Contemporary researchers have analysed dialogue primarily in terms of instruction, conversation or inquiry. There is an irreducible tension when the terms 'dialogue' and 'instruction' are brought together, because the former implies an emergent process of give-and-take, whereas the latter implies a sequence of predetermined moves. It is argued that effective teachers have learned how to perform in this contradictory space to both follow and lead, to be both responsive and directive, to require both independence and receptiveness from learners. Instructional dialogue, therefore, is an artful performance rather than a prescribed technique. Dialogues also may be structured as conversations which function to build consensus, conformity to everyday ritualistic practices, and a sense of community. The dark side of the dialogic 'we' and the community formed around 'our' and 'us' is the inevitable boundary that excludes 'them' and 'theirs'. When dialogues are structured to build consensus and community, critical reflection on the bases of that consensus is required and vigilance to ensure that difference and diversity are not being excluded or assimilated (see Renshaw, 2002). Again it is argued that there is an irreducible tension here because understanding and appreciating diversity can be achieved only through engagement and living together in communities. Teachers who work to create such communities in their classrooms need to balance the need for common practices with the space to be different, resistant or challenging - again an artful performance that is difficult to articulate in terms of specific teaching techniques.

Diverse Pedagogies of Place presents eight original place-responsive pedagogies that address a question of paramount importance in today's world: how do we educate the next generation of students to confront the challenges of global climate change and the on-going degradation of natural environments? Each place-responsive pedagogy is a result of innovative environmental educators' long-term engagement with particular places, and demonstrates that personal connectedness is crucial to effective environmental education. Professional learning and teacher collaboration is an important theme throughout the book, and the editors discuss how teachers could adapt the learning activities and teaching strategies found in the book in order to create their own place-responsive pedagogies. Each case study provides a rich account of how students can learn to be attentive and draws upon a common analytical framework derived from recent theorisation of place that highlights the centrality of stories-in-place, embodiment, and contestation. The authors present detailed and persuasive evidence that place-responsive pedagogies enable students to construct their own identities, as well as develop commitments and a deeper knowledge of the environments that surround them. A work of international relevance, Diverse Pedagogies of Place will appeal to academics, researchers and postgraduate students in the fields of environmental education and sustainability, place-based education, outdoor learning, professional learning and teacher development, as well as policymakers and environmental educators.

Diverse Pedagogies of Place presents eight original place-responsive pedagogies that address a question of paramount importance in today's world: how do we educate the next generation of students to confront the challenges of global climate change and the on-going degradation of natural environments? Each place-responsive pedagogy is a result of innovative environmental educators' long-term engagement with particular places, and demonstrates that personal connectedness is crucial to effective environmental education. Professional learning and teacher collaboration is an important theme throughout the book, and the editors discuss how teachers could adapt the learning activities and teaching strategies found in the book in order to create their own place-responsive pedagogies. Each case study provides a rich account of how students can learn to be attentive and draws upon a common analytical framework derived from recent theorisation of place that highlights the centrality of stories-in-place, embodiment, and contestation. The authors present detailed and persuasive evidence that place-responsive pedagogies enable students to construct their own identities, as well as develop commitments and a deeper knowledge of the environments that surround them. A work of international relevance, Diverse Pedagogies of Place will appeal to academics, researchers and postgraduate students in the fields of environmental education and sustainability, place-based education, outdoor learning, professional learning and teacher development, as well as policymakers and environmental educators.

In many English-speaking countries, teachers are encouraged to differentiate their classrooms, and in some cases, through various policy mechanisms. This encouragement is often accompanied by threats and sanctions for not making the grade. By exploring the ways in which one education system in Australia has mandated differentiation through an audit of teacher practices, this book provides a timely engagement with the relationship between differentiated classrooms and social justice. It covers tensions, for instance, between providing culturally-appropriate classrooms, including constructing engaging and relevant curricula, and lowering expectations for students who have traditionally been marginalised by schooling. The data for this book has been collected from the same group of teachers over a period of three years, and offers detailed insights into how a particular politics of differentiation has played itself out in the context of a 'global reform movement' that has focused on improving student outcomes.

Contemporary researchers have analysed dialogue primarily in terms of instruction, conversation or inquiry. There is an irreducible tension when the terms 'dialogue' and 'instruction' are brought together, because the former implies an emergent process of give-and-take, whereas the latter implies a sequence of predetermined moves. It is argued that effective teachers have learned how to perform in this contradictory space to both follow and lead, to be both responsive and directive, to require both independence and receptiveness from learners. Instructional dialogue, therefore, is an artful performance rather than a prescribed technique. Dialogues also may be structured as conversations which function to build consensus, conformity to everyday ritualistic practices, and a sense of community. The dark side of the dialogic 'we' and the community formed around 'our' and 'us' is the inevitable boundary that excludes 'them' and 'theirs'. When dialogues are structured to build consensus and community, critical reflection on the bases of that consensus is required and vigilance to ensure that difference and diversity are not being excluded or assimilated (see Renshaw, 2002). Again it is argued that there is an irreducible tension here because understanding and appreciating diversity can be achieved only through engagement and living together in communities. Teachers who work to create such communities in their classrooms need to balance the need for common practices with the space to be different, resistant or challenging - again an artful performance that is difficult to articulate in terms of specific teaching techniques.