"This thought provoking and highly informative book is a perfect handbook for teachers and school leaders interested in improving the quality of talk in their classrooms." Amy Gaunt and Alice Stott, Directors at Voice 21 and authors of Transform Teaching and Learning through Talk: the Oracy Imperative. "For practising teachers, it offers a guide to how to exercise sound professional judgement in selecting and sustaining strategies that place talk at the centre of teaching and learning, so that all students benefit." Alan Howe, Education Consultant and Associate with Oracy Cambridge Purposeful classroom talk, or oracy, is increasingly recognised as fundamental for supporting both personal and academic development and for enhancing genuine participation in learning. Based on classroom observations and interviews, this book offers an analysis of schools' responses to improving the quality of both learning to talk and talking to learn. The book explores classroom talk through the analysis and comparison of examples drawn from diverse schools and age groups, across primary and secondary education settings. Alongside a wealth of practical strategies, the book offers an insight into the realities of implementation, helping teachers to make well-informed judgments about developing classroom talk within their own schools. This book features: *Examples of lesson activities and resources, accompanied by explanations and advice from practitioners *Vivid depictions of real classroom practice with comprehensive analysis linked to up-to-date research and theory *Questions and prompts to promote reflection on the reader's own context *An emphasis on teachers' professional judgement and informed implementation of oracy practices A holistic and accessible resource, this book is aimed at experienced, early career and student teachers, as well as other education professionals. Rupert Knight was a teacher in schools in London and Nottingham. He currently works at the University of Nottingham, UK, on teacher education and other postgraduate courses. Rupert is the author of Classroom Talk and he continues to work closely with teachers to develop the use of spoken language in the classroom.

This book summarises the theoretical principles behind talk in school and briefly maps the research tradition in this field.  It examines the evidence relating to a variety of forms of classroom talk, including whole school culture and oracy; classroom environments conducive to talk; whole class teacher-pupil talk and pupil-pupil peer talk. The final chapter explores up-to-date issues and influences relating to talk, such as mastery learning, informed by international comparisons. Firmly grounded in evidence and the latest thinking, the book also offers practical advice for everyday implementation and evaluation of these principles. Evidence-based teaching is fast becoming a new orthodoxy.  There are many strong voices, including policy voices, advocating its adoption. Understanding the underlying principles allows you to better evaluate the benefits of different approaches to evidence-based teaching and how they relate to your own school context.