Teacher Talk in General and Special Education Elementary Classrooms: Quantity, Complexity, Content, and Clarity

• In Event: Access to Rigorous Literacy Instruction in Early Childhood Education: Unpacking Instructional Moves

Abstract

Clear communication is critical to ensure successful teacher-student interactions for all students: Without it, even established evidence-based practices cannot be implemented as intended and consequently may not achieve expected outcomes. Therefore, teachers’ oral language use may be an important factor in student achievement, particularly for students who struggle with language, learning, and behavior. The purpose of this study was to assess features of teacher talk thought to impede comprehension during large-group instruction in elementary classrooms that included students with or at risk for an emotional or behavioral disorder (EBD).
A classroom-based eco-behavioral model (Conroy, Sutherland, Haydon, Stormont, & Harmon, 2009) explains the hypothesized role of teacher talk in student academic and behavioral outcomes. According to this model, teachers and children both continually shape—and are shaped by—the environment (Sutherland & Oswald, 2005). Reinforcement is embedded within reciprocal social transactions, which in turn influence larger classroom ecologies (Conroy et al., 2009). When children are unable to manage the language demands of the classroom, they may use challenging behavior instead of using their words (e.g., throwing materials instead of asking for help; grabbing materials instead of asking for a turn). In turn, often teachers respond to challenging behavior by reducing the amount of instruction (Ducharme & Shecter, 2011). Because most teacher-student interactions are verbally mediated, teachers who use explicit and accessible language may be more adept at promoting communication than those who speak less clearly. Conversely, if adults send unclear messages, children may respond in ways that increase conflict and decrease instruction (Harrison, Gunter, Reed, & Lee, 1996; Kevan, 2003).
 The primary objective of this study was simply to assess whether teachers commonly used language features thought to interfere with comprehension using descriptive statistics to report 14 coded variables representing the quantity, complexity, content, and clarity of teacher talk. The second objective was to conduct exploratory analyses regarding variability and stability of teacher talk within individuals. The final objective was to compare general and special educators’ use of these features. Analyses for objectives two and three used hierarchical linear modeling to account for the nested structure of the data (i.e., lessons within teachers).
Data were extracted from audiotapes provided by 28 teachers (14 general and 14 special educators) who self-recorded at least three 10-minute lessons during large group instruction. Results showed that across settings, 74% of teachers’ utterances contained vagueness markers that may hinder comprehension. Within teachers, the quantity, complexity, and clarity of oral language tended to remain stable across lessons, regardless of lesson content. Analyses revealed no significant differences in form or content of teacher talk between groups of teachers across settings (GE or SE) or grade levels (K–2, 3–4). This result was surprising considering that students in self-contained SE classrooms had significantly lower language and reading skills than their counterparts in GE settings. The foundational work this study presents will inform a programmatic line of research designed to improve teacher-student interactions to support children’s learning. 

Author

• Alexandra Hollo, West Virginia University