Effects of a literary intervention on teachers’ monologic and dialogic practices and the quality of students’ contributions

Abstract This quasi-experimental study examines the effects of a literary intervention based on the Quality Talk (QT) approach aimed at promoting dialogic discussions about a moral dilemma. Nine teachers and 104 fourth- and fifth-grade students from Switzerland participated in the study. Over the course of one school year, students in the intervention group read and discussed four literary fiction books in small groups. Teachers received video-based coaching to facilitate the discussions. The subsequent analyses focused on changes in (a) monologic teacher practices, (b) dialogic teacher practices, and (c) the quality of student contributions. Multilevel analyses show that the intervention led to a shift from monologic to dialogic teaching patterns. More specifically, teachers in the intervention group were less likely to ask test questions, control turn-taking, or evaluate students’ responses, but more likely to engage in dialogic practices, as indicated by an increase in the use of talk moves. Due to these shifts in teacher practices, students in the intervention group exhibited higher-quality contributions to literary discussions, as demonstrated by increases in authentic questions, cumulative and exploratory talk, reasoning, and elaborated explanations. Ultimately, these findings provide evidence that QT facilitates a shift toward dialogic patterns, thereby enabling more student-centered and cognitively demanding literary discussions in primary education.