Effective Communication and Instructional Techniques Dr. Eli Collins-Brown AET520 Instructional Strategies in Adult Education and Training University of Phoenix

Teacher/trainer as Facilitator Shift from knowledge disseminator to facilitator Need communication, interpersonal and group skills Awareness of self and others Awareness of self and others Knowledge of own culture and other’s Knowledge of own culture and other’s Analyze own feelings Analyze own feelings Understand power of role modeling Understand power of role modeling Sense of ethics Sense of ethics Determine degree of responsibility for others and yourself Determine degree of responsibility for others and yourself Good communication skills send clear messages in a sensitive way

Components of Effective Communication Oral Communication Oral Communication Audibility Audibility Clarity Clarity Enunciation Enunciation Variation and emphasis Variation and emphasis Language usage Language usage Mannerisms Mannerisms

Components of Effective Communication Nonverbal Communication Nonverbal Communication Facial Expression Facial Expression Movement Movement Gestures Gestures Mannerisms Mannerisms Eye contact Eye contact Silence Silence Physical contact Physical contact

Listening Skills Put all of your energy into listening Be aware of your own filters when listening Do not argue mentally Restrain you impulse to immediately answer questions When in doubt about whether to list or to speak, keep listening Do not assume that you have to do anything but listen Work at listening Listen generously with a willingness to be influenced

Interpersonal Skills Understanding others Paraphrasing Paraphrasing Perception Checking Perception Checking Being Understood by Others Feeling Description Feeling Description Behavior Description Behavior Description

Paraphrasing Message received is the same as was intended by speaker Ensures understanding of information, ideas, and suggestions of others Ensures understanding of information, ideas, and suggestions of othersGuidelines Be non-judgmental Be non-judgmental Put the statement into your own words Put the statement into your own words Be attentive, interested and open to ideas Be attentive, interested and open to ideas Listen for the feeling behind the words Listen for the feeling behind the words

Perception Checking Used to ensure that you are interpreting another person’s feelings correctly Direct checking – what I am hearing, is that correct? Indirect checking – listen more carefully, attention to non-verbal cues

Being Understood Feelings Description – this is how I feel Behavior Description – you did this so I responded this way What we think we observed What we think we observed Describe behaviors so others know what you observed and are responding to Describe behaviors so others know what you observed and are responding to

Assessment and Evaluation Used by teachers to better understand students discover abilities, interests and motivations Assessment – make judgments about student progress and teacher’s instruction Evaluation – make judgments about achievement of learning objectives or on the value or effectiveness of a program

Summative Assessment Learner’s master of specific course material Comparing learning achievement to reference group or performance criteria Determine effectiveness of instructional activities Course grades Learner placement Accountability for learning Diagnostics about strengths and weakness in students’ performance Data on achievement of departments or school performance

Creating Effective Summative Assessments Must target and tie back to instructional objectives Most accurate when they aggregate information from a number of sources Relative weighting of various sources Comprehensive measure of overall knowledge, skill, or performance related to a unit of instruction

Good Assessments ValidityReliabilityAuthenticity

Formative Assessment Before or during instruction Plan or make adjustments in instruction Identify students who are struggling

Evaluation Criterion-referenced – based on absolute criterion (achieve 80% or higher, etc.) Norm-referenced – based on comparison of others’ performance (standardized tests)

Recap Effective teachers need more than just knowledge; they need good communication, interpersonal and listening skills Assessment and Evaluation measure how well a student is doing and the effectiveness of a set of instructional activities