The Effects Of Classroom Talk On The Classroom

Communication isn’t just about talking. There are so many different elements to communicating in society. How a person gestures, the tone in an individual’s voice, an expression on a person’s face, how a person listens is all a part of communicating. As we all know, in order to communicate with one another we must be able to listen. I think in society people think that communication is all about speaking but in reality it is just a little piece to a bigger picture. In today’s society, listening seems to be a skill that is being neglected. Even though it is basically the first communication skill that we are exposed to, we have pushed it aside and chose speaking to dominate our lives. Researchers have discovered that fetuses can process incoming sounds during the last trimester of pregnancy, and that by 12 months children have learned sounds of and rules of their native language(Worthington, 3). This shows that children’s abilities to speak, read, write and reason are influenced highly by how well they are taught to listen. As parents we can all be teachers to our children so that they can grow up to be well-rounded communicators.

However, the spoken word is not the only way in which we communicate; in schools it is important

Education may be the mold of our future, but the mold behind education is teachers. Behind all intelligent students lays a common factor, teachers. This paper will be focused on the discourse community which lays within the walls of James Bowie Elementary in Richardson, Texas. From interviews and observations to external research, I have been able to find and understand the most important aspect of this chosen community, communication. Communication is a vital role in this community because not only is it the way that they communicate with their peers, but when teachers communicate with each other they are showing their students how to do it. To begin, I brainstormed about my knowledge of this community. From the time I was a child to now,

Talking and listening are essential life skills. The ability to talk in order to communicate and exchange ideas and information, to negotiate with others, to express feelings and emotions, allows human beings to function well in the world and to be full and active members of society. Communication, to be effective, requires the ability to listen, to understand and to make sense of what is heard. On the personal level, when we listen, we give attention to the other person in such a way as to allow them to feel heard, understood and therefore respected. In that way, listening is more than

Teaching is highly dependent on communication. This is made clear by Simonds and Cooper (2014) suggesting that teaching and learning is impossible without communicating, communication is inevitable in an educational environment. Outstanding teachers display effective communication, it is the basis of their teaching reputation as well as the basis of their rapport with students, parents, colleagues and others (Simonds and Cooper, 2014). “3.5 Use effective classroom communication” and “7.3 Engage with the parents/carers” (Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL), 2014) the two standards listed require the effective implementation of communication, highlighting that it is impossible to be a successful teacher in and out

As a student experiencing formal education for over 15 years, writing essays, research papers and narrative stories presents itself as nothing new. Every student has a specific writing method ingrained in his or her brain and after years of practice, very little thought goes into creating a formal literary piece. The Lunsford humanizes the methodology of producing quality writing and it characterizes a piece of writing into something more than just a class assignment. Rhetorical situations delve into the complexity of communication through writing. Surrounding the context of a piece of writing there is a topic that needs to be clearly stated, an opinion to be portrayed, and an audience to be thought about. An appropriate topic for a writer to elaborate on is one that either puzzles or interests them. This allows the writer to be engaged in his or her writing and provide a method of effective communication. The opinion on the topic allows the writer to be individual and portray the

The comparison between a primary school classroom and the Ragged school museum is that they both promote Auditory/verbal Learning. Similarly within the primary classroom where the teacher is talking at the children giving out information and instructions this approach is also used at the ragged school museum where the tour guide comes in to talk about the history of Victorian children. According to Donohue and Mototsune, (2012) “Talk is not only beneficial, but also essential for certain skills to develop”. This relates to children's learning at both these settings, when the teacher and the tour guide are verbally talking, the children are able to take in and absorb this knowledge. If children are unsure about anything they can ask questions

During the course of the year, we learned about the Investigation-Colloquium Method (I-CM) of the teaching science which emphasizes that children learn more by interacting with their peers, sharing their thoughts and collaborate information among themselves. As the word colloquium suggests, it is an informal gathering of peers during a discussion, it is during this discussion children expand on their learning experiences. This method is similar to what Vygotsky would have considered as the “Zone of Proximal Development.” His theory suggested that during a colloquium children tend to sharpen their perception which will, in turn, promote mental growth. As a future teacher of science, my goal is to base my lesson plans on the I-CM method by using it as a benchmark for my instructional practices. Some of these approaches would include concepts, materials, investigations, use of data charts, creative dramatics, and closure to name a few. Each of these subcategories of I-CM further enhances the concept of this method which will be discussed later in further detail. However, in my opinion, the role of a teacher is the pinnacle entity for a successful colloquium among children and an even more successful pedagogy of science.

Barnes (2008) tells us that children will not use exploratory talk unless they have a strong understanding about what it is and are not afraid that they will be offended too much by how others criticise them. This is useful for teachers attempting to use exploratory talk in the classroom because it’ll make them more aware of children being overly aggressive with feedback or children not participating in the talk. Mercer (2008) can further this by saying that rules are important to have in place when using exploratory talk. This will eliminate any risk of quieter children being left behind

Good communication is a criterion that sets many students apart in terms of traits. This is useful when building any form of rapport between them and the lecture or tutor. A student that respectfully communicates has also come out as self-motivated and is more likely to get more help from the teacher since their problems are aired out effectively. Students that do not communicate can be misjudged and mistaken for lack of motivation and self-confidence. In addition, students who are good communicators are made, not born (Floyd, 2013).

Essentially building upon their learning needs brick by brick. Chapter two has a few sections under the theme Characteristics of Thoughtful talk. Ballenger describes the difference between the way some students speak during classroom discussions versus free play when the conversation is not based on academic topics. She states “I may think they are making jokes or wasting time, or that they are confused and need help, like Rubens, when he suggested the sun was alive-but it usually turns out they are thinking in constructive ways. When I have this principle in mind, I participate less and allow the children more room to explain themselves.”(57) This example is how an educator can step outside of expected norms and meet children where their culture and imagination can work

Classroom discourse is the language of the classroom. It helps to develop our minds and is a way to express our thoughts. When language is done correctly it grabs and makes others pay attention. As a teacher, we expect our students to use academic language to voice their opinions. It is our hope that it is not just a language to be used in the classroom but one the students carry with them outside the schoolhouse. A part of creating a thriving classroom environment that sets standards develops language and promotes classroom structure is to understand how the environment and the relationship between teacher and student impact the learning

In terms of education, talk can be defined as everyday uses of spoken language and it refers to the act of both speaking and listening (Bearne, 1998). (Mercer, 1995)categorised talk in three ways; cumulative, disputational and exploratory. Cumulative talk is when pupils work together in pairs to gain a shared knowledge about a subject, disputational talk is mostly short controversial utterances in the form of a debate and exploratory helps people work together by using each other’s ideas critically. Mercer’s three categories of talk are examples of the types of talk that can be found in the classroom environment. This essay will consider will examine the importance of the talk in the classroom and the challenges of it, with specific reference to storytelling.

Interactions between teachers and students in regards to teacher talk is one of the most important learning tools used in the classroom. Talk moves are tools for building an environment that serves a range of productive interactional, social and intellectual learning functions in the classroom (Edwards-Groves, 2014). They are enabled and constrained by the “sayings, doings and relatings present in classrooms” and prompt responses from students (Edwards-Groves, 2014, p1). Teacher talk is a large part of how students learn, through models such as ‘Initiate, Respond, Evaluate’ (IRE). The IRE model involved the teacher asking questions and giving appropriate feedback to the student’s response to help them understand the reasons behind their response. The Scaffolding Interaction Cycle (SIC) is another important tool, which involved teachers scaffolding a students’ response to engage higher learning functions. It is important to consider Bull and Anstey’s three-style model, consisting of pedagogy of school, pedagogy of literacy lessons and pedagogy of literacy learning (Anstey and Bull, 1996). Pedagogy of school involves the teacher and the student conversing in a Q&A like manner, or a ‘guess-what’s-in-my-head’ approach taken by the teacher. The pedagogy of literacy lessons involves the students carrying out the teacher’s instructions but not making the connection to what they are learning. There is a time where these styles may be useful, but

Effective communication creates a learning environment where students can learn according to their individual needs in a safe and accommodating environment. Think about your early childhood education (or your child’s early education), was it flexible to suit individual learning experiences or were children required to conform to the teacher’s methods of teaching? If you answered the latter, do you think the former would improve the quality of education? Pedagogues’ in all divisions of education should possess proficiency in different levels of communication, whether they are teaching primary or secondary students or university alumni, to be able to address a combination of the various age groups (colleagues, students, parents or