What is it for?

The way of talking offered in CD provides a way in which teachers can:

• increase awareness of teaching or research issues
• enable greater self-awareness and understanding of influences, beliefs, strengths and skills
• develop an ability to interact positively with changes in teaching or the research environment
• demonstrate an attitude of support and willingness to work for the benefit of the Speaker
• make a connection between an emerging focus and possible next steps or actions

(Based on Edge 1998: 13)

The idea that professional talk can easily get sucked into unnecessary evaluation and argument is not a new one. Debate styles of talk are ubiquitous. Deborah Tannen (1998) has written about this tendency in her book The Argument Culture. CD explicitly moves us away from one form of argument and makes space for another. There is no room for arguing 'about' and more room for the Speaker to argue 'that', in other words concentrate on developing a line of argument without having to be defensive or keeping one eye on possible objections or refutations.

CD creates a non-judgemental space for the Speaker to sort and clarify an aspect of practice or research. There are a number of possibilities which are opened up in this space for internal dialogue. There can be dialogue between:

• received knowledge and experiential knowledge (Wallace 1991:15)
• personal and public theories (Griffiths and Tann 1992).
• ideal self and actual self (Rulla, Imoda and Rideck 1978
• espoused theory and theory-in-action (Argyris et al 1985).

References

Argyris, C., Putman, R. & Smith, D. (1985) Action Science. San Francisco: Jossey Bass

Griffiths, M. & S. Tann (1992). Using reflective practice to link personal and public theories. Journal of Education for Teaching 18.1, 69-84.

Rulla, L., Imoda, F., & Ridick, J. (1978) Psychological structure and vocation.  Dublin: Villa Books.

Wallace, M. (1991) Training foreign language teachers: a reflective approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.