{"id":{"repo_id":"cambridge","oai_identifier":"oai:www.repository.cam.ac.uk:1810/334555"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/cambridge/oai:www.repository.cam.ac.uk:1810/334555","repository":{"repo_id":"cambridge","name":"Cambridge University","base_url":"https://api.repository.cam.ac.uk/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Discursive interactions in a Brazilian primary school: an exploratory case study","abstract":"This thesis studies the adherence of a talk-intensive approach to teaching and ‎learning in the Brazilian context. While classroom talk is often classified as monologic ‎due to being narrow and controlled by teachers, educational research has identified a ‎kind of collaborative and cognitively productive talk that positively affects learning ‎outcomes. This dialogic talk is rare in most classrooms. Many teacher professional ‎development programmes have been designed to bridge this gap. This project builds ‎on this vast literature to explore three key aspects in the development of a more ‎dialogic classroom talk: small-group work, conceptual learning, and whole-class ‎teaching.‎ To produce such a dialogic case, an intensive, small-scale, researcher-led ‎intervention was implemented in one primary school. The programme lasted for three ‎months and consisted of three modules, each focusing in one of the aspects ‎highlighted above. Data consisted of pre-post knowledge tests, audio recording of ‎small-group work, video recording of whole-class teaching, and interviews. Classroom ‎talk was analysed through both quantitative and qualitative methods. Within the ‎Brazilian research field, this study is arguably the first with such aims and scope.‎ In small-group talk, students spent only half of the time talking about the task’s ‎content, when they used one third of dialogic utterances. Group talk features varied ‎reasonably across tasks and no positive variation was found regarding dialogicity. It is ‎argued that the students did not appropriate the use of ground rules for talk ‎effectively. Although statistically significant, only small effects were found on students’ ‎learning (knowledge tests). This result was discussed in relation to the role of different ‎teaching modalities, talk formats, and classroom climate in promoting the co-‎construction of knowledge. The investigation showed how talk served as a means for ‎learning. More specifically, five types of explanatory sequences were identified when ‎teachers and students collectively built scientific explanations. In whole-class ‎teaching, episodes of teachers’ dialogic practices were analysed and revealed which ‎conditions favoured such emergence.‎ Overall, this research sheds light on the potentialities and challenges of dialogic ‎practices in a Brazilian primary school. The study contributes with new empirical data ‎by systematically mapping groups’ and teachers’ discursive practices over seven ‎tasks and nine lessons. Pre-designed classroom materials were very productive in ‎fostering dialogic talk and teachers made many different decisions to render their own ‎lessons more dialogic. Finally, the broad scope of this thesis—connecting ‎professional development, use of classroom materials, student learning, and ‎classroom talk— allowed putting forward recommendations for future intervention ‎such as duration, pace, content, data-based reflective inquiry, and dialogic culture.‎","abstract_html":"This thesis studies the adherence of a talk-intensive approach to teaching and ‎learning in the Brazilian context. While classroom talk is often classified as monologic ‎due to being narrow and controlled by teachers, educational research has identified a ‎kind of collaborative and cognitively productive talk that positively affects learning ‎outcomes. This dialogic talk is rare in most classrooms. Many teacher professional ‎development programmes have been designed to bridge this gap. This project builds ‎on this vast literature to explore three key aspects in the development of a more ‎dialogic classroom talk: small-group work, conceptual learning, and whole-class ‎teaching.‎ To produce such a dialogic case, an intensive, small-scale, researcher-led ‎intervention was implemented in one primary school. The programme lasted for three ‎months and consisted of three modules, each focusing in one of the aspects ‎highlighted above. Data consisted of pre-post knowledge tests, audio recording of ‎small-group work, video recording of whole-class teaching, and interviews. Classroom ‎talk was analysed through both quantitative and qualitative methods. Within the ‎Brazilian research field, this study is arguably the first with such aims and scope.‎ In small-group talk, students spent only half of the time talking about the task’s ‎content, when they used one third of dialogic utterances. Group talk features varied ‎reasonably across tasks and no positive variation was found regarding dialogicity. It is ‎argued that the students did not appropriate the use of ground rules for talk ‎effectively. Although statistically significant, only small effects were found on students’ ‎learning (knowledge tests). This result was discussed in relation to the role of different ‎teaching modalities, talk formats, and classroom climate in promoting the co-‎construction of knowledge. The investigation showed how talk served as a means for ‎learning. More specifically, five types of explanatory sequences were identified when ‎teachers and students collectively built scientific explanations. In whole-class ‎teaching, episodes of teachers’ dialogic practices were analysed and revealed which ‎conditions favoured such emergence.‎ Overall, this research sheds light on the potentialities and challenges of dialogic ‎practices in a Brazilian primary school. The study contributes with new empirical data ‎by systematically mapping groups’ and teachers’ discursive practices over seven ‎tasks and nine lessons. Pre-designed classroom materials were very productive in ‎fostering dialogic talk and teachers made many different decisions to render their own ‎lessons more dialogic. Finally, the broad scope of this thesis—connecting ‎professional development, use of classroom materials, student learning, and ‎classroom talk— allowed putting forward recommendations for future intervention ‎such as duration, pace, content, data-based reflective inquiry, and dialogic culture.‎","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Goncalves Lago, Leonardo"],"institution":"University of Cambridge","degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)","degree_level":"Doctoral","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Winterbottom, Mark","Howe, Christine"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2021,"date_issued":"2021-10-31","date_published":"2021-10-31","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:24:25Z","subjects":["Whole-class teaching","Small-group work","Classroom dialogue","Conceptual learning","Science Education"],"languages":["eng"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":["https://www.rioxx.net/licenses/all-rights-reserved/"],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:creator.authoridentifier","label":"Author Identifier","values":["0000000187486733"],"render_values":[{"text":"0000-0001-8748-6733","href":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8748-6733","code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.81974","outbound_label":"DOI","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.doi"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Winterbottom, Mark","Howe, Christine"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.sponsor","label":"Sponsor","values":["CAPES (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior ); COT (Cambridge Trust)"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Goncalves Lago, Leonardo"]},{"key":"dc:creator.authoridentifier","label":"Author Identifier","values":["0000000187486733"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2021-10-31"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.institution","label":"Dc Publisher Institution","values":["University of Cambridge"]},{"key":"dc:relation.isreferencedby.uri","label":"Dc Relation Isreferencedby URI","values":["https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/334555"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationlevel","label":"Dc Type Qualificationlevel","values":["Doctoral"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationname","label":"Dc Type Qualificationname","values":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Whole-class teaching","Small-group work","Classroom dialogue","Conceptual learning","Science Education"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["eng"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["https://www.rioxx.net/licenses/all-rights-reserved/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.doi","label":"DOI","values":["10.17863/CAM.81974"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://apollo8-f-pro.lib.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/a255baf8-2b64-456f-9690-13f7fa6a9ba6/download"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This thesis studies the adherence of a talk-intensive approach to teaching and ‎learning in the Brazilian context. While classroom talk is often classified as monologic ‎due to being narrow and controlled by teachers, educational research has identified a ‎kind of collaborative and cognitively productive talk that positively affects learning ‎outcomes. This dialogic talk is rare in most classrooms. Many teacher professional ‎development programmes have been designed to bridge this gap. This project builds ‎on this vast literature to explore three key aspects in the development of a more ‎dialogic classroom talk: small-group work, conceptual learning, and whole-class ‎teaching.‎ To produce such a dialogic case, an intensive, small-scale, researcher-led ‎intervention was implemented in one primary school. The programme lasted for three ‎months and consisted of three modules, each focusing in one of the aspects ‎highlighted above. Data consisted of pre-post knowledge tests, audio recording of ‎small-group work, video recording of whole-class teaching, and interviews. Classroom ‎talk was analysed through both quantitative and qualitative methods. Within the ‎Brazilian research field, this study is arguably the first with such aims and scope.‎ In small-group talk, students spent only half of the time talking about the task’s ‎content, when they used one third of dialogic utterances. Group talk features varied ‎reasonably across tasks and no positive variation was found regarding dialogicity. It is ‎argued that the students did not appropriate the use of ground rules for talk ‎effectively. Although statistically significant, only small effects were found on students’ ‎learning (knowledge tests). This result was discussed in relation to the role of different ‎teaching modalities, talk formats, and classroom climate in promoting the co-‎construction of knowledge. The investigation showed how talk served as a means for ‎learning. More specifically, five types of explanatory sequences were identified when ‎teachers and students collectively built scientific explanations. In whole-class ‎teaching, episodes of teachers’ dialogic practices were analysed and revealed which ‎conditions favoured such emergence.‎ Overall, this research sheds light on the potentialities and challenges of dialogic ‎practices in a Brazilian primary school. The study contributes with new empirical data ‎by systematically mapping groups’ and teachers’ discursive practices over seven ‎tasks and nine lessons. Pre-designed classroom materials were very productive in ‎fostering dialogic talk and teachers made many different decisions to render their own ‎lessons more dialogic. Finally, the broad scope of this thesis—connecting ‎professional development, use of classroom materials, student learning, and ‎classroom talk— allowed putting forward recommendations for future intervention ‎such as duration, pace, content, data-based reflective inquiry, and dialogic culture.‎"]},{"key":"dc:format.checksum.md5","label":"Dc Format Checksum Md5","values":["a81c015170663f4d62754551f850f5dc"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Discursive interactions in a Brazilian primary school: an exploratory case study"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Winterbottom, Mark","Howe, Christine"],"dc:contributor.sponsor":["CAPES (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior ); COT (Cambridge Trust)"],"dc:creator":["Goncalves Lago, Leonardo"],"dc:creator.authoridentifier":["0000000187486733"],"dc:date.issued":["2021-10-31"],"dc:description.abstract":["This thesis studies the adherence of a talk-intensive approach to teaching and ‎learning in the Brazilian context. While classroom talk is often classified as monologic ‎due to being narrow and controlled by teachers, educational research has identified a ‎kind of collaborative and cognitively productive talk that positively affects learning ‎outcomes. This dialogic talk is rare in most classrooms. Many teacher professional ‎development programmes have been designed to bridge this gap. This project builds ‎on this vast literature to explore three key aspects in the development of a more ‎dialogic classroom talk: small-group work, conceptual learning, and whole-class ‎teaching.‎ To produce such a dialogic case, an intensive, small-scale, researcher-led ‎intervention was implemented in one primary school. The programme lasted for three ‎months and consisted of three modules, each focusing in one of the aspects ‎highlighted above. Data consisted of pre-post knowledge tests, audio recording of ‎small-group work, video recording of whole-class teaching, and interviews. Classroom ‎talk was analysed through both quantitative and qualitative methods. Within the ‎Brazilian research field, this study is arguably the first with such aims and scope.‎ In small-group talk, students spent only half of the time talking about the task’s ‎content, when they used one third of dialogic utterances. Group talk features varied ‎reasonably across tasks and no positive variation was found regarding dialogicity. It is ‎argued that the students did not appropriate the use of ground rules for talk ‎effectively. Although statistically significant, only small effects were found on students’ ‎learning (knowledge tests). This result was discussed in relation to the role of different ‎teaching modalities, talk formats, and classroom climate in promoting the co-‎construction of knowledge. The investigation showed how talk served as a means for ‎learning. More specifically, five types of explanatory sequences were identified when ‎teachers and students collectively built scientific explanations. In whole-class ‎teaching, episodes of teachers’ dialogic practices were analysed and revealed which ‎conditions favoured such emergence.‎ Overall, this research sheds light on the potentialities and challenges of dialogic ‎practices in a Brazilian primary school. The study contributes with new empirical data ‎by systematically mapping groups’ and teachers’ discursive practices over seven ‎tasks and nine lessons. Pre-designed classroom materials were very productive in ‎fostering dialogic talk and teachers made many different decisions to render their own ‎lessons more dialogic. Finally, the broad scope of this thesis—connecting ‎professional development, use of classroom materials, student learning, and ‎classroom talk— allowed putting forward recommendations for future intervention ‎such as duration, pace, content, data-based reflective inquiry, and dialogic culture.‎"],"dc:format.checksum.md5":["a81c015170663f4d62754551f850f5dc"],"dc:identifier.doi":["10.17863/CAM.81974"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://apollo8-f-pro.lib.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/a255baf8-2b64-456f-9690-13f7fa6a9ba6/download"],"dc:language":["eng"],"dc:publisher.institution":["University of Cambridge"],"dc:relation.isreferencedby.uri":["https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/334555"],"dc:rights":["https://www.rioxx.net/licenses/all-rights-reserved/"],"dc:subject":["Whole-class teaching","Small-group work","Classroom dialogue","Conceptual learning","Science Education"],"dc:title":["Discursive interactions in a Brazilian primary school: an exploratory case study"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"dc:type.qualificationlevel":["Doctoral"],"dc:type.qualificationname":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:24:25Z"}