Running head: Interdependence and Dialogic Teaching

Interdependence and Dialogic Teaching

Module 1 CT770

Michael Medeiros

University of Kansas
 Interdependence and Dialogic Teaching

After reviewing the videos and readings provided in Module 1, I have concluded

that Dialogic Pedagogy and Interdependence are the two theories that could be effective

in my setting. I teach Algebra to freshmen in a private high school that serves students

from lower socioeconomic positions. In addition to preparing students for college, I

believe it is my duty to teach students about succeeding in society and potentially

breaking the cycle of poverty.

When I was learning the mathematics I teach in high school and college, I was

often in a class where the instructor lectured and the students took notes. Questions

were rarely posed unless they dealt specifically with the solving of some particular math

problem. According to Rosa Fattahi (2016), teaching this way often leaves students

bored and disengaged. I have often fallen into this trap of the teacher merely being a

lecturer and I know I want to get out of it but I do not always understand how. I try to

apply what we are learning in the classroom to real world scenarios. Sometimes this

goes over well and sometimes the connections are hard to make. If I could find ways to

use dialogic teaching in more ways, these connections may become easier to make.

I believe I can use many aspects from Robin Alexanders (2010) article, Dialogic

Teaching Essentials. One aspect of dialogic teaching references learning talk. Within

this category there are items such as analyzing, speculating and evaluating. I think we

do a fair share of this in my classroom. Discuss, argue, and justify are also on this list. I

believe I could incorporate more of this in my class as it would remove the notion that

mathematics is black and white, which it certainly is not. By engaging in these dialogic

behaviors that perhaps have not been used in a math setting before, students can engage

with one another and learn things from their classmates. This would free me from being
 Interdependence and Dialogic Teaching

the authoritarian and expert on all topics and allow students to learn more from their

peers in a more engaging and enriching way.

When I watched to video on The Adaptable Mind (Moxie Institute, 2016), my

first reaction was how it seems the STEM ideas of a few years ago are getting diluted

once again. We have started a STEM initiative at our school that has included many

science, technology, and engineering aspects but failed, in my opinion, to include the

math aspects. Recently, we have begun to call the STEM program STEAM which adds

the arts. As I watched the video and their idea to add humanities, my thoughts were that

if have all these things in one program, it seems as if that is just all the topics we used to

call education. However, once I watched the video I see how this idea makes sense. I

talk often in my classes about how we are educating students for jobs that probably

dont exist yet. This comes from an idea that teachers at my school were presented with

a couple of years ago in a professional development workshop. An online search yielded

several results that express this sentiment. One article claims that 65 percent of all jobs

todays students will hold, due to technological changes, do not exist today (Wolfe,

2014).

We need to prepare our students for a world that requires of them a constant

adaptability. The 5 skills mentioned in the video are crucial: curiosity, creativity,

initiative, multi-disciplinary thinking, and empathy. The video concludes by presenting

the idea that the skills we need are the thigs that humans can do but machines cannot

(Moxie Institute, 2016). We need to help our students become more human.

The education of the past that pushed rote memorization is no longer valid. If we

use these two concepts of dialogic teaching and interdependence and present them

together we can prepare our students for the world they will inherit from us. A world
 Interdependence and Dialogic Teaching

where the ideas of others dont just happen to them but where they can interact with

those ideas and contribute to them.

Just presenting ideas to students is not enough. We have to allow them to make

mistakes along the way. This can become a problem in schools. I have battled with

students for years with their fear of making a mistake. They sometimes do not want to

speak out because if they make a mistake they feel they will be ridiculed by classmates or

even teachers. I want to give my students the courage to try new things without fear of

being wrong. It is acceptable to make mistakes. In the classroom, we are practicing for

the lives we will live one day and there is no problem with making a mistake at practice;

it helps us to learn. Mishra & Hendriksen (2012) talk about moving between disciplines

and how the STEAM approach is useful, as it begins to chip away at rigid notions of

science and mathematics. I have spoken to many people in my life, when they learn I

am a math teacher, that have said they like math because there is a right and a wrong

answer. I do not agree with this thinking. I think mathematics is as fluid, delicate,

subtle, and nuanced as any painting or piece of music. This is difficult to make clear to

students but it is certainly worth the effort.

One final roadblock to success I see is the difficult history of mathematics I see in

my students. Their background is incomplete and they do not like to engage in

mathematical discussions. Dialogue becomes near impossible unless we can find a way

to get students to open up about mathematics and put effort into using it in more

aspects of their lives. Many times, students just want to know what the answer is. They

even try to find this when they arent truly sure what the question is. Mathematics is not

about getting the answer. It is about finding patterns and relationships and the better
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we are at presenting this point, the better students will be able to overcome the hurdles

in math they struggle with.

Interdependence and Dialogic Teaching

References

Alexander, R. (2010). Dialogic Teaching Essentials. University of Cambridge.

Fattahi, R. (2016, July 21). Dialogic Teaching in Pursuit of 21st Century Learning.

Retrieved January 13, 2017, from

http://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/dialogic-teaching-in-pursuit-of-

21st-century-learning/

Mishra, P., Henriksen, D. (2012). Rethinking Technology & Creativity in the 21st

Century: On Being In-Disciplined. Michigan State University.

TechTrends, 56(6), 18-21.

The Moxie Institute (Director). (2016). The Adaptable Mind [Video file].

Retrieved January 13, 2017, from https://vimeo.com/133190364

Wolfe, I. (2014, February 01). 65 Percent of Today's Students Will Be Employed

in Jobs That Don't Exist Yet. Retrieved January 13, 2017, from

https://www.successperformancesolutions.com/65-percent-of-todays-

students-will-be-employed-in-jobs-that-dont-exist-yet/