Communication Skills

1. Communication Skills

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

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

4. Who is the best lecturer in the department? • Why?

5. 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!

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

7. What about speaking to a class?

8. 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

9. 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 …

10. 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

11. 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?

12. 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?

13. The process of teaching and learning We don’t all see the same thing

14. 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 • …

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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

20. How to..

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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

24. How to give feedback

25. How to give feedback • be non judgmental • be tactful • be honest • be consistent • be clear • be fair • start positively • end on a positive note

26. A good teacher

27. 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

28. 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