International Conference on Arts, Design and Contemporary Education (ICADCE 2015)

The Principles and the Ways of Classroom Interaction

Keqing Chai
school of foreign languages
Jiujiang University
Jiujiang, China 332005
e-mail:ckqaie@[Link]

Abstract—This article explores, from the perspective of These problems seem to be ingrained, the teachers
educational philosophy, the development of the theories always think that there is no way to solve the problems. We
"teacher centered theory", "student centered theory", the might as well put aside the specific problems to analyze the
double -subject theory and the theory of intersubjectivity, and value orientation of the classroom interaction from the angle
puts forward some ways and principles of the implementation of philosophy.
of classroom interaction under the guidence of the philosophy
of intersubjectivity.
II. ANALYSIS OF CLASSROOM INTERACTION IN
Keywords—classroom teaching; positive interaction; PHILOSOPHY
intersubjectivity Classroom interactions, especially the study of the
interaction between teachers and students are mainly
I. ISSUES RAISED influenced by subject and object theory, double-subject
The process of teaching, is the process of interaction theory and intersubjectivity theory in philosophy. Their
between teachers and students, and also between the students developments have gone through four stages:
themselves. The ways and efficiency of the interaction
between the teachers and students or between the students A. The teacher -centered stage
and students, will determine the success or failure of the The traditional classroom teaching usually follows
teaching. Because of our job, the author in the past five years Herbart's "class teaching" theory. Under the advocacy of
have visited the university classroom or attended more than Herbart, the father of modern education, modern education is
40 university classroom lectures. From all these lectures I on the way to do teaching on the basic unit: class, the formal
have come to the conclusion that the classroom interaction school unit. From that time on the teaching activities occur in
between teachers and students is much better than the people the classroom At that time the European classroom
thought of in the past. They thought in the past years a arrangement is like that in most of our school in our country:
university teacher was just holding a book in the classroom the teacher's desk is right in the front of the classroom, the
teaching, copiously and fluently delivering their speech for desks and chairs of the students are neatly laid out row upon
two hours, and then sped away. Now the reality is that row in the rest space of the classroom. The teacher in the
teachers have obviously begun to attach more importance to front speaks with fervour and assurance, the students
the interaction with students. But there are many problems as seriously take notes and do the exercises in class. The teacher
follows: is the center or core of the class, making a decision about
teaching contents and the students’ learning process, and he
 More and more interactions between teachers and is also the teaching and learning evaluator. Students are
students appear in the classroom but the interactions passive knowledge container or receivers. There are few
between students and students has not started yet; classroom interactive activities. The students’ initiative, the
 Teachers are always dominant in the teacher-student autonomy of the students, their freedom and rights are
interaction, the students are usually passive and neglected.
unactive. The time of the interaction, when to begin
the interaction, the interactive content, the interactive B. Students-centered stage
way, and when to end the interaction are strictly At the beginning of twentieth Century there was an
controlled by the teacher, not by the students or by American educator and philosopher Dewey as a
both. The students just give the answer to the representative of the education reformers at that time put
questions and react to the requirements of the teacher ; forward a new theory "child-centered theory", emphasizing
 The interactions between teachers and students do not democracy in education : "since in the democratic society we
cover enough students, which most of the time is think there is no external authority influence, it must use the
confined only to those active students about one third, voluntary disposition and interest to replace it; and the
most of the students are not involved in the voluntary tendency and interest can only be formed through
interaction; education " (Dewey, 2001) The theory "Child -centered

© 2015. The authors - Published by Atlantis Press 844

theory" emphasizes the needs of children and children's occur at the same time in the classroom. If the leading role of
growth is the center or goal of the classroom teaching, and the teacher is too much emphasized or powerful, students'
the teacher is just an attendant, advisor and assistant. The subjectivity would be ignored, or even muzzled, and if the
teacher's role is weakened, or sometimes teachers are just students’ subjectivity is paid too much attention to in
onlookers. The traditional idea of education shifts from one learning, the teachers’ leading role in teaching would be
extreme to the opposite extreme. The effect of "Child overlooked or even inhibited. It is difficult to keep the
centered theory" on the Chinese is relatively large. A student balance between them .This seems to be a fuzzy thinking,
of Dewey, the great educator Tao Xingzhi from China was there is no clear principles and feasible way, causing the
deeply influenced by his theory, Dewey was also invited to education practitioners, the majority of the teachers confused.
China for an academic visit and delivered many lectures in According to my observation, most of the current classroom
many places for a long time. Tao Xingzhi attached a great in our country still lay particular stress on the leading role of
importance to democracy in education and democratic teachers and ignore the students' main function, because the
education: "democracy and education is to teach people to be students have no other choice but to answer the teachers'
the master, to be their own masters, be the masters of the questions, do the homework to do assigned by teacher,
country, to be the masters of the world." (East China Normal participate in the examination of teachers. They have no
University, 1989) power to make a decision.
"Child -centered theory" is the reaction to "Teacher
centered theory", paying attention to the learners’ D. The stage of intersubjectivity
requirements, focusing on the students’ initiative, but on the Intersubjectivity is the core category to construct
other hand it ignores the role of teachers. As professional communication theory of the twentieth Century philosophy.
educators, teachers' knowledge, skills, ideas are not fully The communication of Intersubjectivity is the behavior that
utilized in the "Child -centered theory" classroom, resulting "teachers and students reach an understanding and agreement
that the classroom teaching level of each school, each class for the purpose through communication. It is mainly through
are uneven, and further more it is not conducive to the mutual communication and coordination of social conformity
students to master the knowledge systematically. to reach an understanding, the formation of non forced
consciousness." (Zheng Zhaoli, 2000)
Because the number of the teachers is relatively small,
good teachers are still not enough, the class size is relatively Intersubjectivity theory no longer looks at teachers and
large. In rural areas classes over 60 students are still students as the two opposite sides, they are equal in the
relatively common. And in addition the teacher's dignity" classroom. They have the same goal in education .They can
far-reaching influences on Chinese, China currently mainly democratically communicate with each other through mutual
uses the "Teacher centered theory" classroom teaching. understanding and dialogue, and at last reach an unforced
common consensus about the text, achieving the "fusion of
C. Dual or double-subject stage Horizons" and experience sharing.
After the "Teacher- centered theory" and "student- Intersubjectivity is a new relationship between teachers
centered theory", the education sector has proposed the and students, a new train of thought of classroom interaction,
theory that teacher and students both are the subjects of and it is becoming the theoretical foundation of the reform of
education. The difference between them is that the teacher is classroom interaction mode. The students who are enriched
a director in teaching and the student is the learning subject. with the knowledge, improved with skills, enhanced with the
The teacher provides the servises to the students, but the independent consciousness, require classroom teaching to
teacher can also use his expertise, skills to determine the reform, wish to have the respect from the teachers and a
learning content, methods and even results. So the dialogue equally with educators.
development of the educational idea like a pendulum,
moving from left to right, now seems to be back to the centre. III. THE PRINCIPLE OF CLASSROOM INTERACTION
This idea is consistent with Chinese philosophy "golden UNDER THE GUIDANCE O INTERSUBJECTIVITY
mean", which so far has been endorsed by the mainstream Intersubjectivity is different from the theory the subject
educators of our country. For example, China's well-known and object of the binary opposition between the two, which
education expert Professor Ye Lan thinks that, "in the puts forward a new view of classroom interaction about the
educational activities, there are two kinds of activities: reform of classroom teaching. The author has summarized
teaching activities and learning activities. In the teaching and come to the conclusion that intersubjectivity classroom
activities, educators or teachers are the undertakers of the should follow at least the following principles:
teaching activities, shaping the students his object to the
requirement of education, who are the essential condition in A. The principle of democracy, equality and interaction
his teaching. On the contrary, in the learning activities, the
students are the subjects, educators are one of the necessary Only when the teachers and students are willing to be
conditions of the learning and the object of the learning." democratic and be a subject and regard each other as the
(1996) but the theory is also difficult to implement its ideas subject, the relationship between teachers and students
and methods in the actual classroom teaching .For example, becomes the relationship of intersubjectivity and the
both teachers’ teaching and students’ learning in most cases relationship of democracy. (Hao Wenwu, 2009) That is to
say both teachers and students have accepted the idea of

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democracy and are willing to respect each other. With this D. Reaching a consensus as the goal
atmosphere, can the inter subjectivity education be gradually Classroom interaction doesn’t mean uninterrupted
established. dialogue and negotiation, but the two sides of the interaction
The equality and democracy between teachers and with an open mind get out of the original "narrow" horizon
students, between students is the basic principle of classroom fusion, and reach a new consensus on the new horizon,
interaction. In this interaction, the teacher can not impose its which is on a higher level.
will on the students, can not force students to comply with
the specification that they don’t approve, and students also IV. WAYS OF CLASSROOM INTERACTION
should not think of themselves as the education customers,
the education consumer, ask for too much of the teacher, not A. Quiz between teachers and students or between
even respect the teacher. students
To reflect democracy and equality the teachers and
B. Listening and understanding students, between students and students, we should first
If only there is equality, democracy in interaction, but in change the way that the teacher asked the students questions
the interaction the two sides have no mutual understanding, and the students answer. Let the students ask questions, ask
have not developed the habit of listening, interaction, also, the teacher questions, ask the other students questions, which
may lead to self-interaction or talking to oneself, or even allows students to think actively learning content, cultivate
become a negative resist. their innovative thinking, and can let the student clearly
experience their own dominant position, subject
That the teachers are required to understand the students, consciousness in class, and make the students more like to
is to meet the needs of students in cognition and emotion, participate in the teaching content, teaching process, teaching
Students also should understand the teacher in the need of results.
occupation and emotion, rather than the teacher speaking
with fervour and assurance, the student being absent-minded. In our teaching practice, it is not a simple task to let the
This is typical performance of the lack of understanding of students ask questions .That the students ask questions itself
each other; the teachers ignore students need and students is not easy, to raise a good and worthy question will be more
overlook the teachers’ feeling. There is almost no interaction difficult. This requires students not only to know the learning
in teaching, at least there is no positive interaction. content, but also need more thinking, more practice in life,
otherwise it is not a good question.
The habit of listening means mutual understanding,
mutual respect. It is not easy to do this, which needs long- It is a great challenge for the teacher. Letting the students
term efforts. For example, students can listen to the teacher’s ask questions increases the unpredictability of the classroom
wonderful speech, but it is difficult for the teacher to listen to activities and learning content. The teacher can not answer
the student’s answering intermittently and inaccurately, Let all the questions raised by students. This requires teachers to
alone request the students to listen to a poor student’s accept the fact that the teacher’s knowledge is limited .which
ambiguous statement. is conducive to the development of students' autonomy and
innovation.
C. Dialogue
Gregory Bates on said, " the social environment and the B. Keep an eye on students' real needs of learning
way of the transmission of information plays a leading and To interact with students equally, to understand students,
decisive role in the process of teaching and learning, rather listen to their quirements and difficulties, we would take care
than teaching content." (Bauman, 2002) constructivist thinks of their real learning needs. Different students have different
that knowledge is the unity of objective reflection and life experiences and different knowledge backgrounds which
subjective construction, is the result of cognitive subject’s determines the learning needs of different students will be
active choice, processing and creation to the stimulation . various. How to design teaching plan, classroom activities,
Educators in the new world must turn their attention from the classroom arrangement and homework the teacher should
teaching material, the education content to the education fully consider the different needs of them, which requires the
mode. teacher to make great efforts. But if you want to do well
enough you should fully and equally negotiate with students.
Teachers should communicate with students and students
should communicate with students democratically and
equally through language. This is a two-way, dynamic C. Take care of the emotional needs of the students
generating process of dialogue, rather than teachers The inter subjectivity requires the two sides of the
explaining strictly on the basis of the teaching plan . Without communication regard each other as a real emotional
a sincere dialogue, there is no equal interaction, there is no humanbeing. The teacher can't see students coldly as
democracy, let alone mutual understanding between the two recipients of knowledge, but a lovely child as their children
sides. or siblings. Their happiness, sadness, joy or disappointment
is the focus of teachers. Teachers should not only help them
acquire the knowledge and skills, but also help them enjoy
life, form a healthy and positive personality.

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 To do this, the teacher should be sensitive to the students' REFERENCES
changes in emotion. When the questions raised by the [1] Bowman. Individualized society [M]. Shanghai: the joint publishing
students seem absurd and the other students laugh at him, the company LTD., Shanghai, 2002:153.
teacher can also laugh it off, but immediately make [2] Dewey. Democracy and education [M]. Beijing: people's education
judgments according to the students personality and mental press, 2001:94-97.
capacity to make a decision quickly whether to encourage [3] East China normal university. Selected works of Chinese modern
him/her or to lighten the atmosphere, or break the ice education [M]. Beijing: people's education press, 1989:298-300.
humorously, or to talk to him or her after school to ensure [4] Hao Wenwu. Education democratic nature of the intersubjectivity and
that his / her self-esteem does not hurt? the way [J]. Journal of education theory and practice, 2009 (2) : 3-6
[5] Ye Lan introduction to education [M]. Beijing: people's education
press, 1996:13.
D. Multiple rounds of dialogue timely
[6] Zheng Zhaoli. Habermas and the significance of Marx's
The real interaction is not unidirectional, nor a single communication category domain and interconnected [J]. Journal of
round. The traditional way in class is that the teacher asks a teaching and research, 2000 (8).
question, the students or a student answers which is
unidirectional .It is a false interaction.
True interaction requires the teacher continue to ask
students more questions according to the answer from the
students and go on in this way to further the communication
with students to deepen the mutual understanding of each
other, and make both sides enjoy happiness.

E. Touching the students real life and future career goals

To make the students interested and think independently,
is the questions related with the real life of students and real
problem. For example, a teacher of English designs a plan in
language practice activities, the requirement for the students
is to exchange what their family did last weekend, or what
they want to be after graduation, their ideal occupation and
what their ideal life is, which is easier to arouse the interest
of students, and allow students to truly express their thoughts
and feelings.

F. Let the students participate in decision making

Democracy, equality of education, require both sides, the
teacher and the students to have the same right for education
decision-making. It seems impossible for the students who
are lack of professional knowledge and skills, but students
know what they want, what they can do. For example, what
the teacher will do in the next class such as the topic choice,
the division of class group, group leader candidates,
homework and the frequency and way of examination should
be fully discussed with the students and reach the consensus.
Because, democracy requires teacher not to force students to
comply with the specifications and requirements that they
have not approved.

V. CONCLUSION
Chinese now attaches great importance to the
development of Chinese socialist democracy. The
construction of democracy requires implement education
democracy and democratic education first. One of the most
effective forms of democratic educzation is classroom
interaction, which is the key of democratic education and the
cultivation of innovative talents. In this paper, from
intersubjectivity perspective, we discusses the principles and
ways of classroom interaction. We feel that the research is
not deep enough. We hope we can do more to explore in it.

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