Abstract
Background and purpose: In the UK, a Foundation Year is a preparatory year taken before an undergraduate degree, designed to support students who may not yet meet standard entry requirements. Research shows that Foundation Year students are less likely to graduate than direct- entry undergraduates and often report lower confidence in linguistic and academic skills. This project investigated whether an intervention focused on training and structured practice could strengthen Foundation Year students’ use of educational dialogue. Aims: The aim of the project was to support students’ use of educational dialogue through a) developing a Toolkit for Educational Dialogue, b) providing pair discussion sessions over the course of an academic year. Design and methodology: The study used an experimental approach across three FY disciplines at six institutions. Data included pre and post recordings of discussions, and semi-structured interviews with Foundation Year students and staff. The pre- and post-recording transcripts were analysed using six codes from the (Scheme for Educational Dialogue Analysis) SEDA and Toolkit for Systematic Educational Dialogue Analysis scheme (T-SEDA) and the interview transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings: The findings revealed that students who participated in the intervention groups used a) more dialogic moves and b) a greater range of dialogic moves. Findings also highlighted disciplinary differences in the use of dialogic moves. Qualitative data revealed awareness of the importance of educational dialogue and awareness of the use of dialogic moves in peer discussions. Conclusions, originality, value and implications: This study highlights the value of an intervention in training students (and teachers) in using educational dialogue in peer discussions. The implications for practice are two-fold: one is to incorporate training in educational dialogue in the Foundation Year curriculum and two, to be cognizant of training Foundation Year students in disciplinary appropriate dialogue, as well as raising awareness of all dialogic moves for interdisciplinary interaction.