Contents lists available at ScienceDirect International Journal of Educational Research journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijedures Promoting academically productive student dialogue during collaborative learning Robyn M. Gillies School of Education, The University of Queensland, Brisbane 4072, Australia ARTICLE INFO Keywords: Academic talk Structured collaborative learning Dialogic teaching Cognitive abilities ABSTRACT Interest in the key role talk plays in the construction of knowledge, understanding and learning has gathered momentum in recent years as research has demonstrated how students learn from each other and how teachers, in turn, can utilise this information to structure classroom ex- periences to promote student engagement and productive academic dialogue. This paper dis- cusses research that highlights the importance of structuring collaborative learning experiences that challenge students’ thinking and scaffold their learning to promote critical and creative problem-solving and enhanced cognitive understandings. Future directions include investigating changes to students’ cognitions as a consequence of specific types of dialogic interactions and the role of interpersonal synchrony in promoting prosocial behaviours and dialogic interactions. 1. Introduction Interest in academic talk and its capacity to promote cognitive development and educational attainment has gathered momentum over the last three decades as studies have emerged that have demonstrated the key role social interaction plays in the joint con- struction of knowledge, understanding, and learning and how such interaction has the capacity to benefit students’ socialization and academic achievements (Mercer, 2000, 2008; Resnick, 1991; Wells, 2007). Rojas-Drummond and Mercer (2003) and Rojas- Drummond, Perez, Velez, Gomez, and Mendoza (2003) in reporting on studies conducted in British and Mexican schools found that when students worked in classrooms where there was a careful integration of teacher-led discourse and peer group interaction, students learned how to coordinate their thinking around the task at hand; promoting individual reasoning and learning. Wegerif, Mercer, and Dawes (1999) found that students’ individual reasoning ability, as measured on a standardized test of reasoning, was enhanced when they were taught how to engage in exploratory talk where they learned to articulate their reasons for specific decisions as they cooperated with others on small group tasks. The findings led the authors to note that the use of exploratory talk can improve group reasoning and that it can be taught to students and transfer to other educational contexts, leading to enhanced individual cognitive performances on a standardized non-verbal reasoning test. Others who have investigated the powerful effect of talk on students’ thinking and learning include Resnick (1991, 2010), Resnick, Michaels, and O’Connor (2010) and Michaels, O’Connor, and Resnick (2008). Evidence has emerged from these studies that teacher-led discussion where students learn how to engage in reasoned arguments and debates supports the growth of disciplinary knowledge and a deeper understanding of complex concepts. The results of engaging in discourse-intensive instruction helped stu- dents to build on the ideas of others, seek clarification when needed, and draw reasonable conclusions, based upon the evidence presented. In so doing, they learnt to engage in dialogic discourse that is relevant to their discipline (e.g., math, science, literacy), enabling them to acquire the relevant discourse-based reasoning skills needed to promulgate an argument. Moreover, Resnick et al. argues that this type of discourse is more likely to emerge when students understand that they are accountable for the reasoning they http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2017.07.014 Received 11 January 2017; Received in revised form 25 July 2017; Accepted 27 July 2017 E-mail address: r.gillies@uq.edu.au. International Journal of Educational Research xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx 0883-0355/ © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Please cite this article as: Gillies, R., International Journal of Educational Research (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2017.07.014