent policies designed and executed at that level, that is, the level of the school. / Hierdie studie verken onderwysers se benutting van vraagstelling as onderrigstrategie in Sosiale Studies in Graad 7 by ʼn primêre skool in die koninkryk Eswatini (voorheen Swaziland). In weerwil daarvan dat gratis primêre onderrig groot klasse tot gevolg het, moet gehalteonderwys steeds nagestreef word. Volgens die literatuur wat geraadpleeg is, toon talle studies dat vraagstelling in die klas regstreekse leer bevorder. Onderwysers wat vrae aan leerders stel, gee doeltreffend onderwys omdat hulle leerders betrek, en sodoende ʼn goeie uitkoms behaal. Desondanks pas min onderwysers hierdie strategie toe. Op grond van die aard van hierdie ondersoek, is ʼn vertolkende paradigma gevolg. In hierdie kwalitatiewe studie is data deur waarneming en halfgestruktureerde onderhoude ingesamel. Elke klas is vir minstens 60 minute waargeneem en veldaantekeninge is gemaak wat later ontleed is. Vier onderwysers wat Sosiale Studies onderrig, was deel van die gevallestudie. ʼn Onderhoud is met elkeen gevoer. In hierdie studie is bevind dat die onderwysers geen vrae in die klas gestel het nie. Hulle het ook nie die begrip van wagtyd geken nie, aangesien hulle nooit in vraagstellingstrategieë opgelei is nie. Dit verklaar bevindings in die literatuur dat min onderwysers vraagstelling in die klas gebruik. Vraagstelling moet dus deel van onderwysers se opleiding uitmaak. Hierbenewens moet die professionele ontwikkeling van onderwysers aandag geniet. Voorts is dit noodsaaklik dat die onderwysstelsel op sowel mikro- as makrovlak verbeter word. Ingryping op mikrovlak sal deur die uitvoering van beleid op skoolvlak bepaal word. / Lesifundvo sihlose kusebentisa ngemphumelelo inchubo yekubuta njengelisu lekufundzisa ku-Social Studies kuLibanga 7 ngekhatsi kwesikolwa semabanga laphasi Eswatini (lebeyatiwa ngeSwaziland ngaphambilini). Kufika kwemfundvo yamahhala yemabanga laphasi kwente kwekutsi emaklasi agcwale kakhulu, kodvwa sifiso sekukhicita imfundvo leyikhwalithi siyachubeka. Ilitheretja lebuyeketiwe esifundvweni ikhombisa kwekutsi, nanobe umtimba lobantana wetifundvo utfole kwekutsi inchubo yekubuta eklasini isita kucondzisa kufundza, bothishela labanyenti bayehluleka kukusebentisa ngendlela lefanele. Laba labetama kukusebentisa bayaphumelela ekumbandzakanyeni bafundzi babo, futsi loku kuholela ekufundziseni ngemphumelelo kanye nemiphumela lemihle kubafundzi babo. Lesifundvo sisebentise umcondvo lohumushako ngesizatfu seluhlobo lolujulile lwekuphenya. Ngako-ke bekusifundvo sebunyenti lapho kusetjentiswe khona kubuka kanye nekubuta lokungakahleleki ngalokuphelele lokujulile kugcogca idatha kanye nekutfola tinjongo tesifundvo. Kuhlanganyele bothishela labane beSocial Studies kulesifundvo sekuhlola. Luhlelo lwekubuka lwentiwe lokungenani imizuzu lengema-60 eklasini ngalinye. Kutsatfwe emanotsi futsi ahlatiywa ngemuva kwesikhatsi. Kubutwe bothishela ngamunye. Imiphumela yesifundvo ikhombisa kwekutsi bothishe abakasebentini imibuto kucondzisa kufundzisa nekufundza, futsi bebangenalwati ngemcondvo wesikhatsi sekulindza. Baphindze baphawula kwekutsi abakafundzisiswa emasu ekubuta ekucecesheni kwabo kwangaphambi kwekufundzisisa. Loku bekufanana ngelitheretja. Nanobe lucwaningo lukhombisa kwekutsi kubuta kugcugcutela kufundzisa ngemphumelelo, letifundvo letibuyeketiwe tikhombisa kwekutsi bothishela labambalwa bakusebentisa njengelithuluzi lekuyalela. Imiphumela letfolwe kulesifundvo samanje kutsi kucecesha kwabothishela kwangaphambi kwekufundzisa kumele kwentiwencono kute kufake tihloko letifana nekubuta eklasini. Loku lokumele kwentiwencono kuchubeka ngekutfutfukiswa kwalobucwepheshe. Kunesidzingo lesikhulu sesinyatselo etigabeni letincane kakhulu nasetigabeni letincane teluhlelo lwemfundvo ngasekwentenincono. Letinyatselo esigabeni lesincane titawuncunywa nguletinchubomgomo letihlelwe futsi tasetjentiswa kuleso sigaba, lekusigaba sesikolo. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / M. Ed. (Curriculum and Instructional Studies)