1. Two Techniques for Teaching the Brightest Early Teens
By Chris Gunn
University of Incheon
Teaching Effective Communication

2. Measuring Effective Communication
Effective: Active negotiation of meaning
Ineffective: Passive negotiation of meaning.
Teaching Effective Communication

3. Measuring Effective Communication
Effective: Precise, clear speech.
Ineffective: Imprecise, speech as a result of a tendency to economize.
Teaching Effective Communication

4. Strengths of High Scoring Middle School Students
Good Vocabulary.
Knowledge of Grammar
Ability to read short texts fairly easily,
Intrinsically motivated by problem solving
Teaching Effective Communication

5. Weaknesses of High Scoring Middle School Students
Passive.
Inexperienced
Tendency to economize.
Teaching Effective Communication

6. Negotiation of Meaning
The process of pinning down the meaning so that two speakers both agree that what was said was what was meant.
And what was said was understood.
Teaching Effective Communication

7. What the Process of Negotiating Meaning Involves
Interrupting
Clarifying
Signaling Confusion
Signaling Comprehension
Rephrasing
Giving Examples
Spelling things out
Confirming
Asking for details
Teaching Effective Communication

8. Designing Articles for Technique I
Key expressions seeded into both articles.
Detailed information that is not common knowledge.
Numbers presented in various forms such as dates, percentages, fractions, and decimals.
Teaching Effective Communication

9. Riddle Sample I: Lights and Switches
You are in a room and there are three light switches that are on off. The light switches are connected to three light bulbs that are in a different room. You do not know which switch is connected to which light bulb. You cannot see into that room. But you are allowed to go into that room exactly once. How can you figure out which switch is connected to which light bulb?
Teaching Effective Communication

10. Canonical Solution: Lights and Switches
Turn the first switch on and wait for twenty minutes. Then, turn the first switch off and turn the second switch on. Quickly go into the room where the light bulbs are. The light that is on is the second switch. Touch the remaining two light bulbs. The light that is off and warm is the first switch and the light that is off and cool is the third switch.
Teaching Effective Communication

11. Riddle Sample II: Crossing the River
A family consisting of a mother, a father, and two children was walking in the woods one day. They came to a river and wanted to cross the river so they looked for a way to cross the river. At last, they found a small boat. But the boat was too small to carry the whole family. It could only carry one adult or two children. How can the whole family the far bank of the river?
Teaching Effective Communication

12. Partial Canonical Solution: Crossing the River
First, the two children get in the boat and go across the river. One child gets out and the other child goes back across the river. The child in the boat gets out and the mother gets in the boat and goes across the river. When the mother reaches the other side, she gets out of the boat. The child who is across the river gets back in the boat and goes back across the river. The child who is waiting on the near bank of the river gets in the boat and they both go across together.
Teaching Effective Communication

13. Teaching Effective Communication
Precision
Identifying all subjects, objects, and directions so that there is no room for confusion on the part of a listener.
Teaching Effective Communication

14. Teaching Effective Communication
Sample of Precision
Sample student answer:
Two children get in the boat and go across the river. One child gets out. One child goes across the river.
More Precise
One child gets out and the other child goes across the river.
One child gets out. And the child who is still in the boat goes across the river.
Teaching Effective Communication

15. Precision is Created by Using Several Tools
Relative clauses: The light that is on . . .
Prepositional phrases: The boy by the boat
Participial Phrases: The boy wearing a blue jacket
Determiners:
Indefinite articles: A, An, Some
Definite articles: The
Quantifiers: Some, Few, Both, Many, All
Numerals: One, Two, The first, The second
Demonstrative Pronouns: This, That, These, Those
Possessive Adjectives: My, Your, His, her
Teaching Effective Communication