This title is selected as an Outstanding Academic Title by Choice Magazine" January 2010. Classroom talk by which children make sense of what their peers & teachers mean is the most important educational tool for guiding the development of understanding & for jointly constructing knowledge. So what practical steps can teachers take to develop effective classroom interaction? Bringing together leading international researchers & drawing on the pioneering work of Douglas Barnes this book considers ways of improving classroom talk. Chapters cover: classroom communication & managing social relations; talk in science classrooms; using critical conversations in studying literature; exploratory talk & thinking skills; talking to learn & learning to talk in the mathematics classroom; & the emerging pedagogy of the spoken word. With an accessible blend of theory research & practice the book will be a valuable resource for teachers teacher-trainers policy makers researchers & students."