The Power of Our Words: Teacher Language that Helps Children Learn

Paula Denton's book has proved immensely helpful for me in my work coaching teachers to reflect on and enhance their teaching practice. Her suggestions for refining teacher language are practical and immediately accessible for both experienced and "rookie" teachers. I highly recommend this book to teachers who want to improve their communication, interaction, classroom management and relationships with students and colleagues.

I bought this book three weeks ago and I find it one of the most useful books I own. It is written well and packed with practical ways to create a positive learning environment.

As a classroom teacher in inner city schools for 8 years, I have found myself immersed in school cultures which were disrespectful and authoritarian toward parents and students. This book presents a different approach to the teacher's role as a catalyst for learning. Well-grounded in pedagogical theory, it is pragmatic in its descriptions of how language that encourages motivation and responsibility might sound. For example, one area the book addresses well is the delivery of reinforcement. I have always felt that nonspecific praise such as "good job" didn't really help students understand what it was about their academic or behavioral improvement that merited recognition. It made me uncomfortable that feedback in this form made students dependent on my approval and tethered them to my judgment alone. This book helped me understand how I can clearly communicate evidence of growth to the student so that he or she can perceive that success. In "The Power of Our Words," Denton helps teachers envision how they can communicate with students in ways which promote personal and intellectual engagement. She offers supportive suggestions to help teachers figure out how they might change their own style of language. Finally, the book inspires the hope that as we hone the clarity of our messages in classroom speech, we will be more efficacious in helping students become autonomous, reflective, and motivated learners. I believe that is a major key to closing the achievement gap.