8.9: Summary, Key Words and References

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Chapter summary

Because communication in classrooms is more complex and unpredictable than in many other situations, it is important for teachers to understand its unique features and functions. It is helpful to think of classroom communication as serving a mixture of three purposes at once: content talk, procedural talk, and behavior control talk. It is also helpful to recognize that classroom communication has elements that are not only verbal, but also nonverbal and unintended.

To be effective in using verbal communication, teachers need to use appropriate instructional strategies related to content, such as using advance organizers, relating new information to prior knowledge, and organizing new information on behalf of students. It includes strategies that assist students to communicate, such as inquiry
learning and cooperative learning. To communicate well about procedures and about the behaviors expected of students, teachers need a variety of management techniques, such as those discussed in Chapter 7 and summarized again in Table 19. To be effective in using nonverbal communication, teachers need to use appropriate eye contact, allow ample wait time between speaking turns, and be aware of the effects of social distance on students.

Structures of participation influence communication by facilitating particular patterns of speaking and listening, while at the same time making other patterns less convenient or disapproved. Four common participation structures are lectures, questions-and-answers, classroom discussions, and group work.

Key Terms
Caring community	Procedural talk
Class discussions	Questions-and-answer
Collaborative group work	Register
Communication	Social distance
Content talk	Student talk register
Control talk	Teacher talk register
Eye contact	Unintended communication
Lecture	Verbal communication
Nonverbal communication	Wait time
Participation structures

On the Internet

<https://www.uu.edu/programs/facultydevelopment/effectivestrategiesimproveteachandlearn.pdf > This URL offers tips for enhancing classroom communication. It is part of the more general website for Union University of Jackson, Tennessee.

< https://www.ideaedu.org/research-resources/idea-papers-series/ > This website contains over 40 short papers (1-4 pages each) on a variety of topics, including many related to enhancing communication, but also some related to classroom organization and management in general. Some of the papers refer to college or university teaching, but many are quite relevant to public school teaching.

<https://web.archive.org/web/20090129204639/http://www.fhsu.edu/~zhrepic/Teaching/GenEducation/nonverbcom/nonverbcom.htm> This website contains a thorough discussion of nonverbal communication— more detailed than possible in this chapter, and with photos and drawings to illustrate key points. It is an image of the original in the Internet Archive

< https://www.responsiveclassroom.org/ > This website contains many resources, among which are articles about classroom management and communication, including nonverbal communication. It is intended strictly for public school teachers. Once you get to the homepage, click on their "Newsletter" for the articles.

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