Hi Mazzy,
I totallly agree with your statement about communication. Communication has to be clear and precise. Students must be able to understand what is being presented in class and need to have a way of relating the knowledge to something that is applicable. It is very important to get their feedback as to where their level of comprehension lies. You are right regarding adjusting your teaching strategies/styles, so that it correlates with the different learning styles of the individual students. A variety of teaching syles is best, to ensure that you are able to reach the diverse group of students in your classroom.
Sharon Rogers
Hmm. I'm not sure what is meant by a "diverse learning environment". Are we talking about diversity in students? Are we talking about integrating skills with lecture information?
Certainly, having a clear, distinct voice is important. People need to hear you and understand what your saying.
Not talking too fast is also important. If you are talking too fast the students then talk among each other to make sure they are getting notes but they are not paying attention to the content. You want students to be able to let the information soak in so that they can form questions in the moment. Class discussion can help everyone learn.
All teachers over time acquire a wealth of knowledge and expertise in the field of their interest. They also get a sense of satisfaction when they are able to pass their knowledge on to students. We pass our knowledge on through communications. I believe that all the techniques mentioned in the present section are very useful. Mixing verbal cues and graphics will gain student attention. Giving the number of points will allow the student to know how much and what will be covered. Moving around the classroom will help keep the students interested.
In identifying important communication skills in the learning environment, I feel that we need to first identify where students are by pretesting, having them share where they are coming from, what their goals are for the course, what their past experiences have been and what they would like to see happen in the class.
We need to also ask students who may have any special learning needs or if they need special assistance to let us know individually so we can work with them to provide assistance to help them be more successful in our class and in other classes.
We need to know if we have any English Language Learning students and how far they have progressed to this point. We need to know what they would like to see happen to help them be successful in our class.
It is important to smile, to be warm and accepting but firm, to let students on the first day know the goals of the class, the learning outcomes and what will be covered in the class. We need to discuss with them how this fits in with their mission in life, what they hope to obtain from the course and how they can use this information in meeting their own career goals.
We need to talk about classrom preparation, choosing where you sit, listening attentively and taking effective class notes and how these choices and skills will determine success in college and in their chosen career.
We need to talk about habits that will make them successful and ones that will keep them from being successful.
We need to relate their past experiences to their future.
We also need to listen attentively to our students, circulate, monitor them regularly and meet indiviudally with students that we feel are having difficulties in being successful. We also need to praise each and every student for what they do right.
We need to model successful ways of behaving including body language, speech, and a positive and caring attitude for our students. We also need to model positive professsional habits such as being on time, working the entire period and dealing with stressful situations in positive ways.
Successful communication is all of these things and requires ongoing attention and hard work on the part of an instructor and the students.
I am inteerested in finding out how other instructors identify and use good communication skills.
Making eye contact with each student, having students repeat back the instructions I just gave them, and most importantly learning each students name as quickly as possible so that students know you care about them individually. Being able to communicate with them by name makes them feel valued.
All communication skills are important when presenting a subject, developing yourself to use the right skills at the right time to match your audience is the key to success. I instruct many students from foreign countries, using the English language. Speaking clearly, explaining acronyms and definitions, short stories for examples, repetition, and gestures or diagram are very important. I also must continually read the students Non-Verbal Communication (NVC) as an aid to decide if they are grasping the concepts presented. Lastly, I must be a good listener and at times decipher what is said by the students and repeat/rephrase student questions and comments in clear English. By trying to incorporate all of the aforementioned items, the students retain the information required to be successful in their careers.
I think it is important to be approachable. Students should not be afraid to ask questions. Smiling and making eye contact helps to build rapport with the students so they are more likely to ask questions. The instructor must provide a safe environment for students to feel like they can communicate freely.
Hi Mark!
I can't think of a better approach than to be able to recognize one's own challenges and then be able to address them. I remember when I first entered n the classroom as an instructor it took me a while to get the delicate balance of process and teaching style and technique all working insync. It just takes time!
Keep up the good work!
Jane Davis
ED106 Facilitator
Hi Jay;
I think for me it has to be organization of a lesson plan, daily in-class actvity, and student assessment schedule (testing). Nothing has been more time consuming and frustrating in my first two years as an instructor, then facing my own deficits in this area. I have slowly begun to organize better and relax more, allowing for all types of students to have air-time and own their education.
Mark
Great point Melissa! It's so important to be able to express course content in several ways to accommodate different learning styles. I'm very much a words person, but I try hard to be artistic at times!
You need all your communication skills with a diverse group but I would say number 1 and 2 is eye contact and moving around the room.
I teach in a very compact fast program and have to give them alot of material so I tell my students all the time do you understand and make them repeat back to me what i said so that i know they are starting to understand. I also will ask questions that make them think and tie 2 concepts together as well.
Hi Earle!
Good perspective! But don't you think that it depends on the student? When I've tried to be brief but to the point, I typically have a few student who invaribly comes to me with questions of clarification. So, I try to find a happy medium so that the majority of the students have a clear understanding.
Keep up the good work!
Jane Davis
ED106 Facilitator
The ability to get to the core of what you are trying to communicate and then stop. Students want to know what is expected and why. They are not looking for fluff.
Hi Daniel!
The "world is a stage and we are all actors". Isn't is amazing how much we learn from each other. I certainly see the value of on-line course, but the classroom inaction is invaluable and real world.
Keep up the good work!
Jane Davis
ED106 Facilitator
The importance of nonverbal communication skills is something that lasts a life time in the students mind. I have students now who came back to me 4 years later and say to me thank you for your openess and nonjudgemental attitude it has given me the courage to go on and get my state license. They also talk about their felling when it came to working with people in their field that they may have not got a long with so well and how openess in the nonverbal communication has given them their ability to work with individuals that they would have never even talked with before. This way of talking with your students like they are you and making sure they feel just as important as you do in the class room in priceless
In the classes that I teach clear communication
is a must, also I find that eye contact is a good tool as far as communicating goes.
Stressing what is important to the student for the student to remember. Many time we throw so many facts at them that they cannot tell what is important from what is not as important. I always tell them that they will see this again usually in exam form. If they write down what I just mentioned they can have a good study guide to study from. However, many of my students do not take notes---why?--I have no idea. I recap what the lesson was at the end of the class and try to tie it all together for them.
I think a critical skill is to identify when you actually lose your students, as when they get that glazed over look. In the IT field, it's easy to get into a rhythm of "Geek speak" and when this happens for me it's easy to spot. At that point what I will do is refocus on related topic or go to my next example.
diverse learning environment is considering a lecture/practical application setting so it's really important that I am careful not to say too much while I am physically doing things at the same time.
