to make our presentation more interesting andkeep student motivated i ussualy do demonstrationand then ask student to do it by themself,of course with my help
Jeannette,
I could not agree more. This helps with tailoring communication to our individual students & then we reach them more effectively.
Dr. Ryan Meers
dawn,
You are right that this clarity & consistency is vitally important. This can also help our students learn when we are emphasizing important material.
Dr. Ryan Meers
Bakhriya,
It is very important to make our presentations interesting & keep our students motivated. What do you do to accomplish this?
Dr. Ryan Meers
I believe taking the time to get to know each student in the beginning of a course, to get some background. Allows an instructor to better prepare on communication techniques that he/she may need to apply for that particular class.
I think being a clear and consistent communicator is important. I know that students just like children need to feel like you are always doing and saying things the same way all the time.
to make student interesting and motivated
johna,
Great ideas. And I think it's important to remember to maintain good eye contact when the students are relating an experience or asking a question. This signals to all that we think their ideas are as important as ours.
Dr. Ryan Meers
Alan,
I agree with you on the value of this process. One of the benefits is that you are also approaching learning from a variety of learning styles, rather than just 1 or 2.
Dr. Ryan Meers
Alan,
These are all great communication skills & definitely ones that we all need to work on to be truly effective communicators.
Dr. Ryan Meers
Eye contact, showing interest in subject and allowing students to get involved in the class by telling experiences they may have had that are relevent.
Hello Anna
Thank you for the three steps that you utilize. I liken the first part to the short lecture provided to the class.
The second aspect writing is for me what might be in a PowerPoint, information on the white board and or within a handout.
The third part you noted demonstration is the area that some creativity is required depending on the topic. An old adage of a "picture is worth a 1,000 words" comes to mind. I like for students to demonstrate this aspect. I find by asking for examples, questions and similar activities that they are aware sometimes ignites the classroom interaction.
Again, thank you Anna for focusing on your three step process.
Al
There are a number of communications skills, which are important to our classrooms and its diverse learning environment.
The voice we use needs to be clear, understandable and at a pace that allows students to comprehend. In diverse learning environment, you may have students in which English is a second language.
Eye contact with students is important but you need to be aware that with some cultures eye contact could be misconstrued as threatening. Therefore, it is important to keep the eye contact brief and do not focus for any length of time on anyone person.
Our communication needs to be organized, focused on a clear topic and with examples or items to draw a connection with the points being articulated.
The information must be relevant. There needs to be a blending of the academics of the course with the reality of the “real world†so that students can envision the connection between the two. I call this AR or Academic Reality.
Al
NATELLE ,
This certainly does help create a comfortable environment & the more comfortable we are as instructors the more comfortable our students will be in the classroom.
Dr. Ryan Meers
I believe your body language is a non verbal communication skill that an instructor needs to poses. Displaying that you are comfortable and have eye contact witht the students develops a comfortable environment.
William,
Definitely verbal communication is vitally important. Tied into this is the need to be very clear in our verbal communication, without clarity our students will not understand what we are teaching.
Dr. Ryan Meers
Erik,
It really is amazing how our nonverbals communicate so much about our availability & approachability for our students.
Dr. Ryan Meers
Verbal is the most important skill in my field, the ability for one to deliver specific instructions is paramount to the students success.
It is your voice (tone specifically) facial expressions and body language. Even the most knowledgeable instructors can come across as being closed off. Inappropriate body language, facial expression or tone will make the student feel they cannot approach the instructor.
Destiny,
These are definitely great skills to demonstrate. When we can even "open our posture" to our students they generally are more engaged.
Dr. Ryan Meers
