Teacher as an orchestrator of collaborative planning in learner-generated video production

•We study classroom dialogue in divergent tasks from the perspective of teacher talk.•Dominance in talk and overly modest strategies in teacher orchestration of group and classroom dialogue•Classroom talk is challenged by the creative divergent nature of the task.•Learner-oriented point of departure challenges classroom management and scaffolding.•Careful planning with a structured design taking into account the pedagogical goal is needed.

This article reports on a case study of teacher orchestration in the context of learner-generated video production. The study was conducted in a Finnish primary school, where four teachers implemented three video projects with their students. It investigated teacher scaffolding in the planning sessions of the projects, which involved creative divergent tasks in both group and whole-class settings. The videoed sessions were analyzed qualitatively to identify the types of discursive scaffolding. The study reveals the teachers' different approaches to supporting dialogue in group and whole-class settings. The findings suggest dominance and modest strategies in classroom dialogue, with the teachers occasionally adhering to traditional recitation to control the classroom talk. The study identifies scaffolding focusing on social interaction and collaboration in these divergent tasks referring to Mercer's (2000) intermental development zone. Considering the teachers' pre-project planning, the study emphasizes the tension emerging between learner-centeredness and teacher authority and freedom and structures.