How can I become a more effective classroom

communicator?

What are the characteristics of

ineffective teacher talk?

What are the necessary skills for

effective teacher talk?

that language strongly

influences the ways in

which we learn to think

that learning is rooted

in social life and

communication

Lev Vygotsky (1896 - 1934)

Acknowledgements

Avril Haworth (2009)

Issues in Communication

Professional Practice Lecture at Crewe

Acknowledgements

How can I become a more effective classroom

communicator?

What are the characteristics of

ineffective teacher talk?

Ineffective Communication : Key MessagesToo much teacher talk focuses on

behaviour and organisation

Teacher dominates the ‘talking space’

Teacher uses negative, dismissive, sarcastic language

Teacher assumes understanding

Inclusive Language

‘Shut up and

get on

with your

work.’

‘We need to

refocus on the

task set.’

Inclusive LanguageWho can tell me the answer to this question?

So let’s see what we know about this subject.

No, not really – someone else?

That’s an interesting idea – anyone anything to add?

Come on, you lot, someone must have an idea

Come on, what’s the matter with us all today

You clearly haven’t been listening

I think we all need to refocus on the task/objective.

It doesn’t matter what you think; it’s what’s in the syllabus, that matters

That is a good answer, but unfortunately that is not what the examiner will be looking for.

Do this and you’ll get the grade you’re predicted to get.

Can you understand why this is will help you get a good mark?

How can I become a more effective classroom

communicator?What are the characteristics of

ineffective teacher talk?

What are the necessary skills for

effective teacher talk?

Modelling: Key Messages

Dfes (2004) Key Stage 3 National Strategy Pedagogy and practice Unit 6: Modelling

helps pupils develop the confidence to use the

processes for themselves

illustrates for pupils the standard they are aiming for

and establishes high expectations

helps pupils with special educational needs and English

as an additional language, who benefit from a visual

model and a clear, precise oral explanation

Teacher Demonstration

Dfes (2004) Key Stage 3 National Strategy Pedagogy and practice Unit 6: Modelling

“Also known as assisted performance or teacher

demonstration, modelling is recognised by teachers as

an effective strategy for when pupils are attempting

new or challenging tasks. Modelling is an active

process, not merely the provision of an example. It

involves the teacher as the expert, demonstrating how

to do something and making explicit the thinking

involved.”

Questioning: Key Messages

Dfes (2004) Key Stage 3 National Strategy Pedagogy and practice Unit 7: Questioning

Questions need to be clearly sequenced and

planned to support the learning

Create a climate where pupils feel safe to make mistakes

Think carefully about how you respond to answers

Adopt strategies for greater participation

Research on Questioning

Dfes (2004) Key Stage 3 National Strategy Pedagogy and practice Unit 7: Questioning

“Overall, the research shows that

effective teachers use a greater

number of higher-order questions

and open questions than less

effective teachers.”

Questions and Answers

Closed Questions

Open Questions

Convergent

Answers

Divergent Answers

Questions and Answers

Closed Questions

Open Questions

Convergent

Answers

Divergent Answers

Give me a year when the club won the Premier League

Who is the manager of the club?

Why has the club not been playing as well

this season?

Why has the club been so successful in the

last 15 years?

Benjamin Bloom (1913 - 1999)

http://www.c21te.usf.edu/materials/institute/ct/bloom.png

Educational tasks

develop one of three

psychological domains

Classified educational

objectives into

hierarchies

Bloom’s Taxonomies

http://gramconsulting.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/bloom_taxonomy_2.png

Bloom’s Cognitive Taxonomy

Bloom’s Cognitive Taxonomy

Anderson, L. W., & Krathwohl, D. R. (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing:

A revision of Bloom's taxonomy of educational objectives. New York, USA: Addison-Wesley Longman.

http://eslprogram.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/653px-bloomscognitivedomain-svg.png

Research on Questioning

Dfes (2004) Key Stage 3 National Strategy Pedagogy and practice Unit 7: Questioning

“However, the research also demonstrates that most of

the questions asked by both effective and less effective

teachers are lower order and closed. It is estimated

that 70 - 80 per cent of all learning-focused questions

require a simple factual response, whereas only 20 - 30

per cent lead pupils to explain, clarify, expand,

generalise or infer. In other words, only a minority of

questions demand that pupils use higher-order thinking

skills.”

Traditional question and

answer phases promote

competition and passivity

Co-operative learning

promotes simultaneous

interaction and equal

participation

Spencer Kagan

Research suggests . . .

Avril Haworth (2009) Issues in Communication Professional Practice Lecture at Crewe

1. Teachers are more concerned with information than with thought.

2. Pupils learn to answer questions rather than to ask them.

3. Most pupil contributions during whole class phases are just one work or sentence responses.

4. Teachers interact more with boys and girls demand less language space than boys.

Explaining: Key Messages

Dfes (2004) Key Stage 3 National Strategy Pedagogy and practice Unit 8: Explaining

Consider the hook - the need to make a connection

with the pupils: from the known to the unknown

Focus on the key to unlock understanding

Well planned with a clear structure, making use of

techniques such as analogy and visual aids

Zone of Proximal Development

Vygotsky, L.S. (1978) Mind and society: The development of higher mental processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

“the distance between the actual

level of development as

determined by independent

problem solving (without guided

instruction) and the level of

potential development as

determined by problem solving

under adult guidance or in

collaboration with more capable

peers.”

Zone of Proximal Development

Cited by Avril Haworth (2009) Issues in Communication Professional Practice Lecture at Crewe

“What a child can do in co-operation today he can do alone tomorrow…therefore, the only good kind of instruction is that which marches ahead of development, and leads it.”

Zone of Proximal Development

Present Future

Unknown

Learning

Cannot do

Can do unaided

Zone of Proximal Development

Present Future

Zone of

Proximal

Development

Cannot do

Can do unaided

Zone of Proximal Development

Present Future

Assisted by a More

Knowledgeable

Other (Teacher)

Cannot do

Can do unaided

Zone of Proximal Development

Present Future

Assisted by a More

Knowledgeable

Other (Peer)

Cannot do

Can do unaided

Lev Vygotsky

Vygotsky, L.S. (1978) Mind and society: The development of higher mental processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

“Every function in the child’s

cultural development appears

twice: first, on the social level, and

later, on the individual level; first,

between people

(interpsychological) and then

inside the child

(intrapsychological).”�

Lev Vygotsky

“Thus, for Vygotsky, it is

cooperation that lies at the basis

of learning. It is formal and

informal instruction performed

by more knowledgeable others,

such as parents, peers,

grandparents or teachers, that is

the main means of transmitting

knowledge of a particular

culture.”

Dfes (2004) Key Stage 3 National Strategy Pedagogy and practice Unit 11: Active Engagement Techniques

Research on Explaining

Dfes (2004) Key Stage 3 National Strategy Pedagogy and practice Unit 8: Explaining

“Skilled explainers use common characteristics or

ingredients…Brown and Armstrong (1984) termed

these keys and found that teachers who were most

effective explainers were clear about what keys to use

and generally used more types of key than other

teachers. These keys may be thought of as central

principles or generalisations that must be present to

unlock understanding.”

Key Messages

Good communication is at the heart of learning

As teachers, we can communicate effectively

through carefully planned modelling, questioning

and explaining

However, we must also plan opportunities for paired

and small group discussion as pupils learn as much

from their peers as they do from teachers.