It is very important to speak clearly. Especially in Los Angeles, we are a melting pot of cultures, clear speech and consisten pronuciation will make all the difference in the world.
good eye contact. lets the student know you are listening to them.
i believe it is important to use auditory, visual, kinetic skills to teach in class for the different types of learners.
Cheryl,
Yes we often focus on the verbal, which are clearly important. However, our nonverbals do help us demonstrate an openness & enthusiasm to our students.
Dr. Ryan Meers
I think the most important communication skills are gesturing and eye contact. This no only pulls in the students but also keeps them focused on the material at hand, especially if the gesturing is done thoughtfully.
I believe having good verbal and nonverbal skills are important. You need to have good verbal skills by letting the students hear and understand what you are saying. You need to have good nonverbal skills that let the students see that you understand what you are saying and that it is interesting.
Anna Marie,
Yes, the more avenues for communication we can use, the better chance we have of reaching the variety of learners that are present in our classrooms.
Ryan
Dr. Ryan Meers
I believe in using both verbal and visual communication with my students to reinforce the learning process. I speak the lesson, I writ on the white board the lesson and then I give a demonstration. These three steps reinforce the other to create effective learning.
Voice cadence and volume; eye contact.
William,
You are right. And I would say one of the challenges in this area is conveying the fact that we are an expert, yet still portraying humility so we don't come across as a condescending know it all.
Ryan
In the clinical setting its important that you are the expert and can convey that to the students. Also clear concise answers to questions and demonstrated practices help them to gain knoweledge and a sense of being able to succed
gestures enhance the lesson especiallly with learning disabled
William,
You make some great points in your post. I like your point about not talking over our students' heads. Our job is not to show them how "smart" we are but to help them learn.
Ryan
Roy,
All of these are great ideas to be a more effective communicator in the classroom. And the truth is they go hand in hand. It's difficult to be excited in voice or body if I know I'm not prepared as well as I should be.
Ryan
Listening, reflection, clarifying statements if other reflections back to you are not true of what you were meaning and flexing to others
I think that showing your enthusiasm about the subject matter gets the students excited about what they are about to learn. Showing enthusiam suggests you know what you are talking about, you are excited about the subject matter, and you can't wait to impart your knowledge on your students. I also think that one should avoid talking over the heads of students. Keep sentences short and clear. Avoid using unnecessary words unless it is essential to the learning of a particular concept. For example, I teach paralegals. There are certain legal terms that are used in everyday jargon in the legal environment. Of course, students need to learn these terms. At the same time, peppering the discussion with unnecesary "legalese" can confuse and frustrate students.
I agree that listening is a key communication skill. It allows students to know that you care what they have to say but it also allows you to answer and help understand what it is that they are understanding or not understanding.
your voice is one being clear on what you are saying about the subject you are talking about and change the pitch of you voice also
I feel like that a clear voice with some excitement in it is a great start. Then add some body language that gets the students to feel like you are passionate about the material that you are teaching, will keep the class from going stagnant. Being prepared for the class will also help communicate the material that you are presenting in a manner that will flow easier and will help make make you more relaxed, this will help make your presentation much better.
Listening is one of the most important communication skills regardless of the makeup of the audience. It is also essential to look for nonverbal cues to assess engagement and understanding. In a culturally diverse audience, it would be best to know something about how different cultures respond to authority, how disagreeing with someone older is perceived, and whether women are encouraged or discouraged from participating, just to name a few.
