Educational Psychology

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solve a common problem or task to explain ideas and questions to

fellow students clearly.

Table 19: Major strategies of effective procedural and control talk
These strategies are also discussed in Chapter 7 as features of classroom management, rather than of
communication. Note, too, that the difference between procedural and content talk is arbitrary to some extent; in
many situations one kind of talk serves the needs of the other kind.

Strategy for procedural talk Strategy for control talk

Creating and discussing procedures for daily routines Creating and discussing classroom rules of

appropriate behavior

Announcing transitions between activities Clarifying problem ownership

Providing clear instructions and guidance for

activities

Listening actively and empathetically

Reminding students periodically of procedures for

completing a task

Using I-messages

Effective procedural and control talk

In addition to communicating about content, teachers need to communicate procedures and expectations about
appropriate classroom behavior. In Chapter 7 we described quite a few ways to communicate with students about
these matters, though, in that chapter we did not refer to them as methods of communication, but as methods of
classroom management, of creating a positive learning environment, and of resolving conflicts in the class. Table 19
summarizes several of the major strategies described in that chapter.) By framing communication in these ways, we
called attention to their importance as forms of communication. As we pointed out, procedural talk and control talk
matter are used in teaching simply because clear procedures and appropriate classroom behavior are necessary
students are to learn.

Effective nonverbal communication.............................................................................................................

In spite of their importance, words are not the only way that teachers and students communicate. Gestures and
behaviors convey information as well, often supporting a teacher’s words, but sometimes also contradicting them.
Students and teachers express themselves nonverbally in all conversations, so freely and automatically in fact that
this form of communication can easily be overlooked.

Eye contact

One important nonverbal behavior is eye contact, which is the extent and timing of when a speaker looks
directly at the eyes of the listener. In conversations between friends of equal status, for example, most native
speakers of English tend to look directly at the speaker when listening, but to avert their gaze when speaking
(Kleinke, 1986). Re-engaging eye contact, in fact, often signals that a speaker is about to finish a turn and is inviting
a response from the listener.

Educational Psychology 163 A Global Text