Dialogue: Teacher learning in the context of classroom dialogue - a video-based intervention study

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Tina Seidel, since 1/2016
• Subject Area: General and Domain-Specific Teaching and Learning
• Term: from 2011 to 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 194440413

In the first phase of the DFG-project Dialogue effective components of teacher professional development (TPD) were investigated using the example of productive classroom dialogue. Given the findings of the first project phase, this follow-up proposal is focused on differentiating and further testing key elements of the developed TPD concept Dialogic Video Cycle (DVC). First, the two elements of student activation and teacher feedback (which have been studied jointly in the first project phase) will be investigated in two separate TPD groups in order to learn more about the specific effects of each element on teacher learning, teacher actions in classrooms, student perception and student learning. Second, the study so far has been focusing on motivational-affective student learning. Given the findings of the first phase it is important to also include cognitive aspects of student learning. Next to consequently succeeding in the above described elements the proposed study will be the first to investigate the relevance of the complexity of TPD contents for teacher learning. Thereby the two contents of student activation and teacher feedback are chosen since one can assume that each of them varies in its complexity and therefore are more or less difficult to acquire in TPD as well as to transfer to own teaching practices. For the proposed study a 2 x 2 design is applied, with the two factors TPD content (student activation, teacher feedback) and TPD concept (dialogic video cycle, traditional TPD program). In each of the four groups n=10 teachers are trained (total N=40) during a six-month period. Dependent variables are a) teacher understanding of TPD contents and knowledge about dialogic communication, b) transfer to teaching practice, c) changes in student perception, and d) student learning. The results of the project will significantly improve research on TPD since a controlled setting is applied in order to study the effects of a well-defined TPD concept on central implementation processes of TPD into teacher understanding, teaching action and student learning. Moreover, it the first study to investigate the relevance of TPD contents regarding their complexity and applicability to teaching action and student perceptions.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Ehemaliger Antragsteller: Professor Dr. Alexander Gröschner, until 12/2015