Communication Skills

Communication

• What makes a good lecturer/ TV presenter/ salesman/ communicator?

Communication

• What makes a good lecturer/ TV presenter/ salesman/ communicator?– Correct use of Language– Questioning techniques– Active listening– Giving feedback

Who is the best lecturer in the department?

• Why?

Body language

• if you were wearing earplugs, and couldn’t read the board, which lecturer would be most interesting to watch?

• what does this lecturer do?– faces us– Makes eye contact– moves around– uses hand & body gestures (rather than laser

pointer)– acts!

Body language

• if you were wearing earplugs, and couldn’t read the board, which lecturer would be most interesting to watch?

What about speaking to a class?

What about speaking to a class?

• Use appropriate vocabulary • Repeat important points• Vary tone and volume of voice• Tape yourself.. Do you Um and Ah?• Be forceful, dynamic

Listening

• encouragement– That’s interesting...

• restatement– In other words the situation is...

• reflection– I see you are really upset about...

• summarising– So your main ideas are …

Questioning techniques

• When you are asked questions by pupils– welcome questions– treat all questions as important

• When you ask an individual pupil a question– don’t mock answers– build on answers using open questions

• When you ask a group of pupils a question– don’t allow calling out– give everyone a moment to think– Develop strategies

• randomly choose pupils to answer• vote on answers with a show of hands

Types of question

• Closed questions• Is the water hot?

• Leading questions• Should we make the water hot? (c.f. Should we make the

water hot or cold?)

• Questions with built in answers• The water is hot isn’t it?

• Exploring questions• What do you think would happen if we used cold water?

Types of question

• Multiple questions• Why is the water hot? How did we heat it? What safety

issues are there?

• Testing questions• Do you remember the last lesson… why did we use hot

water?

• Trick questions• Why is the water cold?

The process of teaching and learning

We don’t all see the same thing

Our toolbox for learning

• memory– it takes until 11 to be able to structure what

needs to be memorised (e.g. categorisation)

• concentration– young children have short attention spans

• cognitive skills• seeing the whole picture as well as the parts

– …

Wholes and parts

• children under 7 years old are unlikely to see this as a face

• children under 6 rarely recognise a larger whole made up of smaller parts

• ….they rarely get the ‘big picture’

This and next image reproduced from How Children Think and Learn. Wood, David (Blackwell) 1994, p71

What are the four ways of learning

• trial and error– learning through doing– needs little preparation and minimal resources– in practical, realistic and structured activities

• being told– Lectures– quick way to deliver lots of information– when lesson is well-defined and unambiguous

• imitation– learning by example -help and advice available– carefully and only after adequate practise

• thinking– figuring things out quietly– with the more mature learner

Learning styles

• visual learners– think and recall in images or pictures– mentally process what is heard or read into

images– often do well in written tests as visual or picture

recall is particularly fast and efficient

• auditory learners• kinesthetic/tactile learners

Learning styles• visual learners• auditory learners

– learn best by hearing or listening using no mental pictures

– filter incoming information through listening and repeating skills

– are talkative and can have difficulty writing– recall conversations easily, tell stories, and solve

problems “aloud”

• kinesthetic/tactile learners

Learning styles

• visual learners• auditory learners• kinesthetic/tactile learners

– learn best through touching and feeling – have difficulty paying attention in calm, quiet

environments– use no internal pictures – appear disorganized – often struggle in exams

How to..

How to give instructions• prepare• give clear aims and objectives• be concise and talk in simple terms• consider the learning skills of the pupils

– visual/ auditory/ kinesthetic

• use visual/written examples to aid your explanation• check understanding• ask for questions• repeat yourself

How to convey a point

• use appropriate vocabulary • give a global picture• relate it to something the pupils will know• visual/ auditory/ kinesthetic• check you are being understood• repeat yourself

How to deliver a lesson• prepare materials and instructions• have simple and clear aims• target lesson at intended age group

– consider likely level of knowledge– use appropriate terminology

• be logical• illustrate concepts using visual aids• draw conclusions

How to give feedback

How to give feedback

• be non judgmental• be tactful• be honest• be consistent• be clear• be fair

• start positively• end on a positive note

A good teacher

A good teacher

• is dynamic• has a ‘can do’, positive attitude• knows when to intervene• relates the subject to the child’s experience

• Remain reasonably impersonal– Don’t give the pupil the burden of letting you

down (too much)

• Judge the action not the child

Four take home messages.....

• Look at the class when you are talking to them

• Move around when teaching (esp. if using powerpoint)

• Ask questions of the pupils• Praise rather than criticize