So we’re going to have this huge spike here? Pupils’ talk while designing and making

This paper reports on the conversations between focal pupils (two boys aged 13 years), as they collaborated in the designing and making of a statue of a fierce creature that would be used to deter intruders from their classroom. This dialogue is analysed from two perspectives: (a) that of exploratory talk (Barnes & Todd, 1977) and (b) dialogic talk (Alexander, 2004). The analysis revealed that the pupils (a) made design decisions concurrently with making, (b) did not, for the most part, engage in exploratory talk, and (c) did engage in dialogue. The analysis also revealed the designerly nature of the talk that did take place and raises some questions as to the purpose of pupil talk during designing and making. The paper concludes with some suggestions for further questions to investigate with regard to the purpose and nature of talk in design & technology lessons.