The Skillful Teacher

Teacher Talk or Student Talk
Teacher talk predominates in American higher education, and for
many students this is just fine. If the teacher does all the talking,
then the need for students to think or to take responsibility for their
own meaning-making, understanding, and learning recedes. Teacher
talk should not just be thought of as a sign of a teacher’s arrogance
or self-obsession, however. As Chapter Four emphasizes, many stu-
dents need to feel they can trust the teacher, and to know that she
is credible, before they will take learning seriously or participate in
class. One of the chief ways that both credibility and authenticity
are established is through teacher talk. This talk can show students
that you know what you are doing and that your words are matched
by your actions.
However, student talk is also crucial. First and foremost it is cor-
related with learning. The more that students speak out loud their
emerging understandings, or raise questions that represent where
they are in their struggles as learners, the more they are engaged.
Even if their understandings and questions are confused, the fact
that they are articulated bolsters the affective connection to learn-
ing. It also provides teachers with valuable information on which
learning needs should be addressed next. Second, student talk is
necessary for democratic classrooms. If you have any interest in your
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classroom being some kind of democratic analog, then there is no
escaping the fact that there must be a great deal of student talk.
Third, when student talk features prominently in class, and is lis-
tened to and responded to seriously by a teacher, it shows a true
respect from the teacher for the student’s opinions and concerns.
Note, though, that we don’t show respect by agreeing to and affirm-
ing every student comment. Rather, we show it by letting students
know that we have listened carefully to them, have tried to under-
stand what they are saying, and are ready to give our response to
their comments in the clearest way we can. This good faith effort
to understand another’s perspective is at the heart of the commu-
nicative action so valued by Habermas (1992) as the foundation of
democracy. Student talk is also necessary if teachers are to gain any
sense of how students are experiencing their learning. Relying on
nonverbal cues and gestures from students as indicators that allow
us to “read” the emotional tenor and levels of understanding in a
classroom is, as pointed out in Chapter One, very risky.