Supporting the development of children’s oral language is crucial since it underpins development of literacy skills in reading and writing. The development of oral language skills is also of concern for children’s socio-emotional well-being. Children who struggle with their oral language may have speech, language and communication needs (SLCN). All children, and specifically children with SLCN, need many opportunities to practice oral language in classroom activities. The overall aim of the thesis was to explore and gain insights of an intervention aiming to support children’s verbal participation in the classroom. Specifically the verbal participation of children with SLCN was explored.

The participants were three teachers and children (N = 36, ~ 50 % with SLCN) in second-grade primary school. Two teachers followed a professional development (PD) and the third was a comparison teacher. The intervention was a small-scale 10-week individual PD designed to coach the teachers in using five communication-supporting strategies from The Communication Supporting Classroom Observation Tool (CSCOT; Dockrell et al., 2015) during verbal interactions. Total time of the PD was 270 minutes per teacher, with four individual coaching sessions of 60–90 minutes.

Study I used a case study design to explore the teachers’ use of five communication-supporting strategies, following the PD. The teachers’ amount of talk in relation to the children was also explored. Study II was an extended analysis from Study I, with the same participating teachers following the PD, and the same children. Framed by a Response to intervention model Tier 2, Study II used a pre- post-, and follow-up design to explore the children’s expressive language productivity in relation to the teachers’ strategy use during structured small-group conversations (SGCs). In the SGCs, the teachers read a text aloud and discussed it with the children. Study III shed light on the teacher-child interactions, and how the use of the five targeted strategies functioned in practice. Study I and III aimed to describe the PD teachers’ own experiences of using the strategies in the classroom.

Quantitative data from video recorded observations during the SGCs indicated that although the intervention teachers increased the use of some strategies during the intervention, these patterns were not maintained at the follow-up. The comparison teacher also used the strategies spontaneously. The children’s opportunities to participate verbally seemed suppressed when the teachers used the strategies frequently. A tentative conclusion was that the children with SLCN may benefit when the teachers balanced their strategy use to let the children talk during the SGCs. Qualitative data of the intervention teachers’ descriptions of strategy use both confirmed and disagreed with the quantitative data.

In sum, the thesis contributes to knowledge of how the five communication-supporting strategies operate in practice in relation to teacher and child outcomes. Altogether, the findings suggest that in developing the PD, additional strategies should be considered, which might support teachers in balancing strategy use and bringing the children to talk. Also, the strategies may have different impact on the children’s language development. In the thesis, a detailed analysis of the teachers’ strategy use was conducted, that could contribute to further operationalizing the strategies, which may be useful for research and practice.

Supporting children’s language development, particularly oral language, is crucial as it constitutes the basis for the further development of literacy skills. This study explored patterns of primary school children’s expressive language productivity over time in relation to a professional development (PD) program designed to further teachers’ use of communication-supporting strategies to promote child talk. Framed by a Tier 2 response to intervention model, teacher-child verbal interactions were observed during structured small-group conversations. The participants were 36 children (M age 8;2  years old), with and without speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) attending three mainstream classes in two Swedish municipalities. Two teachers followed a 10-week PD program, and a third teacher participated for comparison purposes. We  measured the children’s expressive language productivity in relation to the teachers’ strategy use pre-intervention, post-intervention, and at a two-month follow-up. In the results, we found a tendency that when the teachers used the strategies frequently, the children’s expressive language productivity seemed suppressed. Although the results showed a large variation in the children’s expressive language productivity, a tentative conclusion is that the children with SLCN may also be stimulated and willing to participate verbally during this type of small-group conversation. This finding suggests support for an inclusive Tier 2 approach of mixed groups with both children with and without SLCN. Based on our findings, we also suggest stressing in the PD program the need for teachers to balance their strategy use in the interactions with the children to provide ample opportunities for the children to talk and express themselves.

Oral language skills underpin later literacy achievement and life prospects, and many children struggle with oral language for various reasons. Hence, it is crucial for teachers to provide a learning environment with rich opportunities for all children to practice their oral language. The aim of this exploratory study was to explore a professional development (PD) program designed to coach teachers in using communication-supporting strategies during verbal teacher-child interactions in regular classrooms. In focus were five strategies from the Communication Supporting Classroom Observation Tool. The study used a mixed-method case design with multiple observations across four time points over 10 weeks and a follow-up observation after two months. Outcome measures were collected at pre-and, post-intervention, and at follow-up. The cases were two intervention teachers and one comparison teacher in second grade in Swedish primary schools. The teachers were directly observed and video-recorded during teacher-child structured small group conversations while discussing different texts with two groups of children each. The groups were mixed and comprised both children struggling with oral language as well as more typically developing children. To further understand the verbal interactions, the teachers’ amount of talk in relation to the children was analyzed in terms of the percentage distribution of the total number of words per minute. The overall patterns of strategy use showed that the two intervention teachers applied more varied strategies from the PD program during the intervention period, but this was not maintained at the follow-up. The amount of teacher talk appeared stable over time, with individual differences in the three teachers. We also discuss the teachers’ own insights and our experience in the design of the PD program, which may guide future research and applications of the PD program.

Introduction:

Developing oral language skills is crucial to later school academic achievement. Children with speech, language, and communication needs (SLCN) may struggle with their oral language due to various reasons. Teachers need to provide rich opportunities for children with SLCN, and for all children, to practice oral language in the regular classroom by using communication supporting strategies (e.g. open-ended questions and extending utterances) in their teacher-childverbal interactions.

The aim of this study is to describe a professional development (PD) program designed to affect teachers’ verbal interactions with children in regular classrooms. The PD includes individual teacher coaching in using communication supporting strategies from the Communication Supporting Classroom Observation Tool.

Method:

The participants are two intervention teachers in year 2 in Swedish compulsory school, receiving a 10-week PD program. A third teacher participates for comparison purposes. An exploratory design with multiple observations is used to collect data. The setting is teacher-child structured small-group conversations based on discussions of texts. Both children with SLCN and typically developing children participate in the groups. For the analyses, the conversations are video recorded followed by transcriptions and coding using the CHAT guidelines. The frequency of the teachers’ strategy use over time is calculated.

Results:

Preliminary results indicate that the teachers develop individual patterns of strategy use. All three teachers appear to be skilled in using open-ended questions. Over time, the intervention teachers appear to develop skills in using also other strategies. However, some of the strategies might be more challenging to implement and may need more coaching.

Conclusions:

Preliminary findings point to that individual coaching may support teachers in using more varied communication supporting strategies during the PD. However, the strategy use seems not to be maintained over time. Preliminary findings also suggest that some strategies may be more important to apply within different contexts of the curriculum.