Neil Mercer Dialogue & the Development of Children's Thinking: A

This book draws on extensive research to provide a groundbreaking new account of the relationship between dialogue and childrens learning development. It closely relates the research findings to reallife classrooms, so that it is of practical value to teachers and students concerned that their children are offered the best possible learning opportunities. The authors provide a clear, accessible and wellillustrated case for the importance of dialogue in childrens intellectual development and support this with a new and more educationally relevant version of sociocultural theory, which explains the fascinating relationship between dialogues and learning. In educational terms, a sociocultural theory that relates social, cultural and historical processes, interpersonal communication and applied linguistics, is an ideal way of explaining how school experience helps children learn and develop. By using evidence of how the collective construction of knowledge is achieved and how engagement in dialogues shapes childrens educational progress and intellectual development, the authors provide a text which is essential for educational researchers, postgraduate students of education and teachers, and is also of interest to many psychologists and applied linguists. | Neil Mercer Dialogue & the Development of Children's Thinking: A