Exploratory Talk

‘Learning is constructed socially by talking and consolidating thoughts out loud amongst people engaged in the same tasks, but also when practised, children can succeed without assistance’ (Vygotsky, 1962). Clark (1998) supports Vygotsky’s concept, extending this by stating that ‘speech acts as a vital tool for enhancing children’s learning and is not purely a tool for the transfer of information between people’.

Talk is a crucial, fundamental (and often missing) part of the learning process for maths. It plays a crucial role in developing thought patterns and learning. I have found this to be true during classroom experience I have gained whilst being on placement. Most of the mathematical lessons I have observed, have been predominantly
It means providing justifications for certain views and then considering peers’ alternatives. In my experience primary school children find it very difficult when having to consider other alternatives to their answer which they almost certainly think is correct. In their mind their answer is correct and anything anybody else says is incorrect. Most primary children will have no problem arguing this. I have even experienced this when the teacher told them that nobody had the correct answer and they should all go back and recheck their work. The children proceeded to argue their answer to the teacher and tell the teacher that he was wrong and their work was definitely
Though non-statutory, the direction for feedback does not appear to strive to boost children’s learning, seeming only to critique their verbalisation abilities. The aim look as if to focus vastly on children becoming articulate, engaging with the customs of collaborative conversation and increasing their vocabulary. Little attention is given to developing children’s thinking skills collaboratively and deepening their understanding despite all the research conducted by the likes of Mercer and Sams (2006) and others. However as it is lightly touched upon in the non-statutory guidance it could be seen to have a positive influence on children’s ability to verbalise their thoughts over time. ‘The ability to use language proficiently enables exact thoughts to be verbalised coherently; children’s language skills determine and influence the nature of their thoughts’ (Smith, 2010). As a result, as well as teaching the statutory requirements in the national curriculum, it seems that teachers would have to facilitate exploratory talk as pedagogy at their own discretion. Therefore fitting it into an already full