This paper examines how primary school students discuss deeper comprehension and evaluation of text, while involved in dialogic reading in the context of inquiry learning. It takes a conversation analytic perspective on reading for understanding and critical reading. Analysis of the conversational details of peer talk, revealed how students collaboratively construct deeper meaning of text and take a more critical stance toward the text by means of integrating and evaluating actions. We found that how students understand and interpret the text, is reflected in different types of integrating practices they use: comparing text components with previous knowledge, giving additional information, applying information from the text to the present interactional situation. Evaluating practices, on the other hand, are also based on integrating actions, but they display an explicit critical stance to the text as well (c) 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

In dialogic reading during inquiry learning settings in primary school, pupils read, think and talk together about text fragments for answering their research questions. In this process, pupils may encounter reading problems, regarding word identification or meaning. Conversation analysis is used to demonstrate how these reading problems are collaboratively addressed. Word identification problems are mostly signalled implicitly during the genuine reading activity and are in most cases immediately corrected by the co-participant, to continue the reading activity as smooth as possible. Meaning problems are displayed more explicitly, by use of requests for information, that are explicit about the purpose, but not always explicitly addressed to the other participant. Therefore all participants, including the text in a principal role, can assist.

Abstract This paper examines text formulations in the interaction between peers in primary school during dialogic reading, in inquiry learning settings. In this context pupils collaboratively use information from texts to answer their research questions. The data analyzed include 25 excerpts of pupils demonstrating understanding of text. We used Conversation Analysis to analyze how pupils demonstrate their understanding by the use of text formulations, as a specific type of formulations, and how these formulations function as a bridge between the reading action and the discussion of text content. Parallel to the types of conversational formulations (gist and upshot), we found two practices of demonstrating understanding, namely (1) formulating the gist of relevant text to demonstrate literal understanding, and (2) formulating an upshot to demonstrate how the text contributes to the reading goal. Both types are used to establish shared understanding of text, but focus the discussion as well on what participants find relevant information in the text to further talk about. To reach shared understanding and to use it for next steps, both interactants need to have access to the text in some way. This study contributes to our understanding of how pupils collaboratively use text to build their knowledge.

In dialogic reading during inquiry learning in primary school, pupils read, think and talk together about text fragments for answering their research questions. This paper demonstrates from a conversational analytic perspective, how the shared activity of text selection is constructed in a goal oriented conversation and how text selection proposals are used. Two main practices are identified depending on the situation: (1) when all participants are reading the text for the first time, a text selection proposal is constructed with reading-out-loud fragments, and (2) when only one of the participants is reading the text, a text selection proposal is constructed with an indexical text reference and indicative summary of the topic. In both practices, a separate utterance that functions as a proposal is required to accomplish the complete text selection proposal turn.

In deze eindrapportage wordt verslag gedaan van het Onderwijs Bewijs-project ‘Nieuwe leesdidactiek voor slechthorende en dove leerlingen’, uitgevoerd door Kentalis Guyotschool voor VSO in Haren (Gn) in samenwerking met het Expertisecentrum taal, onderwijs & communicatie (Etoc) van de Rijksuniversiteit Groningen.

Collaborative reading in the context of inquiry learning provides opportunities to develop both primary school students’ (age 7-12) reading skills and knowledge building. Inquiry learning is considered to be a motivational learning environment, in which reading activities are oriented to such an understanding of text to be used for answering students’ own questions. In het dissertation, Maaike Pulles demonstrates how children naturally consider reading as a social activity, in which they collaboratively try to establish deeper understanding of and take a critical stance toward the text.Detailed analysis of peer talk around texts demonstrates that children collaboratively construct their reading activities in interaction and that they are goal oriented in doing that. The four studies in the dissertation were focused on: selecting relevant text fragments, addressing different types of reading problems, formulating understanding of text and integrating and evaluating text. The findings show that the different levels of reading processes, that are distinguished in cognitive reading research and that are also at the base of (international) reading assessments, are also distinguished by students in their practices of constructing those reading activities. This research contributes to our knowledge about what reading is, and to ideas about profitable learning environments for reading education.