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This paper highlights the crucial importance of cooperative dialogic teaching as both a method and a philosophy of life for fostering scientific understanding among all students and for supporting the development of communities grounded in mutual respect and democratic citizenship. Through conceptual progression and research-validated strategies, dialogic teaching enables inclusive access to scientific reasoning. Since language is one of the primary vehicles for learning, we propose an educational pathway in which dialogue (primarily oral but sometimes mediated through writing) is not merely “communication”, but a pedagogical tool that fulfills a fundamental mission of schooling: promoting the recognition and acceptance of others through the practice of “thinking together”. The pedagogical and didactic approach guiding the action-research of the Le Parole della Scienza group in Turin is grounded in meta-research and evidence-based studies (the BEST project coordinated by Judith Bennett, which translates STEM education research into classroom practice; the Dialogic Teaching framework developed by Neil Mercer and Robin Alexander; the Diagnostic Formative Assessment approach proposed by Dylan Wiliam and Paul Black; Cooperative Learning and structures developed by Spencer Kagan, INDIRE). A distinctive feature of the group is its nature as a vertical community of practice, bringing together teachers from all school levels, from early childhood to secondary education. This vertical collaboration is the group’s main strength, allowing teachers to jointly design learning experiences and reflect on conceptual progression across the educational pathway. The experiences presented here are not isolated classroom activities, but the result of collective cooperative and dialogic work validated through collegial reflection and international research evidence.
As an example of this hybrid approach, we present a vertical case study with students aged 5 to 16. The case illustrates didactic transposition and conceptual progression through experimental activities on candle combustion. In early childhood and the first years of primary school, the investigation focuses on qualitative aspects in open and closed systems . Students formulate predictions, observe, engage in explanatory dialogue, and develop initial explanations. In lower and upper secondary education, the pathway develops toward formal understanding of mass conservation (Lavoisier’s law). Using digital balances, students test hypotheses and explore the phenomenon quantitatively, revealing misconceptions and naïve ideas that become starting points for deeper investigation, cognitive conflict, and conceptual restructuring. Dialogic teaching, based on reciprocal feedback between teachers and students, supports the remediation of learning gaps, the correction of misconceptions, and the consolidation of conceptual understanding. The approach integrates structured exploratory talk (Mercer), collaborative strategies such as Think–Pair–Share and Think–Pair–Square, systematic wait time, and response systems suitable for younger children. Techniques including Predict–Observe–Explain (POE), Confidence Grids, and Talking Heads make thinking visible and socially shared.
Overall, this work illustrates how dialogic teaching can support conceptual progression in STEM across school levels while simultaneously fostering social and communicative competences. Beyond its cognitive benefits, it promotes inclusive, reflective, and democratic classroom communities, responding to contemporary challenges of indifference and social isolation.