Communication Skills Anyone can hear. It is virtually automatic. Listening is another matter. It takes skill, patience, practice and conscious effort.

I’m Listening… In pairs, select a speaker and listener Speaker talks about topic of choice Listener listens without commenting SARAH Give 90 seconds for each person to just talk When done, ask, how did that feel? How was it for speaker? Listener?

Unproductive Patterns of Listening Judgment/Criticism Autobiographical Listening Inquisitive Listening Solution Listening Leadership Development, Office of Professional and Organizational Development, HCPSS ANGELA and MARIA Assign tables one of the four patterns and ask them to read and discuss From each table, ask for one example of the specific pattern ID how these patterns hinder problem solving but we do them all the time

Productive Listening Listen to what is said and not said Observe body language Notice what words are used and how something is expressed Validate a person’s perspective Show compassion Stay open in situations with conflict, anger and/or pain Breathe and allow space for warmth, grief, humor ANGELA and MARIA

Productive Communication Dialogue The capacity of participants to suspend assumptions and genuinely ‘think together.’ Participants are oriented toward developing a shared understanding of a topic Listening Understand another’s point of view Express another person’s ideas, emotions and problems ANGELA and MARIA Senge, P. M., (1990) and Senge, P., (2000)

Key Communication Skills Collaborative Skills Use these the most Paraphrasing Perception Checking Clarifying Questions Requesting Clarification Summarizing Relevant Questions Offering Information Active and Attentive Listening MARIA Not as collaborative Use sparingly

Paraphrasing Case Manager gives back information shared by Teacher In own words In more specific and observable terms T: Johnny’s reading comprehension is really low, he doesn’t seem to understand anything that he reads and only responds when I read aloud. He doesn’t even try. C: It sounds like Johnny is having a difficult time with understanding text when he reads it but has an easier time when it is read to him. MARIA

Paraphrasing Helps ensure that the Teacher knows that his/her statement was heard and understood Helps to clarify the concern for both the Teacher and the Case Manager Helps to develop the collaborative relationship between Teacher and Case Manager The Case Manager chooses what to paraphrase

Paraphrasing Stems Stay away from So what I think I’m hearing you say is. . . Let me see if this sounds right. . . Let me see if I understand you. .. Stay away from What you mean is. . . What you are trying to say is. . . You’re saying that. . .

Perception Checking Reflecting back the emotions that the teacher is conveying T: I ask and ask and ask and still, I get no work completed from him! I go out of my way to help him out, giving up my planning time, and calling home, but still I get nothing! C: Wow, it really sounds like you’ve tried a lot. This really sounds like a frustrating situation.

Perception Thinking Use this skill sparingly Stems: Don’t let it turn into a therapy session Keep the conversation focused on problem solving Stems: That sounds frustrating She sounds like a hand full

Clarifying Questions Requesting Clarification Clarifying Question has 3 elements: A question Directly related to what teacher has said Purpose is to make the information more specific and observable Requesting Clarification Same as above, but in statement format

Clarifying Questions Requesting Clarification T: I go over the words before we read and it doesn’t seem to help her understand. C: How do you “go over” the words? (clarifying question) C: Help me understand what you do to “go over” the words. (requesting clarification)

Clarifying Questions Requesting Clarification Stems: Clarifying Questions Do you mean? How does. . . look in your class? Would you tell me a little more about that? Stems: Requesting Clarification Help me understand more about. . . Could you give me an example of . . . Let’s talk about what happens when . . . Explain to me what you mean by. . .

Summarizing Takes a large chunk of information and puts it into concise forms that is specific and observable Can be used Beginning of meeting - summarize what occurred during previous meeting Middle of meeting - when a lot of information has been shared and the CM wants to ensure being on same page with Teacher End of meeting - to summarize what has occurred during meeting

Relevant Questions Relevant Question has 3 elements: A question Not directly related to what the teacher has said Purpose is to introduce new information T: He has difficulty writing. He can tell me what he wants to say but has difficulty putting it down on paper. C: Does he have difficulty getting his work done?

Relevant Questions We’re really good at relevant questions, but these should be used sparingly. For best results. . . Don’t change the direction of the problem-solving with a relevant question until all the clarifying information about the concern has been elicited. Use specific questions to get additional information about the student’s Prior Knowledge, Instructional techniques used in classroom, and Tasks given to the student

Offering Information Sharing relevant or research-based information Leave “should” and “ought” out of conversation. Don’t give advice. C: We know that 80-90% of behavioral concerns have an underlying academic cause. OR C: Often students have trouble staying on task if they feel like they won’t be successful. It’s better to say, “I didn’t try” than “I tried and still couldn’t do it.”

Active and Attentive Listening Using non-verbals to show that you are actively engaged in listening to the teacher

Practice: Relevant or Clarifying T: Getting his writing completed is a big problem. He’ll sit for a few minutes after I’ve given the instructions, and then he’ll get out of his seat to either ask me a question or sharpen his pencil. When the time is up, he’ll only have a few words written. Write a question for the teacher. Try to decide if your question is Clarifying, Relevant, or Irrelevant.

Practice Excerpt from a meeting between a teacher and a case manager: “Nelson is intent on manipulating situations to get everyone to focus their attention on him. When they don’t pay attention to him, he pouts or talks back if he doesn’t get his way. This is the kind of behavior I see at times when things are not going well for him. If he gets help immediately or is going through an activity successfully, I don’t see these behaviors. If he’s frustrated or down about something… well, we don’t get a whole lot done!” ANGELA In Pairs: What statement could the case manager make to paraphrase? Perception check? Clarify? What response seems like it would fit best? Why?