The use of verbal skills with enthusiasm, movement, metaphors, and analogies to increase their attention to the subject at hand.
I need to keep to the 3 to 5 second rule. Sometimes I can focus too long to see if they understand and thus disregard the other students. This can minamize their attention and education as well as make the one student feel uncomfortable.
Carlos
I think that eye contact is the most important communication skill. If you make each student feel like you are addressing them personally, they are more likely to pay attention to the class lecture.
Verbal communication is very important in relaying the information to your students. As far as the most important I would have to say it is body language. If you have poor body language than that reflects to your students and the majority of your students will tune you out and stop listening. I would like to improve my communication skills for people who have learning disabilities. I have a small amount of information on how to communicate the information to them in a way that they would thoroughly understand.
Hi T. Tanner,
I have faced the same challenge; here might be a suggestion: At the beginning of the quarter I have given students a scenario of obtaining a new piece of information about a topic, then given them a choice as to how they would like to see the information presented - for example, PowerPoint, lecture with examples, a hands-on activity, etc. Of course, most students will say a balance of all three, and, of course, we should incorporate as much flexibility in our instructional delivery as possible. However, for purposes of the question, I ask them to choose one method. This has helped me in choosing the best instructional techniques for the dynamics of a particular learning group.
Thanks again for your comments,
Jay Hollowell
ED106 Facilitator
I have a storng voice and I am working on modulation. I realise that at itmes modulation in required to change the tone, getting the students curious and listening.
I think the most important communication skill is to be able to communicate the material in several different ways. If the students don't understand the materia one way it is explained, being able to explain it some other ways as well can be really important. This is especially helpful when you have a classroom with students from other cultures as well. Along with having several differnt ways to explain the material it is important to also be able to convey why that info is important. That is te part where I need to improve - thinking of different ways to explain the impotance of what they are studying.
I agree that many students want you just to give them the answer. They do not see the point in learning to do research. When they get a job the boss is not going to give them the answer, they will many times have to figure that out themselves.
I believe that being able to communicate clearly and concisely are the most important skills to a diverse environment. If you are mumbling or stumbling through your message, your students will become confused and frustrated.
At the beginning of the quarter I do ask the students what is the best way for them to learn. Some people shared their preference while others just sat quietly.
At times it can be a little frustrating to say the least.
Most important I would say is verbal and visual hands on aproach as well as keeping the students involved in the lecture and demonstration.I would like to form more of a day to day layout as far as exact points that I want to cover to bring home the information being deliverd. I think this will bring more gravity to my point
I agree, students need to know how to communicate in the “real world” for a lack of a better term. If we allow them to use weak terminology, they when they advance in their career after graduation, they will be behind the curve and they will not know how to communicate with the clients or their peers. In my grading rubrics, I always add that student’s papers and postings much use the classroom terminology.
I like the idea of showing the student where to get the information rather than just telling them the answer. However, my students just want me to give them the answers without them having to do any of the work involved.
I always ask them, “what do you learn if I just give you the answers”? Don’t you learn more from the process if you look up the answer yourself?
I have begun doing the same thing in my classes. Preparation is the key for me, I sit down days prior, and I go through the text and other resources. I make a strong outline, add other information in such as web links I would like the students to visit, YouTube Education video’s I would like them to watch, and a basic “Food for Thought” topics.
I use a lot of what I call “Food for Thought” topics in my classrooms. I don’t expect an immediate response, but my students know when I use the term, “Food for Thought” that is will come up again in a future class and they had better be studying up on the topic. Their look into the crystal ball so to speak.
One of the most common issues I have faced in my teaching is my students comprehending what I am trying to discuss with them. Some say I talk to soft, while others say I talk to loud. I need to find a happy medium to please all students, (if that is possible). I teach online, and do online seminars. I have taken great caution to ensure that I do not set to close to my microphone or that I do not have anything running in the back ground. I had an oscillating fan running one time and every time the fan ran past the mic, it was pick up in the classroom. It was not until the class was over that a student sent me an email telling me there was some interference.
I also work very hard at using vocabulary appropriate for the level of students I am teaching, as well as vocabulary from our textbook. Students need to hear the topics as well as read the it if we expect them to comprehend and be able to relate in their career. Along with this concept, I always ask open ended questions, probing their knowledge base and forcing them to think about what they have read and how it applies not only to their classroom, but also to their career.
Body language is just as important as verbal communication in the classroom. Body language can show how excited you are about your subject or the opposite. How bored the topic is to you.
Students pick up on our body language quicker then we think.
I have a strong voice, I am working on modulating my voice to stress certain key issues and to create interest and curiosity about what we are going to do.
I think it is important to move around the room. I have found that it does keep the students' attention, and it is a good way to get the students engaged. If a student is texting and they know they are not supposed to, by moving to that area, you are getting the point across without having to verbally reprimand them. One of the things I struggle with and do not like to do is address problematic behavior of an adult student in the middle of lecture. This is an easy and effective way to manage the behavior.
As important as many communication skills are, such as the ability to break thing down to component parts and so forth, I believe tha the most important communication skill that I can have as a teacher is that of listening. If I don't listen to student feedback, I lose a very important way to determine if the student is "getting it."
Of course, sometimes, feedback has to be "forced." A good way to do this is to design a lesson as a series of questions which will get the student to respond. New concepts can be taught in part through questioning techniques. Also, I try to encourage students to ask questions.
I continutally slow myself down in lecutures and discussions.
I eventually incoporated this into my class. It is so easy to teach something you know so well that eventually you can take for granted the students level of knowledge. I realize this when I see the confusion on their faces.
