1. 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?
2. 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)
5. How can I become a more effective classroom communicator? What are the characteristics of ineffective teacher talk?
6. Ineffective Communication : Key Messages Too much teacher talk focuses on behaviour and organisation Teacher dominates the ‘talking space’ Teacher uses negative, dismissive, sarcastic language Teacher assumes understanding
7. Inclusive Language ‘ Shut up and get on with your work. ’ ‘ We need to refocus on the task set. ’
8. Inclusive Language Who 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?
9. 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?
10. 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
11. Teacher Demonstration Dfes (2004) Key Stage 3 National Strategy Pedagogy and practice Unit 6: Modelling “ Also known as a ssisted 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 e xpert, demonstrating how to do something and making explicit the thinking involved.”
12. 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
13. 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.”
14. Questions and Answers Closed Questions Open Questions Convergent Answers Divergent Answers
15. 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?
16. 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
19. 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
20. 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.”
21. Traditional question and answer phases promote competition and passivity Co-operative learning promotes simultaneous interaction and equal participation Spencer Kagan
22. 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.
23. 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
24. 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.”
25. 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.”
26. Zone of Proximal Development Present Future Unknown Learning Cannot do Can do unaided
27. Zone of Proximal Development Present Future Zone of Proximal Development Cannot do Can do unaided
28. Zone of Proximal Development Present Future Assisted by a More Knowledgeable Other (Teacher) Cannot do Can do unaided
29. Zone of Proximal Development Present Future Assisted by a More Knowledgeable Other (Peer) Cannot do Can do unaided
30. Lev Vygotsky Vygotsky, L.S. (1978) Mind and society: The development of higher mental processes . Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. “ E very 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).” �
31. 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
32. 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.”
33. 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.
