Critical Collaborative Dialogue in Classrooms

Combining both empirical and theoretical analyses, this insightful volume presents a clear, research-informed model for running classroom discussions that are both intellectually rigorous and genuinely inclusive.

Building on feminist analyses of how gendered norms shape who speaks, who is heard, and what counts as “good” reasoning, the book shows why conventional formats often privilege assertive, adversarial styles and marginalise other valuable repertoires of thinking and communicating. Introducing a novel pedagogical tool, Critical Collaborative Dialogue (CCD), it offers a practical framework that specifies a democratic setup, problem-posing questions that matter, open questioning, personal engagement, and teacher facilitation that shares epistemic authority. This model is adaptable across subjects and year levels, and is grounded in dialogic traditions such as exploratory dialogue and philosophy for and with children (P4wC). Readers see how these design choices redistribute talk, deepen reasoning, and lift students’ sense of meaning and belonging, with evidence from student interviews and focus groups.

Written for scholars, researchers, and teacher educators interested in oracy, dialogic pedagogy, and gender equity, it offers ready‑to‑use structures, language moves, and routines that help build classrooms where diverse voices contribute to high‑quality thinking, and where all students experience discussion as a place to learn, belong, and lead.

Ben Kilby is a Senior Lecturer in Pedagogy at the University of New England in Australia. His research centres around philosophy, dialogue, and gender.