In this paper we report on pilot trials of a new professional development resource for classroom teachers: The Teacher Scheme for Educational Dialogue (T-SEDA). After outlining the origins and contents of the T-SEDA pack, we analyse feedback from trials with teachers in several countries. The research focuses on teachers’ perceptions of what they learned in using T-SEDA, together with their evaluations of its usefulness, its fitness for purpose and their suggested revisions to suit their needs better. These data form the basis of discussion in response to broader research questions about appropriate forms of professional development activities and resources for supporting dialogic learning and teaching. Of particular interest is the collaborative development of the T-SEDA resource by an international group of researchers and teachers.

There is growing international interest in dialogic forms of learning and teaching (Resnick, Asterhan & Clarke, 2015), with associated needs for continuing professional development. This can be seen as part of a ‘dialogic turn’ in educational and psychological research that confronts traditional power relations in formal schooling and the construction of knowledge (Wegerif, 2008). Dialogic forms of engagement constructively challenge social and educational inequalities, emphasising what can be achieved through solidarity, shared responsibility and community engagement (Flecha, 2011; Garcia, 2012).  The central notion of dialogue assumes that new understandings are created when different perspectives are brought into relationship with each other as part of everyday social communication (Bahktin, 1986). In the classroom this would involve teachers and learners building on each other’s ideas during discussion, posing questions and inviting others to respond, reasoning together and coordinating different views to create new understanding, develop practice and solve problems (Alexander, 2008; Mercer & Littleton, 2007). Much educational work in this area has roots in sociocultural theory, based on the ideas of Vygotsky (1978), seeing classroom learning as fundamentally collective and social (Mercer, 2013).

The T-SEDA pack is grounded in the belief that reflective inquiry (individual and collective) lies at the heart of teaching and professional learning. Research with teachers has suggested that professional learning involves different activities, such as  experimenting, reflecting, getting ideas from others and experiencing ‘friction’ (Bakkenes et al, 2010). An ‘inquiry cycle’ was developed as a central element of the T-SEDA pack, with these steps: interests and aims; focus and inquiry questions; inquiry plan and methods; results, interpretation and reflection; action plan; review. This inquiry process resembles school-based action research, in which knowledge and understanding are developed through iterative cycles of planning, classroom trialling, evaluation, reflection and modification (Noffke & Somekh, 2009). 

The T-SEDA pack encourages teachers to address a particular interest in or concern about classroom talk and learning. It is assumed that focusing ‘inquiry questions’ and conducting a short classroom investigation can help to target attention, sharpen awareness and build understanding of what is actually happening in the fast-paced classroom setting. Reflecting on observational evidence and further discussion with colleagues would then support subsequent decision making about setting priorities and deciding whether and how to intervene. This understanding of teachers as active agents who engage in ongoing and critical reflection was informed by Clarke and Hollingsworth’s (2002) Interconnected Model of Professional Growth which considers changes in teachers’ practices within four domains: a) personal domain (knowledge, beliefs and attitudes), b) domain of practice (professional experimentation), c) domain of consequence (salient outcomes) and d) external domain (sources of information, stimulus or support). On the assumption that change in any one domain can trigger changes in other domains through the mediating processes of ‘enaction’ and ‘reflection’,  the question is raised about exactly where the use of a resource like T-SEDA can contribute to professional growth.

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