Dialogue-intensive pedagogies for promoting literate thinking

This chapter aims to take stock of the dialogue-intensive pedagogies for promoting literate thinking. It identifies the major approaches to conducting classroom discussions about text that have potential for promoting literate thinking and to develop a conceptual framework for understanding the similarities and differences among them. The chapter also aims to help educators make sense of the myriad of approaches available, to enable them to make informed decisions as to which approach best fits their instructional purpose. The field of literacy is blessed with numerous approaches to conducting text-based discussion designed to promote literate thinking in primary and secondary school settings. The chapter provides two criteria for discussion pedagogy to qualify as a major approach: Consistency of application in classrooms and an established place in educational research or practice based on a record of peer-reviewed, empirical research conducted since 1970.