Seven-step recursive ANT analysis of dialogic and non-dialogic classroom talk networks

Research Method · All research methods
Evidence · 3 claims (3 for) · 1 study (1 qualitative), q2 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 3 claims rest on one study

Description

Applying ANT to classroom talk, the article defines networks of human and non-human actors (texts, boards, instructions) that constitute the socio-material structure of talk. A network is dialogic when no human actor is subordinated: "We call such a network, in which all the human actors have agency, and no actor, human or non-human subordinates them, as dialogic". Conversely, "We define such a network in which some human actors are subordinated as a non-dialogic network". Roles are not predetermined but translated in interactions, and networks can be blackboxed.

Accounts

• Dialogic and non-dialogic networks: an ANT-based categorization of classroom talk structures: Applying ANT to classroom talk, the article defines networks of human and non-human actors (texts, boards, instructions) that constitute the socio-material structure of talk. A network is dialogic when no human actor is subordinated: "We call such a network, in which all the human actors have agency, and no actor, human or non-human subordinates them, as dialogic". Conversely, "We define such a network in which some human actors are subordinated as a non-dialogic network". Roles are not predetermined but translated in interactions, and networks can be blackboxed. (Baruch B. Schwarz et al. (2025))

Claims

• Non-human actants such as a Bristol board and task instructions can subordinate students and render classroom talk non-dialogic [+W]
• Dialogic networks in classroom talk can dissolve into non-dialogic ones when task instructions and artifacts regain power over students [+W]
• A single student's open question can trigger dissolution of a non-dialogic network and autonomous dialogic argumentation [+W]

Related Research Methods

• Seven-step recursive ANT analysis procedure for classroom discourse

Key Sources

• Baruch B. Schwarz, Udi Tsemach, Mirit Israeli, Erez Nir. (2025). Actor-network theory as a new direction in research on educational dialogues. Instructional Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11251-024-09669-5

Page metadata

Field	Value
type	research-method
id	seven-step-recursive-ant-analysis-of-dialogic-and-non-dialogic-classroom-talk-networks
title	Seven-step recursive ANT analysis of dialogic and non-dialogic classroom talk networks
description	Applying ANT to classroom talk, the article defines networks of human and non-human actors (texts, boards, instructions) that constitute the socio-material structure of talk.
status	review
generated	by process:settle-candidates on 2026-10-18
trust	unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content

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