"As a teacher it is all too easy to carry on with comfortable and familiar practices. This research explores the impact of our language and interactions with our students both positive and negative. The researchers examine the efficacy of teacher instructions in whole, small and individual situations and the impact on student understanding. I found myself questioning the strategies I use and whether they were truly meaningful and inclusive for ALL students. I would recommend this text for all educators both new to the profession and experienced."
Sharon Grunwald, Queensland Prep Teacher
"Mushin, Gardner and Gourlay navigate the contemporary context of teaching through providing rigorous academic analysis of real-life situations of everyday interactions between teachers and children, providing important insight into the multimodal language of effective pedagogy. The complexities of teaching and learning moments are explored with detailed attention through the method of conversation analysis, to demonstrate pedagogy as a social and interactional accomplishment through turn-by-turn interactions co-constructed by teachers and children in varying socio-economic situations. The chapters walk the reader through an introduction to the study and the usefulness of the method of conversation analysis in unpacking pedagogical interactions, before exploring in systematic detail the all-important how of teachers work, including how teachers structure instructions for future tasks in ways that consider each childs ability, and the attentive performance of engaging in the completion of the task in small groups. As such, this book brings forward a much needed wealth of knowledge into how to teach children in the first year of schooling and beyond, in a way that is accessible for a student and practicing teacher audience."
Associate Professor Amanda Bateman, Director Early Years Research Centre, University of Waikato, New Zealand
