Micro-Reflection on Classroom Communication
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Traditional concerns with classroom communication have centered on questions such as who talks more, whether the interaction is teacher-centered or student-centered, whether participation is restricted to a few or available to all, what kinds of questions teachers ask, and what kinds of feedback they give. These indicators provide a simple and useful way of capturing classroom communication in distributional and categorical terms. Less attention has been devoted to observing and understanding the quality of this communication — whether it facilitates learning regardless of, for example, who talks more.
Based on over a decade of fine-grained analysis of video-recorded ESL classroom interaction, this book offers one way of seeing and gauging the quality of classroom communication beyond distributions and categories. In particular, by parsing detailed transcripts of actual classroom interaction, it invites reflective conversations on how three principles of skillful classroom communication may be practiced in the micro-moments of classroom interaction: fostering an inviting environment, attending to student voices, and balancing competing demands (FAB). The goal is to cultivate a mentality of micro-reflection—one that sensitizes teachers to the consequentiality of every move they make as they make them in the simultaneity and sequentiality of second-by-second classroom interaction.
Published: Feb 20, 2021
Series
| Section | Chapter | Authors |
|---|---|---|
| Prelims | ||
| Editor's Preface | Hansun Waring, Sarah Chepkirui Creider | |
| Acknowledgements | Hansun Waring, Sarah Chepkirui Creider | |
| Chapter 1 | ||
| Introduction | Hansun Waring, Sarah Creider | |
| Chapter 2 | ||
| Foster an Inviting Environment | Hansun Waring, Sarah Creider | |
| Chapter 3 | ||
| Attend to Learner Voices | Hansun Waring, Sarah Creider | |
| Chapter 4 | ||
| Balance Competing Demands | Hansun Waring, Sarah Creider | |
| Chapter 5 | ||
| The FAB Classroom: Bringing It All Together | Hansun Waring, Sarah Creider | |
| Chapter 6 | ||
| Conclusion | Hansun Waring, Sarah Creider | |
| End Matter | ||
| Appendix A: Transcription Notations | Hansun Waring, Sarah Chepkirui Creider | |
| Appendix B: List of Extracts | Hansun Waring, Sarah Chepkirui Creider | |
| References | Hansun Waring, Sarah Chepkirui Creider | |
| Index | Hansun Waring, Sarah Chepkirui Creider | |
Reviews
The complexity of teaching involves powerful micro-moments of choice; this is an understanding Waring and Creider guide the reader to reach in their book, MicroReflection on Classroom Communication: A FAB Framework, part of the series Reflective Practice in Language Education. The authors propose a framework for guiding teachers to capture and reflect on ‘micro-interventions’, the minute verbal and non-verbal characteristics of classroom interaction. Through this framework,
the authors aim to revolutionise language teacher education and practice by guiding
practitioners to recognise the power of these contingent moments and thereby use them to promote a more effective classroom environment. Their book, though challenging, presents a compelling argument for the inclusion of such reflection in professional development.
English Australia Journal