Journal of Teacher Education

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Basic Teaching Skills Derived from a Model of Speaking and Listening

Ned A. Flanders
Journal of Teacher Education 1973; 24; 24
DOI: 10.1177/002248717302400104

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© 1973 American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.
Ned A. Flanders
Basic Teaching Skills Derived from
Model of Speaking and Listening
Speaking and listening are fundamental elements of
classroom interaction. Teachers and pupils talk to each
other in a conversational sequence of speaking and
listening which is basic to the teacher-pupil inter-
change. This article analyzes the elements of speaking
and listening in order to identify basic teaching skills
that are essential to teacher-pupil interaction. Al-
though the major emphasis is on skills associated with
verbal communication, some aspects of nonverbal com-
munication are also included in the analysis.
The procedure followed in this article begins with a
description of a simple model of conversation. Then,
the model is embellished and used to identify partic-
ular kinds of speaking-listening transitions. These
transitions, in turn, suggest basic teaching skills as-
sociated with speaking and listening. The skills thus
derived are considered to be basic precisely because
speaking and listening are essential elements of the
interchange between teacher and pupils.
A Simple Model of Conversation
The verbal communication events between two per-
sons occur sequence, and this sequence occupies
in a it is primarily a matter of expediency. Conceptualizi
a segment of time. While one person speaks, the other
listens. The speaker then stops and starts to listen while
the person who was listening starts to speak. As time
passes, the interchange can be represented with a time-
line display as shown in Figure i.
Two features of Figure i are easily identified. First,
in this simple model a participant has only two al-
ternatives-either he is speaking or he is listening.
Second, the model displays reciprocal changes of par-
ticipation which occur as transitions. These transitions,
numbered in Figure i from left to right, identify points
at which one person stops speaking in order to listen
FIGURE 1
24
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© 1973 American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.
a
while the other person stops listening in order to spec
A transition itself is instantaneous, or nearly so, a
must be described by the events that precede and fc
low it. In Figure 2, which emphasizes the transiti-
points, the small circles highlight the preceding a:
following verbal events. These preceding and follow!]
events permit us to distinguish among different tram
tions. For example, if Person i asks a question
preceding event) and Person 2 answers it (the folloi
ing event), there is a transition which belongs to
class that could be called &dquo;question-response&dquo; tran:
tions. Thus, by describing the events that precede ai
follow, we can identify and classify different tran;
tions.
As it has been presented thus far, this model er
phasizes verbal communication. Actually, nonverb
communication also occurs during conversation. To
speaker can process information from the listener
watching his reactions. At the same time, the liste
can interpret gestures, facial expressions, and ot
nonverbal events to give additional meaning to w
he hears. This emphasis on verbal events does n
mean that nonverbal communication is unimporta
the verbal events is the easiest way to distinguish o
transition from another. In a later section of this ar
cle, I will emphasize verbal and nonverbal skills m
equally in identifying basic skills of listening.
Figures i and 2 are most appropriate to repres
conversation in which the two or more participa
belong to the same general status class-for exam
one teacher talking to another or one pupil talking
his peers. To the extent that there is a difference
authority between two participants, it is reasonable
suppose that transitions are controlled more often
the person who has greater authority. Most conver
 FIGURE 2
,s during teaching do involve persons who be-
not
; to the same statusclass. A teacher has more
rer and authority than his pupils, and during most
hing encounters, subsequent events are more likely
)e influenced by statements made by the teacher
i by the pupils. It is possible for a teacher to cur-
his authority-in-use (i) and thereby approach the
litions of peer conversation, but when this happens,
her statements take on a very different quality
ch can easily be recognized.
;iven the status differences of the participants in
t teaching conversations, it is desirable to build a
lel which focuses primarily on teacher statements.
ire 3 illustrates one way this might be done. The
11 circles in Figure 3 highlight the teacher state-
its which occur at transitions-that is, the last
gs said by a teacher just before a transition to
il talk and the first things said by a teacher follow-
a transition to teacher talk. To focus on teacher
~ments does not mean that what a pupil says is
nportant. Indeed, a teacher acts in order to achieve
icular kinds of pupil participation so that judg-
its of success and failure in teaching would at least
; into account the quality of pupil participation.
~ rtheless, basic teaching skills are evidenced in
FIGURE 3
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© 1973 American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.
teacher behavior, even though their effectiveness may
be judged by pupil behavior. The value of moving from
Figures i and 2 to Figure 3 is that we focus on what
the teacher says-on teacher behavior. Figure 3 sug-
gests that a teacher’s first statements after a pupil stops
talking and his last statements just before a pupil starts
to talk may be the most influential so far as the nature
of pupil participation is concerned.
Before adding embellishments to this simple model
of conversation, let’s summarize what has been said.
Figures i, 2, and 3 present a model of conversation
which limits participation to either speaking or listen-
ing. No distinctions are made among different kinds
of statements or among different kinds of listening.
The model takes into account the reciprocal relation-
ships between speaking and listening when two or
more persons interact. The model also focuses our at-
tention on transitions and on the fact that transitions
can be classified in terms of preceding and following
events.
Speaking and Basic Teaching Skills
At this point, we will postpone a discussion of listen-
ing and deal only with speaking. We begin by model-
25
 ing the speaking element of classroom interaction and
identifying basic teaching skills. Then, a brief section
considers the issue of how elaborate the model should
be to serve as an effective guide for teacher training
which is followed by comments about procedures for
training teachers in the basic skills identified.
A Model Involving Two Kinds of Speaking
In a single conversation circle, the teacher speaks,
then one or more pupils, then the teacher, and so on.
To illustrate the sequence, Figure 4 eliminates the dot-
ted lines to indicate listening and includes only a heavy
black line to represent speaking.
Notice the significant restrictions that are being
placed on the model. The listening events have been
discarded. Whether one pupil is responding to another
pupil is not taken into account. Different kinds of state-
ments are ignored. Nor have we decided how elaborate
the model should be in order to serve its purpose (an
issue discussed later). One principle to follow is that
the model should be as simple as possible and still pro-
duce useful basic skills.
The model in Figure 4 presents only two kinds of
events-either the teacher is speaking or one or more
pupils are speaking. This also provides us with two
kinds of transitions: first, from teacher to pupil and
second, from pupil to teacher. There is a mathematical
relationship between the number of events and the total
number of different one-way transitions between these
events which is expressed by the formula,
in which N is the number of events and T is the num-
ber of transitions. So long as the model admits only
two events, teacher talk and pupil talk,
two transitions-2 X i = 2. Using the
the following relationships hold:
26
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© 1973 American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.
It is easy to see that as we admit more kinds of stz
ments as events in the model, the number of result
different transitions increases rapidly. Since it is
purpose to study a reasonable number of transiti
in order to identify basic communications skills, sc
limit to the total number of events is necessary. I
haps a practical example will help.
Suppose we permitted the four kinds of stateme
which Bellack, (2) identified as basic moves of clz
room instruction: soliciting, responding, structuri
and reacting. If these four kinds of statements are
lowed for both teacher and pupil, then there are ei
kinds of events in the model. This results in 56 c
ferent kinds of transitions-a quantity that may be
cumbersome, especially for the &dquo;first round&dquo; of ana
sis in this paper.
Another basis for limiting the events in the m
is found in Flanders’ proposal (3) that both tea
and pupil talk can be usefully classified into initia
and response. It was shown that the proportion
teacher response to initiation is associated with s
educational outcomes as pupil achievement and
sirable pupil attitudes toward the teacher and to
learning. In the studies reported by Flanders, to
tiate is to lead, to create a first event which then n
be- dealt with. To respond is to deal with an exis
event, to comply, to conform, and in other way
be influenced by the first event. It should be ackn
edged that there is a residual error in making this
there are only tinction. Some actions, particularly among pupils,
same formula, difficult to classify with this simple dichotomy. H
ever, the residual error is small compared with
FIGURE 4
 FIGURE 5

1 number of events that can be reliably classified. idea of his thus creating t9. The teacher then asks
own,
is, the distinction does have practical value in a narrow to which a pupil gives a long re-
question
lyzing teacher and pupil communication. sponse, indicated by tio.
igure 5 presents a timeline which shows some of the The foregoing sequence is restricted to four possible
3ible transitions given these four possible events: events, permitting 12 possible types of transitions.
her response and initiation and pupil response and Figure 6 shows these 12 transitions. The first eight
iation. Suppose that just before t2 the teacher asks transitions occur during a teacher to pupil or pupil to
arrow question* and a pupil responds. At t3, fol- teacher interchange. Transitions 9 and io occur
ing the pupil response, the teacher initiates another during continuous teacher talk; m and 12, during con-
i. Before t4 the teacher may ask a more open ques- tinuous pupil talk. Note that these latter four transi-
, based on his own ideas, and the pupil responds tions elaborate on our earlier examples of a transition
First giving a direct answer to the question. How- as simply a change in speaker. A transition occurs

-, the pupil might then expand on his answer by whenever there is a shift between any of the events

ring his own opinions. These opinions are new admitted to the model.
is in the sense of not being required by the teacher’s

ement and thus create a transition from pupil re-

Basic Teaching Skills Inferred from the Model
isle to pupil initiation at t5. Before t6 the pupil con-

ies to expand his idea, and the teacher then reacts Proceeding from this model of speaking, we can
:he pupil’s ideas following t6 (a transition from identify basic teaching skills that are demanded by the
’1 initiation to teacher response). Before t7, the various transitions.
her may ask the pupil to show how his idea
ld work, and as a result, the pupil continues to Transitions 1 and 2
i and 2 involve teacher initiation and
Transitions
lop his own train of thought. At ts, the teacher
ts to the expanded idea but then turns to a new pupil response. The incidence of these transitions is
above average when the purposes of instruction pre-
narrow question has one correct answer. An open
tion does not have one correct answer and is likely to sumably require active supervision and control by the
it opinion, explanation, etc. teacher. The more common examples would include

FIGURE 6

27
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© 1973 American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.
 the teacher’s lecturing, with or without questions to
check pupil understanding; giving directions and ex-
plaining assignments; and conducting more structured
activities such as those associated with drill or correct-
ing seatwork or homework. The role of the teacher
in these situations is to start activities, to move to a
new idea or new phase of activity when he thinks it
is appropriate, to check on pupil understanding-in
short to be very active in initiating classroom activities.
&dquo;The role of the The role of the pupil is to respond, to comply, and to
teacher is to start act in accordance with the expectations of the teacher
activities, to move or the structure the teacher has created. There is con-
to a new siderable evidence, (i, 2) that these transitions are used
idea, to check the most frequently-actually too frequently when
on pupil
understanding. The judged by measures of desirable pupil growth.
role of the pupil Basic teaching skills which these transitions demand
is to respond, to might include the following. First, a teacher expresses
comply... &dquo; and explains ideas clearly; second, he gives directions
so that they are clearly understood; third, he has a
number of skills that are associated zvith giving cor-
rective feedback or criticisms in a constructive
ner ; fourth, he knows how and when to ask nar-
and
row questions to which correct and incorrect answers
can be easily identified..
Transitions 3 and 4
Transitions 3 and 4 involve pupil initiation and
teacher response. The incidence of these transitions is
higher whenever the teacher has succeeded in encour-
aging pupils to express their own ideas, to make sug-
gestions about the conduct of learning, or to present
their own opinions about the issues at hand. The main
skill probably lies in the fourth transition, when the
teacher is responding to what pupils have said, rather
than in the third transition. A skillful teacher can make
use of pupil ideas in a number of different ways. He
can merely acknowledge them, he can attempt to clari-
&dquo;A teacher fy and expand them, he can compare the ideas ex-
expresses and pressed by one pupil with those of another, and he
explains ideas can build questions which are based on pupil ideas.
clearly, gives These occasions often occur during the latter stages of
directions clearly,
and processes inquiry lessons or when current events and current
feedback.&dquo;
social issues are discussed. In more advanced lessons,
these patterns occur when pupils are proposing func-
tional relationships (rules or laws) or attempting to
formulate generalizations (applying rules or laws).
There is some evidence (4) that even a small increase
in the use of these skills, in one classroom compared
with another, is associated with desirable pupil out-
comes.
Basicteaching skills which these transitions demand
might include the following. First, a teacher reiterates,
paraphrases, or expands ideas suggested by Pllpils;
second, he compares one pupil idea with another or
makes use of pupil suggestions to move one step fur-
ther in problem solving; third, he guides the inductive
thought cycle tozvard higher levels of cognitive
thought, according to a model such as Taba’s; (5) and
28
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© 1973 American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.
fourth, he formulates questions which make usc
pupil ideas.
Transitions 5 and 6
Transitions 5 and 6 involve teacher initiation
pupil initiation. The incidence of these transition
above average when the pupils and the teacher apI
to be on an equal footing, when both are express
their own ideas as is likely to occur in a debate am
equals. In these situations, there will probably l;
strong element of testing the ideas expressed anc
deciding which ideas are to prevail. There mayi
be occasions in which these transitions represent co
terdependence, that is, points at which the pupils t
exception to the purposes of the teacher and init
counteralternatives. These transitions reflect a de~
of maturity which seldom occurs in the interactior
the average classroom, regardless of age level.
Perhaps the most common form of Transition 5
curs when a teacher initiates an open question to wr
man- there is no specific, expected answer. These m
thought-provoking questions serve as an invitatior
the pupil to express his own ideas which may be gi’
in the form of opinions, explanations, proposed la
possible generalizations, and so on.
The basic teaching skill most often associated v
these transitions is suggested first; the others are rr
speculative. A teacher formulates open quest
which encourage pupils to express their ozvn id
second, he introduces his own ideas without inhibi
further expression of pupil ideas; third, he anal
ideas objectively and is less influenced by the bi
which pupils express; and fourth, he deals satis f a
rily with unexpected statements (e.g., a pupil initi
when the teacher was expecting a response; this c
vary from friendly jokes to aggressive statement
topic) .
Transitions 7 and 8
Transitions 7 and 8 involve teacher response
pupil response. The incidence of complete cycles
volving both of these transitions is not likely t
high in normal classroom interaction, but Trans’
8 is unusually critical in moving from a cond
of high teacher initiation to a condition of high
initiation. Assuming that interaction is frequ
teacher-initiated, one way to encourage pupils t
press their opinions or make procedural sugges
is to become genuinely concerned with their ideas.
ing the skill of responding to pupil responses is a
step in moving away from the predominant pa
of teacher initiation. Transition 8, rather than 7
cilitates this stratagem.
The basic teaching skills which are involved are
tered primarily on how a teacher reacts to pupil s
ments made in response to teacher initiation. A t
er inventories pupil ideas as he listens and select
tain of these ideas for further development; a
eacher acknowledges those ideas zuhich are
ected so as to encourage continued pupil participation.
transitions 9 and 10
Transitions 9 and io involve teacher response and
eacher initiation and, therefore, occur within an ex-
:ended period of teacher talk. Transition 9, from re-
,ponse to initiation, has a higher incidence of occur-
’ence since a teacher may respond to what a pupil
ias just said before going on to introduce his own
deas. Transition io is somewhat awkward but can
)e used to relate what the teacher has just said to some-
:hing a pupil has mentioned earlier.
A basic teaching skill which might be inferred is
:hat the teacher has the ability to respond to pupil
’deas and then show how those ideas are related to
he train of thought that the teacher wishes to follow.
rransitions 11 and 12
Transitions m and involve initiation and
12 pupil
jupil response. These transitions occur during ex-
:ended periods of pupil talk and, therefore, are not
lirectly under the control of the teacher. Perhaps the
nore frequent transition is the shift from pupil re-
;ponse to pupil initiation. For example, a teacher may
isk a narrow question to which a pupil may at first
-espond but then continue to develop his answer in
Nays that go beyond the scope of the original question.
3ome open questions can also be answered with this
?attern of pupil talk.
~
If there is a basic skill to be inferred from these
;ransitions, it is that the teacher can ask questions
hich stimulate the transition from pupil response to
upil initiation.
lassification of the Basic Skills
In the preceding section, i5 basic skills were identi-
prom an analysis of 12 transitions. Here they are
eorganized and grouped according to two dimensions:
’rst, whether the skill is more likely to be used just
fter a pupil stops talking or just before a pupil starts
talk; and second, whether the skill involves teacher
itiation or teacher response. Two of the skills do
ot fit easily into this two-by-two classification and
re dealt with separately.
kills Used immediately Following Pupil Talk
At the moment a pupil stops talking, the teacher
as the choice of responding to what has been said
r of more or less ignoring the pupil’s statement by
rning to another topic. Both actions are necessary
teaching, but the teacher’s predominant choice is a
ature of the interchange over a period of time. Pat-
rns of response as the teacher starts to talk include
inforcement in general, selective reinforcement in
rticular, and various ways of using pupil ideas. An-
ther possibility is criticism or corrective feedback. On
© 1973 American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.
not se- the other hand, patterns of nonresponse may include
teacher initiation of a new topic, thereby moving to
the next phase of problem solving, or introduction of
a new unit of thought. The skills listed below reflect
these two alternatives.
Responsive skills When a teacher chooses to re-
spond to what a pupil has just finished saying, several
skills come into play.
A teacher can-
i. inventory pupil ideas as he listens and select &dquo;A teacher
certain of these ideas for further development reiterates and
(from Transitions 4 and 8). expands pupils’
2. reiterate, paraphrase, or expand ideas suggested ideas, compares
by pupils (Transitions 4 and 8). one idea with
3. acknowledge pupil ideas not selected for fur- another, initiates
ther development and thereby sustain pupil par- problem-solving
ticipation (Transition 8). and guides the
4. show how ideas previously expressed by pupils inductive thought
arerelated to his own ideas (Transitions 9 and cycle toward higher
10). levels of
5. react constructively to the surprise of unex- cognitive thinking.&dquo;
pected pupil statements (Transition 6).
Initiation skills When a teacher chooses to take
the initiative and introduce his own point of view or
his own ideas after pupil talk, there are several skills
which come into play. A teacher can-
6. criticism and corrective feedback in a con-
give
structive manner (Transition 2).
7. introduce his own ideas in ways that do not
inhibit further pupil participation (Transition
6).
8. react toideas in a way that fosters an objective
analysis of ideas (Transition 6). (Skill 8 could
occur in a responsive mode. It is classified under
initiation because the teacher’s point of view is
more often &dquo;new&dquo; to the pupils who are in-
volved.)
Skills Used Immediately Preceding Pupil Talk
Just before a pupil starts talking, the teacher may
extend an invitation for pupil participation or he may
direct the pupils to participate. Under the conditions
of Transitions 5 and 6, when both teacher and pupils
initiate, the opportunity to talk may occur just be-
cause the teacher paused for breath. It is interesting
that Borg (6) found it necessary to train teachers to
pause for three to five seconds after asking a question
(a euphemism for &dquo;keeping your mouth shut&dquo;) in order
to give pupils time to answer. It is reasonable to sup-
pose that &dquo;pausing for breath&dquo; will provide opportuni-
ties to enter the conversation for only the most alert
pupils and that most will require a genuine invitation.
Responsive skills When a teacher chooses to sup-
port the continuation of pupil initiation or when he
is trying to create opportunitics for pupil initiation,
he can ask questions about what pupils have said or
otherwise develop selected pupil ideas. A teacher can-
29
Downloaded from http://jte.sagepub.com by Lucia Na on November 3, 2007
 9. ask questions which solicit comparison of pupil
ideas, call for further development, extended ex-
planation, etc., or otherwise make use of pupil
ideas (Transition 3).
io. ask open or narrow questions about
(Transitions 3 and 7).
A teacher can offer invitations to
Initiation skills
participate his own terms, so to speak, by asking
on
for reactions to his own ideas or actions. A teacher
can-
&dquo;A teacher iz. ask narrowand open questions based on his
inventories pupil own ideas (Transitions i and 5).
ideas and selects 12. give directions that can be clearly understood
certain ones for (Transition i).
further 13. ask questions which stimulate a pupil to expand
development.&dquo; beyond the expected answer (Transition :11).
(This could be considered a special
ing broad questions.)
Not Classified Above
Two of the 15 suggested basic skills are not clas-
sified at this point. It is difficult to classify these skills
because it is not obvious whether they would occur
just before a pupil starts to talk or just after he finishes.
The two skills are listed below. A teacher can-
14. express and explain his ideas
Transition z).
13. guide conversations according
ductive and deductive thinking (Transitions
1, 2, and 4).
Toward a Core of Basic Skills
The 15 skills listed in the previous section would
make an interesting curriculum for skill training in
teacher education. However, it is possible that this list
is too long for application in a preservice teacher edu-
cation program. First, skill training of all kinds is
but one part of the professional education of a teacher,
even though an important part. Teachers will also need
to learn something about the history, philosophy, and
psychology of education, and then there are also the
fields of curriculum development and teaching meth-
ods within the specialized areas of the curriculum. Sec-
ond, there are other kinds of basic teaching skills. It
is possible that some preactive skills for planning in-
struction, skills associated with classroom manage-
ment, skills of individualizing and evaluating pupil
learning, and perhaps others will also be considered
essential. The z5 skills just listed are based on verbal
communicalioi-i and thus refer to that one part of
teaching.
If I were to nominate two skill clusters from among
the skills that have been identified, I would choose
and combine as follows. First, skills i and 2 form a
core of responsive acts which can occur just after a
pupil stops talking. The teacher’s ability to use pupil
ideas so that he can reiterate, paraphrase, or expand
30
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© 1973 American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.
these ideas seems to me absolutely critical. Seconc
skills 10 and m form a core of initiatory acts whic
solicit pupil participation and are likely to occur ju:
before pupils participate. Here we are concerned wit
pupil ideas the skills of formulating and pacing different kind
of questions as well as directions.
Glaring Omissions
Based my own writing and thinking about basi
on
teaching skills, the foregoing list fails to include th
basic teaching skills which are more or les
following
related toverbal communication.
First, the most effective and artistic teachers wh
have turned up in my research studies knew how t
integrate what educators often identify as the &dquo;affec
case of ask- tive&dquo; and the &dquo;cognitive&dquo; elements of communicatior
It is my impression that these teachers did not con
sider these as separate and distinct elements as is s
often done in educational writing. Instead, they seeme
to know that cognitions about subject matter usuall
prevail but that discussion can turn to cognition
about feelings and attitudes. In fact, logical analysi
can be applied to the affective components of a prof
lem whenever this is necessary. The skill, if there i
one, is the ability to know how and when to interrul
clearly (usually
the prevailing subject matter emphasis and instead f
to models of in- cus on the feelings and attitudes of the pupils. Trans
3, tions from a cognitive to an affective focus would a
pear in our simple model of conversation if initially
and responsive statements were further divided in
these two divisions.
Second, there is some evidence (4) to suggest th
more effective teachers create interaction patter
which display a degree of &dquo;flexibility.&dquo; In terms (
our model, a flexible teacher would be one who h
a wide repertoire of initiative and responsive acts a
can arrange these acts into a great many differe
sequences. The skill, if one exists, is to know how a
when to shift from a responsive to an initiative mo
and vice versa in terms of the exigencies of the situ
tion. Further, a skillful teacher might actually pl
this kind of flexibility as part of a lesson plan. T
only way considerations of this kind could be inferr
from our simple model of conversation would be
extend the time span and trace teacher and pupil initi
tion over longer periods of time.
Third, a model of conversation is not likely to le
to what I think is the most basic of basic teachi
skills, namely, the ability to inquire into one’s o
teaching behavior regularly using systematic pro
dures in order to analyze whether different teachi
skills are being used appropriately. Stated another w
there is the skill of choosing the right skill. Perh
one shouldn’t fault a model of conversation for t
omission; a person interested in developing the ski
of using skills would more likely start with a mo
of inquiry and apply it to procedures for self-devel
nent. Nevertheless, skills of inquiry are
ated speaking
to listening. If different kinds of
and
;peaking were incorporated in our model, inferences
ibout this kind of inquiry would become possible.
iome Tentative Conclusions
Starting with a simple model of conversation, it has
>een possible to identify about -15 proposed basic
;kills of verbal communication. It was suggested that
:he pressure to include many different kinds of train-
ng in preservice and in-service teacher education may
imit the total number of skills primarily related to
verbal communication which can be given attention.
rwo core skill areas were nominated as essential: (a)
’esponsive acts which make use of pupil ideas and
Nhich occur just after a pupil stops talking; and (b)
nitiatory acts which solicit pupil participation and
Nhich often occur just before a pupil starts talking.
Jne or two omissions were noted, and these appeared
:o be the result of starting with a highly restricted
nodel of conversation.
low Elaborate the Model?
This section contains a short discussion of the
equences of making finer distinctions in initiation and
response, the two kinds of events incorporated in
ur model of conversation. The thesis is that the model
essentially independent of the number of distinctions
ne may wish to make in order to identify basic teach-
skill.
sing Bellack’s Four Moves
Bellack’s (2) total system for analyzing the language
f the classroom involves the multiple coding of single
vents; in fact, no less than eight classifications are
ade of each event. Each of the eight classifications
as its own category system: the first classification
categorized into teacher talk and pupil talk; the
cond involves distinguishing between soliciting,
ructuring, responding, and reacting; and the six sub-
antive/logical/instructional classifications which
llow each make use of many subdivisions involving
few as nine or as many as 22 categories. The total
mber of distinctions is very large since all possible
mbinations are theoretically possible. In the total sys-
m, the number of distinctions is of the order of 70
© 1973 American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.
clearly re- which would permit approximately 4,830 different
transitions. Some of these transitions can be eliminated
because of low incidence, awkwardness, or redundan-
cy. Nevertheless, it is clear that with more elaborate
category systems that make use of multiple coding,
finer distinctions will give more information.
There is a relationship between the two categories
of initiation/response and the four moves of solicit-
ing, structuring, responding, and reacting. This rela-
tionship can be shown by the decision ladder which
the encoder moves down in order to classify.
Given the practical limitations of educating both
experienced and future teachers, it should be possible
to agree that identifying too many skills based on too
many transitions would make training impossible and
that too few transitions would make the training in-
effective, or at least inconsequential. This is to say that
there must be an optimum number of transitions which
could be analyzed to identify the fewest number of
basic teaching skills. In this context, the word &dquo;fewest&dquo;
means that some small number (one, two, or three?)
of basic skills within each of several classes of basic
skills (communication, planning, evaluation, class-
room management, etc.) is selected for the first round
of teacher training. If successful, the first round of
con-
training with selected basic skills would prepare a
trainee for further self-directed training and inquiry
into his own teaching behavior in each skill area.
Inclusiveness and Cycles of Training
One purpose of
showing the three steps of the en-
coding procedure the preceding page is to illustrate
on
that each concept used to describe behavior can be
subdivided to make finer distinctions. What Flanders
means by initiation is quite similar to what Bellack
means by soliciting and structuring, and response is
quite similar to responding and reacting. The concept
of initiation is more inclusive since it comprehends
both soliciting and structuring.
One might defend using a model of conversation
which permitted only four events (and therefore pro-
duced only 12 transitions) by proposing the fol-
lowing principles. First, the events of the model should
be conceptualized at the highest level of inclusiveness
(in the sense of abstraction) that still permits practical
distinctions in terms of behavior. The point here is
that any event that is abstracted must be described so
that a trainee can determine the presence or absence
31
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 of this event in order to practice the skills which are
involved. Second, since the events chosen are more
inclusive, subsequent training can proceed by several
cycles of subdividing in which more subtle distinctions
are made at each new cycle. Third, as recycling intro-
duces more refined and subtle distinctions, the trainee
can practice teaching skills which become increasingly
complex and difficult.
&dquo;A teacher Perhaps an illustration will help. Suppose the first
responds to pupil cycle of training in the basic skills of communication
ideas and relates began with making a distinction between teacher and
them to the train
of thought to be
pupil talk and between initiation and response. The
basic four event model could be introduced, the notion
followed.&dquo;
of transitions could be clarified, and the significance
of behavioral events just before and just after transi-
tions identified. The skills involving each type of tran-
sition would be practiced. At the transitions from
teacher to pupil, the trainee learns that the skills are
related to the question, &dquo;How do I (the teacher) pro-
vide an opportunity for pupil participation that is most
appropriate at this point?&dquo; At the transitions from pu-
pil to teacher, he learns that the skills are related to
the question, &dquo;What can I (the teacher) do with the
contribution that the pupil has just made?&dquo; Certain
skills and methods of analyzing teaching behavior
have been learned, and the trainee has learned how a
model can be used to guide thinking. As soon as he
learns this much, if not before, the trainee will identify
problems which require more subtle distinctions
among behavioral events. He may decide, for example,
that he would like to divide initiation into soliciting
and structuring. Hopefully, he has the necessary skills
in analysis and behavior modeling to make this ex-
tension in his thinking. He has started down a road
that leads to more advanced problem solving. His
learning is automatically arranged to proceed from
less difficult tasks to the more difficult.
A Parsimonious Solution
The thesis that the model of conversation which has
been presented is independent of the number of dis-
tinctions to be made among behavioral events can now
suggest a parsimonious solution. First, the most simple
model should provide an opportunity for the trainee
to learn transitions, sequential analysis, and a limited
number of basic teaching skills. Second, through re-
finement and subdivision, the number of events taken
into consideration can be increased in subsequent cy-
cles of training, and this, in turn, may permit an anal-
ysis of more complex teaching skills and teaching
strategies. In the second stage, the model itself is rea-
sonably independent of the number of distinctions be-
cause the trainee can move on to more complex skills
by using more categories for classifying verbal com-
munication, while the model itself remains intact.
32
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© 1973 American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.
Designing Practical Training Programs
The purpose of proposing basic teaching skills is tc
identify a core of skills for teacher training. If th(
skills proposed do not lend themselves to practical
training procedures, one can question the utility of th(
proposals. Preservice teacher education is especially
limited in terms of time, space, and instructional re-
sources, and the same is true of in-service education I
although the time pressure may be somewhat less strin
gent. In either case, the contribution is incomplet
when only basic skills are proposed because practica
training procedures are equally important from th
standpoint of a viable teacher education program.
Given the limitations of teacher education, the con
ceptualization of basic skills should be parsimonious
and the training procedures should be efficient. Th
simple model of conversation used in this position pa
per helps to identify certain behavioral events of ver
bal communication. These behavioral events can b
strung together to form patterns of interaction. Th
patterns can be called basic skills and the ability t
identify these patterns, to create them, and to strin
them together into teaching strategies is what we mea
by applying basic teaching skills to instruction. T
be parsimonious, there are relatively few concepts
such as transition, classes of transitions, sequence, ini
tiation, response, and so on-and each of these co
cepts should lend itself to subdivision in order to per
mit dealing with more complicated problems. To b
efficient, the training procedures should establish tech
niques for analyzing teaching behavior which can the
be applied to a number of different skills.
When concepts and training procedures fit neatl
together, efficiency is more likely to result. The co
cepts have to be recognized as behavior or featur
of behavior. Training provides opportunities to pra
tice these behaviors under conditions which permit co
structive feedback to occur. The skills and associate
training procedures are more efficient when they a
arranged into a sequence that is compatible with adu
learning.
Training procedures which are compatible with t
concepts introduced by the model of conversation ha
already been published. (i) Below is an outline of t
more salient features of what might become an eff
cient, compatible training program, given further d
velopment.
A. Two models might be combined.
s. A five-step inquiry model which guides profe
sional self-development when one’s own b
havior is to be an object of inquiry is o
model.
2. A flexible system of interaction analysis, wi
categories which be subdivided and whi
can
supports microteaching experiences and pr
vides a &dquo;timeline display&dquo; ready at the insta
observation ceases is a second model.
L Successively more complex training using the
above two models are possible.
i. Level z : Three patterns involving lecture, drill-
review, and giving assignments are usually
skills teachers already use.
2. Level a : Three patterns involving open ques-
,
’
tions, responsive skills, and &dquo;because exten-
sions&dquo; is a useful place to start training.
3. Level 3: Advanced self-development projects
that include strategies for controlling pupil in-
~ is listening to pupil talk. However, our purpose is not
dependence and teacher initiation, analyzing
-
feelings and the affective domain, identifying
~ levels of thinking, and further refinement of
Level One skills.
The training techniques outlined above and devel-
ped further in Analyzing Teaching Behavior are di-
ectly applicable to analyzing, identifying, and prac-
icing skills which appear just before a teacher stops
ilking and just after a teacher starts to speak fol-
)wing a pupil. As a result of contemporary work on
raining modules for teacher education, (6) it now
vould appear that carefully developed training mod-
les covering different steps of the process will be help-
ul, if not necessary. Any practical system which might
esult would have to be continuously evaluated and
ppropriate revisions carried out.
istening and Basic Teaching Skills
Both speaking and listening are included in the
iodel of interaction presented earlier (see Figures
, 2, and 3). This model has been used to identify
asic teaching skills that are involved in speaking;
re now turn to an analysis of listening. The goal is
) identify the fewest number of listening skills that
rill enhance initial training and then will lead natural-
i to learning more complex skills. The procedure is
peculate about the mental processes which occur
~hen a teacher listens to pupils and then to analyze
e teaching skills that are involved.
In the analysis of speaking, nonverbal behavior re-
ived very little attention. One consequence of ignor-
g the nonverbal behavior of a speaker, especially a
acher, is that a good deal of communicative behavior
ignored. For example, teachers can give directions
ith the movement of a finger, or they can focus at-
ntion with eye contact or by pointing while they
e at the blackboard; and this list of nonverbal be-
viors could be extended until it is quite long. Yet
is not clear how much the omission of nonverbal
haviors in the first sections of this article actually
ited the main purpose of identifying important
ills of teaching. The responsive and initiative skills
at were identified in the analysis of speaking could
ve been derived from an analysis of nonverbal be-
vior by using essentially the same procedures be-
use these skills can be performed verbally or non-
rbally. Thus, it may be argued that ignoring non-
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© 1973 American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.
verbal behavior has not seriously weakened the prop-
ositions that have been identified as basic teaching
skills.
Listening and the skills associated with it may not &dquo;A teacher asks
lend themselves to the same treatment. Here we are questions that
stimulate the
concerned with the activities of the silent member of
a conversation circle. Attention to nonverbal behavior transition from
pupil response to
may now play a more significant part in analyzing
pupil initiation.&dquo;
teacher-pupil interaction, especially when the teacher
to carry out an extended analysis of listening itself.
Instead, our goals are restricted to the teaching skills
associated with listening. The nonverbal behaviors
that will play a part in the analysis are those which
a pupil exhibits as he talks, and thus they become part
of the phenomena with which a teacher is concerned
when he listens. In short, a teacher not only receives
information by sensing tempo and hearing sound, in-
flections, and emphasis; he also sees shapes and colors
and perceives motion. In this section, we assume that
both hearing and seeing are essential to the analysis
as well as to the skills of listening itself.
A Model for Analyzing Listening
It is hard to any aspect of teaching that is
imagine
more critical than receiving, classifying, ab-
to success
stracting, storing, and then acting on the information
that is inferred from pupil behavior. The total process
is extremely complex and deserves a more extended
treatment than is possible in this article. The approach
I will take is to present a model of the critical steps of
listening and then see if this leads to the identification
of basic skills of listening for the teacher. An outline
of this model is shown in Figure 7. To read this dia-
gram, begin with pupil behavior represented in the
upper left-hand box. The verbal and nonverbal ele-
ments of this pupil behavior are heard and perceived
by the teacher. It is quite possible that the activities of
Phases i, 2, 3, and 4 occur simultaneously or at least
cannot be considered as distinct and separate activities,
one following another.
In Phase i, behavioral phenomena are received and
subjected to mental operations which give them mean-
ing. Expected events may trigger a quick recycle of
teacher listens, teacher reacts, and pupil acts.
In Phase 2, the consistency of verbal and nonverbal
phenomena is checked in terms of the teacher’s pur-
poses or the purposes of the pupil which a teacher can
infer. In the event of inconsistency, a teacher may
initiate questions designed to clarify his interpretation
of what he has seen or heard which creates a recycle to
pupil behavior.
In Phase 3, the teacher may decide that the affective
component of the behavior is so predominant that it
should be dealt with separately rather than letting it
remain an unidentified feature of the main subject mat-
33
34
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© 1973 American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.
r emphasis which characterizes most teacher-pupil
interaction.Again, the recognition of anomalies may
imulate teacher questions for clarification and there-
recycle to pupil behavior.
Phase 4 proposes that there is a continuing atten-
on to completed events and a continuing anticipation
F what will happen next which create a dynamic bal-
ice or tension system within the teacher. This ten-
on system builds conjectures about what will happen
~xt compared with the presumed purposes of the inter-
:tion such that at some moment the teacher acts. He
lay stop listening and start to talk or simply instigate
nonverbal behavior while he continues to listen.
his might be described as a shift from passive to
:tive participation. The classification of the teacher’s
aive behavior will depend on the category system
[at the observer prefers. This action usually leads to
ore overt pupil behavior.
inferring Basic Teaching Skills
iase 1-Creating Meaning
Pupilbehavior impinges on the senses of a teacher
i small bits. My preference in theorizing about these
Its is to borrow the &dquo;foreground-background&dquo; no-
ons from Gestalt psychology. Because a teacher has
purpose and looks for certain events he expects will
appen, the occurrence of an expected event is quickly
!cognized, assumes a position in the foreground, and
m be acted on immediately. Thus, a single bit, such
; a word or a gesture, has sufficient meaning for the
acher to react. A rapid interchange between teacher
rid pupil illustrates this pattern. Simultaneously,
.any other events occur, but these assume positions
L the background where they may be inventoried,
ustered, and stored, if not ignored. As the bits as-
gned to the background gradually assume meaning,
te teacher may choose to react to them, providing
s can develop a useful relationship among the mean-
gs of a cluster, the present state of affairs, and his
structional purposes.
The steps of thinking in perceiving, classifying,
stering, and abstracting meaning are largely induc-
e. However, the skills of using inductive thought
ocesses may well be unfamiliar to most teachers.
achers have little formal training in logical thought
ocesses and their other learning experiences, such
contacts with parents and former teachers, seldom
courage the individual to become self-conscious
out the steps that are involved in thinking. Further-
re, the thought processes exemplified by instructors
teacher education have a more deductive than in-
ctive character. Usually generalizations are stated
st, and then examples are given to illustrate what
generalization means. These observations suggest
t the basic skills of inductive thinking are likely
be underdeveloped in many teachers. It may be this
k of familiarity that causes many teachers to be-
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© 1973 American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.
come excited about the inductive emphasis of &dquo;inquiry
teaching&dquo; since it presents a new way to guide pupil
thinking, one that many teachers have not experienced
very often.
Hilda Taba (5) believes that principles of inductive
thinking can be taught to both teachers and youngsters
providing enough is known about the steps involved
and providing repeated practice in using these steps
can be arranged. A few teacher educators with whom
I am acquainted have developed instructional materi-
als for this purpose. Many of these materials permit
the adult learner to: first, inventory objects, the at-
tributes of objects, or simply the concepts which rep-
resent ideas; second, group these items into clusters
according to some stated logic; third, label the clusters
with a concept; and fourth, use labels in forming sen-
tences which stand for functional relationships or
tentative generalizations. Such materials follow the
procedures recommended by Taba for teaching social
studies or science in the elementary grade levels.
The activities in Phases do suggest basic teaching
skills. These may be a family of skills which are in-
volved in the inductive thinking processes: the ability
to perceive bits of information, to classify these bits,
to organize them into clusters with labels, and to for-
mulate functional relationships using the labels. A sec-
ond skill or family of skills may some day be formu-
lated which is concerned with thinking simultaneously
about expected events as well as those events which
are stored and dealt with at a slower pace. It requires
good judgment to decide when it is appropriate to turn
away from the expected events and attend to a growing
syndrome of background events, originally assigned
to storage, by retrieving and acting on them because
they create a higher priority.
Phase 2-Checking Inconsistency
Once events assume some kind of meaning, a teach-
er may wish to check the consistency of these mean-
ings. When a teacher asks a pupil whether he is inter-
ested in arithmetic, the reply may be, &dquo;Well, I guess
so,&dquo; but the pupil may speak indifferently and
be
slumped back in his withdraw. The verbal
seat as if to
and nonverbal information is inconsistent. Alterna-
tively, a few pupils may be actively providing expected
behavior while the majority of the class presents un-
expected symptoms of indifference. This is a case of
inconsistency between foreground and background in-
formation. Inconsistencies such as these, along with
many others that could be imagined, provide informa-
tion from which an alert teacher may infer that the
goals of teaching are not adequately accepted by the
pupils. Planning activities that actively involve the
pupils in clarifying the goals of instruction and estab-
lishing individual learning tasks may consequently be
activated to correct the situation.
If a basic teaching skill can be proposed with regard
to Phase 2, it could be to have the teacher know how
35
 and when to initiate questions that attempt to clarify
inconsistencies between verbal and nonverbal informa-
tion and between the goals the teacher infers from
pupil behavior and the instructional goals the teacher
has in mind.
Phase 3-interpreting the Cognitive/Affective Emphasis
&dquo;Conceptualizing This section is included with some misgivings. First,
teacher listening we educators cling to the affective/cognitive dichot-
skills has been omy without really understanding its utility in the
ignored too long analysis of teaching; and second, the phenomena to be
in teacher
discussed in this section might better be conceptualized
education.&dquo;
in Phase 2 as an inconsistency between goals and
needs of pupils and the goals and needs of the teacher.
Nevertheless, circumstances arise in teaching in
which the predominant emphasis on subject matter
cognitions is better set aside to attend to cognitions
about pupil attitudes, feelings, and the general
emotional tone of the class. It is unfortunate that
the examples usually suggested to illustrate attention
to the affective domain often stem from negative at-
titudes expressed as disruptive pupil behavior. There
may be a far greater pay-off when a teacher chooses
to attend to the more constructive feeling tones of
enthusiasm, happiness, and the sheer joy of success.
A teacher may also find it useful to anticipate posi-
tive feelings, talk about them with the pupils, and
even generate excitement and curiosity about how
these feelings will develop.
The reason for considering the affective domain in
this separate section is that there is a particular skill
which teachers who are more effective usually possess.
This is the skill of knowing when and how to focus
attention on feelings and attitudes in ways that support
rather than detract from the subject matter goals of
learning. Probably several steps are involved. First,
awareness and sensitivity to pupil feelings and atti-
tudes may reflect special skill in Phase i activities
such that behavior clues which express emotional tone
are perceived with greater sensitivity, are stored with
a higher priority, and conceptualized more accurately.
Second, judgments are made in Phases 2 and 3 in which
the affective elements in the situation are compared
with the purposes of the teacher and the inferred pur-
poses of pupils, and these judgments may make pre-
dicting more accurate in Phase 4. To summarize, the
skill is knowing when and how to clarify feelings and
attitudes in order to support anticipated learning ac-
tivities or to avoid detracting from them.
Phase 4-The Dynamic Balance of the Moment
It was H. A. Thelen (7) who said: &dquo;Time is a moun-
tain whose peak is the present. The past slopes off one
side and the future off the other. Looking in one direc-
tion we make explanations: looking in the other, pre-
dictions.&dquo; As a teacher listens, he tries to make sense
out of what is happening and predict what will happen
next. Phase 4 is inserted into this analysis in order to
36
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© 1973 American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.
explain why a teacher will suddently shift from moi
passive listening and engage in more overt particip:
tion.
According conjectures thus far, a teach4
to our
makes sense out of what has happened by placin
some events in the foreground and others in the bad
ground of his thinking. (How he does this may i
lustrate a teacher’s biases, his stereotypes, and the pr
orities of his value system.) Expected events may moi
often be placed in the foreground since they are moi
likely to be associated with his teaching purposes. Ur
important events and those that are unexpected in tt
sense of being less related to the teacher’s purpose
are inventoried, classified, and put into clusters, cor
ceptualized in some way, and then stored in the bad
ground of his thinking. Some dramatic unexpecte
events, of course, assume positions in the foregroun
because they cannot be ignored, but this is an exceptio
rather than the rule. Since the phenomenal field prc
vides constant input and since we may presume th,
there are limitations in our capacity to store informc
tion for immediate recall, there must be a fairly cor
stant loss of specific events as they are gradually rye
placed by higher order abstractions. As a result, a s(
ries of encounters which occurred during the first fiv
minutes of instruction may be almost lost so minute
later because they are hidden under the abstract labe
&dquo;the introduction was successful in stimulating cla~
interest.&dquo; Once this inference is reached, the teache
may be less sensitive to cues which indicate that
particular child is not interested in his learning tasl
The dynamic balance of past explanations and fu
ture predictions that is in the mind of the teacher ca
create a tension system because his teaching strate
is based on learning goals and particular purposes c
instruction. The events that are now occurring a
the past events which have been stored are constant
being reevaluated in terms of goals and purpose. Let
assume that there are two basic ways that the teach
can act. First, he can respond to current events a
support their continuation because he sees them
consistent with goals and purpose. Second, he can i
tervene to initiate a new direction by modifying wh
is going on. This modification may be very slight, (
it may be quite abrupt and apparent, but in either cas
the intervention occurs because the teacher sees so
inconsistency between goals and purpose compar
with anticipated next events. How long a teacher w
tolerate a trend in the events which is away from h
goals and purpose probably varies greatly within t
same teacher and certainly between teachers. There
also great variation in what action is most often tak
once the teacher does decide to act. For example,
teacher may take matters into his own hands and i
tiate corrective action. On the other hand, he m
choose to ask questions designed to help pupils s
the inconsistency that he sees and in other ways sha
the responsibility for taking corrective action. Ho
rer a teacher does act, what he does will depend on
le skills associated with phases i, 2, and 3. In this
ay. Phase 4 summarizes and incorporates the first
iree phases of the model.
Are there any particular teaching skills associated
ith Phase 4 activities? I don’t really know, but I
old like to think that we teacher educators would
e smart enough to conceptualize the behaviors of de-
ding when and how to intervene and that we could
ien design training experiences which would improve
iis aspect of teaching. Here are some skills that might
e nominated as worthy of further investigation. First,
,e could train teachers to use response actions which
lould encourage pupils to share in diagnosing incon-
.stencies between what is happening and what needs
> happen in order to reach agreed upon goals of in-
:ruction. Second, we might find a way to train teach-
rs to be more tentative in formulating their abstract
immaries of past events and thereby be more sensi-
ve to unexpected events that suggest misconceptions
i summarizing past events. A third skill might result
:om giving teachers training experiences which show
iat sometimes it is possible to change the goals of in-
:ruction and still achieve desirable educational pur-
oses. A fourth skill is to learn to use various inter-
ention techniques so that teachers have a large reper-
>ire and can choose the most appropriate type of inter-
ention.
ummary of Listening Skills for Teachers
From Phase i comes the most important set of
Kills: A teacher has the ability to perceive bits of in-
)rmation from pupil behavior, to classify these bits,
) organize them into clusters with labels, and to for-
mlate functional relationships using the labels.
Phases s, 2, and 4: A teacher reacts to expected
vents one after another and, at the same time, in-
uctively processes information in such a way that
le summary labels are kept tentative so they do not
ihibit the receiving and processing of conflicting in-
Jrmation.
Phases 2, 3, and 4: A teacher has the sensitivity,
kills, and convictions necessary to initiate questions
iat will help to clarify inconsistencies among the be-
avioral phenomena whenever such inconsistencies are
oticed-especially in regard to cognitions about feel-
its, attitudes, subject matter, and group processes.
All Phases: A teacher is quite self-conscious about
iaintaining a balance which rests on a fulcrum of
greed upon goals of instruction which compares the
xplanations of past events with the predictions of next
vents; the teacher can establish flexible patterns of
ltervention because he has a wide repertoire of inter-
ention skills; a teacher develops the courage, patience,
d convictions necessary to use intervention judi-
ously.
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© 1973 American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.
Some Reflections on Teacher Listening and
Speaking
The conceptualization of teacher listening skills has
been ignored too long in the field of teacher education.
These skills are basic to all teacher-pupil encounters.
Listening and speaking skills are so intimately inter-
related that in some instances they seem to be almost
identical. For example, responsive speaking skills may
actually be listening skills since they often serve to
improve listening accuracy and correct a teacher’s mis-
conceptions.
The dynamic balance described in Phase 4 of the
model for teacher listening may suggest some kind of
decision-making model. How does a teacher decide
when he should intervene? How does he choose among
alternative interventions? Here again, the close inter-
relationship of listening skills with speaking skills is
quite apparent since a decision point recognized by
listening will most often provoke a verbal interven-
tion. It is quite possible that the skills of speaking and
listening should not be taught separately to teachers
even though they are conceptualized in different sec-
tions of this article.
The central challenge to those of us who seek to
identify basic teaching skills is to select for the first
round of teacher education those skills of speaking and
listening which have the greatest potential for subse-
quent professional self-development. These would be
basic skills because they are pervasive whenever teach-
ers and pupils interact and because they provide heu-
ristic experiences that facilitate continuing education
for teachers.
Notes
1 Ned A. Flanders, Analyzing Teaching Behavior
(Reading, Mass. : Addison-Wesley, 1970), p. 314
2 A.A. Bellack, H.M. Kliebard, R.T. Hyman, and F.L.
Smith Jr., The Language ofthe Classroom (New
York: Teachers College Press, Columbia Univer-
sity, 1966), p.4.
3 Flanders, Analyzing Teaching Behavior, p. 35.
4 Ned A. Flanders, Teacher Influence, Pupil Atti-
tudes, and Achievement, Cooperative Research
Monograph No. 12 (OE-25040), U.S. Office of Ed-
ucation (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan
School of Education, 1965).
5 H. Taba, "The Teaching of Thinking," Elementary
English, 42:5 (May 1965), p. 534-42.
6 W.R. Borg, M.L. Kelley, P. Langer, and M.D. Gall,
The Minicourse: A Microteaching Approach to
Teacher Education (Beverly Hills, Calif. : Mac-
millan Educational Services, 1970).
7 H.A. Thelen, Education and the Human Quest
(New York: Harper Bros., 1960), p. 188.
37