Visual, Oral and Written Commnication are all vital when teaching in the traditional classroom(F2F), especially if the learning environment is diverse. Often Visual Communication can save the day if students are diverse in languages and cultures. Kindness and respect can be transmitted with facial expressions, and this can be very useful when writen and oral "words" are not being understood.
Online, we are almost always limited to Written Communcation. I stress to students that if at any time they are confused by directions to contact me. Usually, I can reword directions so they are understood. The only real problem I have had with online communication has been student to student communication; ususally, the problems have been culture related.
Any suggestions on dealing with cross - culture communication difficulties among students?
I believe that the most important skill is active listening. Since students have different backgrounds and different educational experiences (sometimes negative), it is important to listen to their questions, comments, and suggestions. This will give an instructor some insight on their attitudes, interests, and skills, so instruction can be adjusted accordingly.
the use of strenth in voice tone through ones expierance helps to get across to the student the important points that need to stand out.
From a teaching perspective, clear, assimilated communication skills are important to a diverse learning environment. For example, I work at a "design" college. Students are very diverse from all aspects - culture, sex, race, etc. You need to be aware of your communication practices not to offend but try to encourage trust, respect and "assimilarity" to your studets.
Hi Kathy:
I teach an Organizational Behavior class and you have a great idea to start the first class with a discussion about naming conventions! I'm going to do that next quarter.
Thanks,
Eli
Hi Eli,
Thank you for your feedback--honestly, I thought you might be a male too:) but I want to going to take that chance--lol!
Several years ago when my first born was about 6 months old--we were in a restaurant. Like most babies--my daughter was getting all the attention from everyone in the restaurant--such as “Oh she is so cute”--or How old is she” etc. Then there was a young lady who seemed to be very drawn to my daughter. This lady spent several minutes cooing and smiling at my baby. The lady appeared to enjoy herself with my baby. While I glanced at the lady (you know--the protective first time Mom that I thought I was--) I noticed what appeared to me to be a pregnant belly so I asked her about her due date. Her response was “Honey, I am not pregnant, I am just fat! Oh my--did I turn red in the face. She just laughed but I felt so embarrassed. That was a huge learning moment for me. I assumed what I saw must be reality and true--but the truth was it was my own assumption. I certainly did not have any intention to offend this person but if she had not had a good sense of humor--my question could have been perceived as a cruel and offensive. Language is so important so it is so wise and thoughtful to take a few seconds to think before we talk.
That is a challenging question you raise to me but with those specific types of courses that you indicated --my approach would be to start with formality approach then I would most likely want to start the first class discussion on this issue. I think it could be an intriguing intro into the class. Thanks for sharing --
Andrea,
Interesting approach--I have yet to employ polls--although I have been introduce to them in faculty meetings/trainings-- I personally have yet to use this in my chats. But I am curious--if the students choose not to participate --what is your response? Also, what type of items do you use in your polls? I am thinking about trying it too--
Andrea,
I support your comment that “communicating clearly, concisely, completely, and courteously are important.” I am uncertain to whether you teach online or onsite but I find it a bit of a challenge perhaps at time frustrating when students choose not to attend a live chat or at the very bare basics listen to an archive chat at their convenience. I thoroughly review and discuss all upcoming tasks (assignments) as well as provide tidbits, examples etc on how to approach each assignment. In my role as instructor I believe that my primary duty to my students is delivering the “How to” for each assignment then I provide various examples from different perspectives to make the task a bit more real and doable. Moreover, I review past tasks before we move on to the next. I
I believe to the best of my ability I market upcoming chats encouraging chat attendance and participation from students. Again, if they are unable to attend a live chat--the archives are just as beneficial. My hope is that CTU will adopt a policy where students are mandated to attend or in the very least listen to archived class chats. These chats are where we [instructors] have the opportunity to employ effective communication with our students. Chats can be ( I believe they are) one of the most valuable communication tools in the online environment. I can always tell the difference between written work from students who attend or listen to the archived chats versus written work from the ones who choose not to. The “not tos’” are the ones who make many errors and often they are the ones contacting me on how to do this or what about that etc. In those situations, I refer them to the specific chats where answers to their questions can be found.
I am pro chat so I market chats to my students. I advised them that the chats are available in the archives where they can listen to each chat at their own convenience then if they have any unanswered questions then I convey the message that I am more than happy to chat with them about unanswered questions. In addition, I tell them if they prefer, I will respond to their questions in a live chat where they can listen to the answers at their convenience. That has been a successful approach too. I am uncertain if my response has been helpful but I know for me--this approach eliminates frustration.
In any learning environment, whether ground based or online in nature, it is vital to take into consideration the diverse group of students within the classroom. In today's global economy, it is more important than ever for teachers to ensure that they are meeting the needs of such a largely different group of students.
With this in mind, one of the best communication skills for teachers to understand is the differences within the culture. Some cultures encourage eye contact, while other do not. Some encourage question asking, while others do no. Because of this, teachers need to understand the slight differences found within the cultures the students in the classroom have a background in so they can better develop communication strategies that are truly meeting to their needs.
Hi Andrea:
A communication is effective when the receiver gets the information in the way that the sender intended it. So your emphasis on clear, concise, complete and courteous communication is key.
I give my students chapter review notes for every chapter. On these notes, I bold information that will be on the next exam. What I hope to achieve by doing this is to get my students to focus on particular information. On important information, I also will ask "Does everyone understand this?" "Is this clear?" "Does anyone have any questions?
" - rather than overcommunicate and bore my students and me!
As for unprepared students having high expectations for a passing grade - I am regularly in touch with those students who have a C or less in my class. I send them emails or call them and let them know that they have one chance to retake a test to boost their grade. I also prepare Student Performance Checklists that itemize step by step what they can do to boost their grade. In the end, as my boss tells me, there is only so much that you, as the instructor, can do. You provide excellent support and the rest has to be up to the student.
Hi Kathy:
I've made the same mistake regarding names and assumptions of gender. Coming from me that's really wrong given the fact that I've struggled with that all of my life... I'm a female and everyone assumes that I am male because of the spelling of my name! My family immigrated to the U.S. before I started school and the spelling of my name became Eli (pronounced Ellie).
One of those mistakes that's easy to remedy as you have - just refer to all by first name. This can be a challenge if you have "mature" adult learners from other countries whose cultures focus on respect for elders - meaning even if you are the instructor and, therefore, command respect - they are still older than you and you should refer to them with a title. Obviously, in an online course, you can't assess the age of someone so this is irrelevant. It can, however, be an issue in a classroom environment - particularly if you're teaching a class like World Cultures, International Business, etc. So would you refer to everyone in the class by titles?
Hi Robert,
I have experienced the same challenge in my online classes. Initially, I introduced polls to assess if students were listening and to engage them in dialogue. I find that students will respond to the polls. You wil of course have to provide the responses to your questions in the poll. This can be good or bad. The good part is that you will clearly understand their response. The not so good part is that the student did not provide the response. I guess it's how you look at it. While the majority of students tend not to ask questions in the chat setting, they will, as I'm sure that you may have noticed, communicate via email. Try the polls.
Another suggestion is to prepare and upload a "quiz" of about 5 or so questions to which they must type in their responses.
From a teaching perspective, communicating clearly, concisely, completely,and courteously are important. Students must clearly hear what you are communicating, so one's voice projection is important to effect this component of communication. The information must be concise and specific, not general or vague to be effective. And instructors must provide students with all of the information necessary in order for the communication to be effective. And this information must be conveyed courteously. Each aforementioned element can impact communication either negatively or positively.
I would like to eliminate any hint of frustration in my voice that may be perceived as discourteous communication. I frequently overcommunicate on purpose so that students are aware of important aspects of a task. This coupled with students attending classes unprepared yet having high expectations of a passing grade is frustrating. Any suggestions?
Cynthia,
I agree with your comment-- Although I have a PPT uploaded into my chats--I am not very consistent in using them throughout the course-- in their words--I do not always transition the slides. Rather I typically take the class to different websites to make a point or to bring a new though into the chat then l put the PPT back into the chat.
Eli,
I taught at another university where I had the opportunity to teach hybrid courses. For me there was no real distinction between hybrid and onsite (live--face to face) classes. We met for the first few weeks so I had the opportunity to get to know faces, non verbal cues etc--so when we were online I (I would say ‘we’) were already in that familiarity state and comfort zone with one another.
In the online environment --there have been times when I have been unable to discern the gender of my students. First names do not always provide the answers. Even first names that are from various cultural backgrounds-- can be deceiving and not too telling. For example, a student’s first name ended with the letter ‘a’ so I assumed it was a female name (feminine tense.) Therefore, I referred to the student has she? The student politely informed me that he was a he! Needleless to say, I felt embarrassed for a few moments. My remedy to this issue is never to assume so I just refer to students by first name.
Eli,
Excellent point and one that I also employ--it is so critical that we develop a rapport with our students. We can accomplish this through interpersonal communication. I first start with the written info on the announcement boards, docs located in the instructor files and my personal biography so that these items are the first intro that students come across when they enter my class. It is my opinion that consistent messages and updates to the announcement board are critical elements to convey that I am here to help and guide you through the course tasks. Then the live chats allow me to personally verbalize in my “own voice” who I am as well as my intentions and objective to serve the student. I prefer having interactive chats that allows me to put on my listening ears to hear the needs of my class. In addition, I encourage students to present PPT or other assignments that I believe convey that I want to physically “hear” their perceptive on the issue.
Irina,
I totally support your approach in the online environment. I post daily announcements and provide personal feedback to each student. Also, I have found that when I provide an extra DB forum where students have the opportunity to ask each other questions that is another vehicle to fostering effective communications.
I feel that repeating helps a great deal. I also like to write things on the board using illustrations & words as well when applicable. This has helped a great deal in my class & the students really enjoy it. I am constantly asking them questions as well. This helps both the student & the instructor know the progress thats happening.
For me, as for you and most others, the non-verbal cues in communications are very important. My students will regularly use emoticons to help them express a point when communicating online.
Your point about active listening is a good one. One cannot get the entire message if only half of it gets expressed. I try to pause for several seconds after getting a student's question. That helps me to digest the question and sends a message of respect to the student - that I am giving the question my full consideration.
I am lucky that I have hybrid courses - half of my classes are in class and half are online - so it's easier for me to communicate with my students online since they know my communication style and expectations for online discussions and/or assignments. Having said that, in online communications, I think that it's important to not only keep communications short but also to keep them succinct... get to the point of the communication quickly.
