Related Research

Effectiveness studies

The effectiveness of the program on text comprehension and social skills has been tested in three research projects. The studies are funded by PHBern, the Mercator Switzerland and Education21 foundations, and the Swiss National Science Foundation. The studies examine the effects on academic skills such as text comprehension and social skills, as well as on dialogical and cooperative abilities. This website provides ongoing information about the research results and publications.

The effectiveness of Quality Talk has been examined in a large number of studies. The studies show that children who are taught using Quality Talk develop better argumentation skills and better text comprehension (Murphy, 2017). This includes, for example, children learning to justify and substantiate their claims, disagree with others respectfully, develop knowledge together, and think critically about a text.

Publications to SKiLL

  • Dammert, Y., & Gasser, L. (2022). Literarisch-dialogische Unterrichtsgespräche begleiten lernen. Ein videobasiertes Coachingprogramm für Lehrpersonen. In J. Heins, K. Kleinschmidt-Schinke, D. Wieser, & E. Wiesner (Hg.) Üben: Theoretische und empirische Perspektiven in der Deutschdidaktik. SLLD-B: Vol. 5 (S. 299-326). Bochum: Sprachlich-literarisches Lernen und Deutschdidaktik https://doi.org/10.46586/SLLD.248 
  • Egger, S., Gasser, L., Frei, A., Preisig, D., Beißert, H., & Dammert, Y. (2025) Promoting children's social reasoning about immigration-based exclusion and bystander behavior through literary discussions. Frontiers in Developmental Psychology, 3, Article 1549126. https://doi.org/10.3389/fdpys.2025.1549126  
  • Gasser, L. & Dammert, Y. (2019). Ein Prozessmodell zur Entwicklung und Erforschung moralpädagogischer Lehrerinnen- und Lehrerbildung. Beiträge zur Lehrerinnen- und Lehrerbildung BzL, 3(37), 322-337. https://doi.org/10.36950/bzl.37.3.2019.9374 
  • Gasser, L., Dammert, Y., & Murphy, K. P. (2022). How Do Children Socially Learn from Narrative Fiction: Getting the Lesson, Simulating Social Worlds, or Dialogic Inquiry? Educational Psychology Review, 34 (3), S. 1445-1475. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-022-09667-4 
  • Gasser, L, Frei, A., Dammert, Y., Preisig, D., & Egger, S. (in press). Promoting intergroup inclusion through literary discussions in fourth and fifth grades. Journal of Social Psychology in Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-026-10179-0
  • Gasser, L., Preisig, D., Dammert, Y., Frei, A., Egger, S., & Murphy, P. K. (accepted). Improving children’s collective and individual moral reasoning through small-group discussions about narrative fiction. Child Development. 
  • Gasser, L., Preisig, D., Frei, A., Dammert, Y., Egger, S., & Murphy, P. K. (2025). Effects of a literary intervention on interaction quality in small-group discussions in the upper elementary grades. Learning and Instruction, 95, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2024.101996 

Submitted publications

  • Dammert, Y., Gasser, L., & Murphy, P.K. (under review). Effects of a Literary Intervention on Monologic and Dialogic Teacher Practices and Student Contribution Quality. Instructional Science.
  • Dammert, Y., Gasser, L., Preisig, D., & Egger, S. (submitted). Dialogische Gesprächsführung im Literaturunterricht: Veränderungen steuernder und dialogischer Praktiken von Lehrpersonen im Kontext videobasierter Fortbildung. Unterrichtswissenschaft.
  • Egger, S., Grütter, J., Dammert, Y, Murphy, P.K., & Gasser, L. (submitted). Effects of a Quality Talk Intervention on Dialogic Skills: The Role of Perceived Discussion Competence and Felt Safety to Speak Up. British Journal of Educational Psychology.

Publications to Quality Talk

  • Murphy, P. Karen, Firetto, C. M., Wei, L., Li, M., & Croninger, R. M. V. (2016). What REALLY Works: Optimizing Classroom Discussions to Promote Comprehension and Critical-Analytic Thinking. Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 3(1), 27–35. https://doi.org/10.1177/2372732215624215
  • Murphy, P. K., Wilkinson, I. A. G., Soter, A. O., Hennessey, M. N., & Alexander, J. F. (2009). Examining the effects of classroom discussion on students’ comprehension of text: A meta-analysis. Journal of Educational Psychology, 101(3), 740–764.