The ability to use different modalities, e.g. whiteboard, lecture, PowerPoint, discussion as well as the ability to rephase content in different ways using a range of vocabulary to insure that content is accessible are essential skills in teaching.
Maintaining eye contact with the individual students helps to the students to connect with the instructor and vice versa. looking back to my college days, I connect better with the instructors who had good eye contact , They convinced and set a stage for clarity , honesty and truth in what they were sharing . The use of voice is absolutely important.
I agree too, I generally try to add in a personal story or some sort of visual to make what I am lecturing about come across and stick
Shawn Carrillo
Karen,
this is a great point as it doesn't matter who "entertaining" or engaging we are, if we are not clear in the valuable information.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
To communicate effectively I believe topics need to be clearly outlined defined that way it can be a reference for students.
I think speaking clearly and asking alot of questions.
Some of the most important skills I have seen is trying to relate the information to the students in a way that can also relate to their experiences. Also sometimes to get the students to break out of their shells I will have them question me.
Jessica,
this is exactly right & we have to make sure that the two are in agreement or our students will pick up on this.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I think your verbal and nonverbal communication are equally important. Students pick up on our body language sometimes more than what we are actually saying.
Irving,
I think these are good ideas & I wouldn't call it dumbing down, but making sure that the material is accessible for the majority of your students.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I like to make my class interesting by making learning fun and humerous. I try to make students as comfortable as possible by creating laughter. I may also dumb down the information to make sure that everyone understands. I encourage the students to help each other whenever a student isn't understanding my material.
Diana,
this is an excellent point regarding all aspects of our classes being part of our communication.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I think I have memorized the listening cues when students are communicating, which are: listening for content; listening for an emotional thread; listening for what is not being said; and listening for any disconnects. These suggestions will help me in turn communicate effectively because I will understand more clearly where the student(s) are coming from.
Everything communicates for you. For example: Your grading lined out in the syllabus hopefully says,"you can do this", your varied teaching styles shouts, "I am committed to helping you learn this", and your attitude through good days and bad speaks volumes.
Ebonie,
this is an excellent way to do some quick, frequent assessments & allows you to know if you need to recover something or speed it up.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Asking students questions. This will allow me to know if my students are understanding.
Chelsea,
yes, we must use good nonverbal skills ourselves as instructors & also learn how to read the nonverbals of our students.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Non verbal sends a message for the learner and instructor..so the instructor can modifiy accordingly. Sooner than later if need be.
Yes, humor is important. I play when learning the heart, two songs that are humorous, however, the students remember the flow of the heart better.
I feel that identifying how your students learn first is important. Than developing around that or including the various methods, hands on, verbal, visual is also important in communication.
Another aspect, is understanding that you need to use various methods, eye contact, moving around is also important in communication, being closed up to your student will cause them to close up and not hear what you have to say.
While all aspects of communication are important, I feel that the communication between the class and the instructor is just as important. What do you think is important?
