People often assume that in education, teachers “give” knowledge & students simply receive it. But what if the real value comes from the class working together to shape how it thinks?
A recent University of Kansas study by Min-Young Kim, published in Reading Research Quarterly [paywalled I’m afraid], explored how one eighth-grade English language arts class socially constructed its own method of thinking while analysing Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem The Witnesses.
The study:
Kim observed several class sessions where the teacher encouraged students to think aloud– not just verbally, but through gestures, facial expressions & posture. This approach, known as languaging, moved beyond language as words alone. The teacher modelled thinking processes, but also held students accountable for how they thought, asking them to explain their reasoning & build on each other’s ideas. Importantly, she validated their contributions, making them co-authors of the class’s shared thinking framework.
The result? Students were not passive receivers but active participants in constructing their thinking practices. This aligns with sociocultural theories of learning (Vygotsky) where knowledge is co-constructed in social interaction. It also echoes Swain’s (2006) work on “languaging” as a means of shaping thought.
Though the study wasn’t focused on ELT classrooms, its insights into how thinking is socially constructed are highly relevant to our context. After all, language learning is also a process of building shared ways of thinking & making meaning. Kim suggests this approach could apply wherever critical & reflective thinking is needed.
Teacher Takeaways?:
- Encourage languaging– use both verbal & nonverbal channels to model thought processes.
- Ask “why” & “how” questions to make students articulate their reasoning, not just their answers.
- Treat student ideas as valid starting points, building a shared classroom “thinking culture”.
Are your classes more about “me”, “you” or “us”?
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