Components of Effective Classroom Communication(Teaching Practice Notes)

 

Components of Effective Classroom Communication

Effective Communication is defined as the ability to convey information to another effectively and efficiently

When Classroom Communication is Effective…

·       Learning is easier

·       Goals are more likely to be met

·       Opportunities emerge for expanded learning

·       Students and faculty connect better

·       More positive perceptions influence the overall experience

Principle of effective classroom communication

·       Principle of competency

·       Principle of Suitability of content

·       Principle of Focus

·       Principle of effective strategies

·       Principle of feedback and reinforcement

·       Principle of readiness and motivation

·       Principle of sharing and interaction

·       Principle of pupil centeredness

·       Principle of mutual understanding

Important components of effective classroom Communication.

1.     Language

2.     Body language

3.     Environment

4.     Positive feedback

5.     Teaching aids

6.     Technology

Language

Teachers and students use spoken and written language to communicate with each other–to present tasks, engage in learning processes, present academic content, assess learning, display knowledge and skill, and build classroom life. In addition, much of what students learn is language.

               Instructional language involves the process of sharing ideas, knowledge, skills and attitudes between the teacher and the learner in the classroom situation the way and manner the teacher is able to pass across the ideas skills and knowledge goes a long way in helping learners.

CONSEQUENCES OF POOR LANGUAGE SKILL

·       Learning transaction fails to take place

·       Class management becomes ineffective

·       Learners will lose focus; and

·       The objectives of learning are not likely to be achieved.

Body language

It has been suggested that two-thirds of our communication is nonverbal. Between head nods, smiles, frowns, closed postures, head tilts, raised hands and excited pacing, teachers, and students send hundreds of non-verbal cues to one another daily. Positive body language in a classroom setting has the ability to motivate, inspire and engage. It can even make the students feel safe and confident enough to participate in the lessons more frequently.

1. Eye Contact

One of the best ways to connect with our students and keep their focus. It also helps them feel seen.

2. Be Expressive and Use Gestures

Inspire students to become involved with the lesson. Hook their brains. Retention rates are low on verbal material but increase when we add in memorable nonverbal cues for the brain to file away as an association.

3. Keep Arms Open

An open body position signals an invitation. It welcomes brainstorming and new ideas. It also draws the students’ attention to teacher and thus they will be more likely to hear what teacher has to say.

4. Praise with Whole Body

Show them they are on the right path and they will be more confident in continuing down it.

5. Adopt a Thinking Pose

This will signal to the student you are looking at to ponder the question. It inspires curiosity.

6. Smile

This is the most important. Students connect best with teachers who want to be present with them, who love learning and want to share that passion.

 

Environment

Create a safe and supportive environment where students feel comfortable to open up and express their thoughts and ideas. An atmosphere that allows students to ask if they need help is crucial to their academic success. It is important that at all stages of the teaching process to nurture this kind of non-judgemental environment.

Positive feedback

It has been shown that students that receive praise are more likely to believe that they can accomplish tasks and be successful. Other benefits are that it can help to build student’s confidence, create a good rapport and supportive environment.

Conversely, allowing them to share their feedback on lessons or teaching styles shows that the teacher appreciate and value their opinion as well as helping to improve learning.

Teaching aids

Teaching is a social activity and it is not possible to teach students without taking part in this process. A teacher and a student both should involve in this activity to perform better. Teaching aids are very important instruments in teaching process which can involve both of them.

1.     These aids also provide a natural learning atmosphere and help them to actively involve in the learning, teaching and experiencing process.

2.     Use of teaching aids in the class, can heighten students desire of learning. All the students participate in the learning process vividly. It enables the students to express their concepts effectively.

3.     Teaching aids make the class room live and active and avoid dullness because of involvement of every student. It provides direct experience to the students.

4.     Use of proper teaching aids, saves lots of time It saves time from long and boring explanatory class and helps the students to understand the complex subjects easily.

Technology

Technology is the latest mantra in educational communication and is used for achieving different learning objectives. "Chalk and talk" along with simple teaching aids viz., maps, diagrams, charts, posters, etc. still continue to be the backbone of conventional classroom teaching. In addition to these, a wide array of technologies is increasingly used for teaching, clarifying points, supplementing and enhancing the quality of learning. Studies have revealed that if used effectively, technology applications can help students in using higher order thinking skills such as thinking critically, analyzing, making inferences and solving problems. It can involve students in innovative and creative activities in collaborative way. Technology provides access to information and helps in establishing contacts with teachers and students located at different locations. However, if technology is used only for presentation, such as OHP, then it may lead to passive assimilation rather than active construction of knowledge. In this section we shall limit our discussion to the use of OHP, audio and video aids and computer technologies.

OHP:

OHP or the overhead projector is one of the most commonly used teaching aids in classroom teaching. The OHP also allows the teacher to make a text or picture instantly available to the whole class. Finally, it offers variety and can be used to change the pace at any point in the lesson, aiding concentration and providing a useful role in discussions, role-plays and many other pair, group or whole class activities.

Audio-Video Resources:

Audio-video aids can be effectively used in the classroom situation to make learning interesting as well as engaging. Audio visual aids are important in education system. Audio visual aids are those devices which are used in classrooms to encourage teaching learning process and make it easier and interesting. Audio -visual aids are the best tool for making teaching effective and the best dissemination of knowledge .

Computer Technology

The access to computers is growing at a steady pace. Computers are largely being used in educational institutions for academic and administrativk purposes. The Internet has already captured the imagination of the educational community. It has been found that computer technology can support meaningful, engaged learning for students instead of rote learning. Students can visit the relevant websites and update their knowledge on a given subject. The uses of computers in classrooms could be for teaching, exploring, creating, composing, storing, and analyzing data or for communicating with others.

By integrating technology into their classrooms, teachers can create lesson plans that are of higher relevance, more up to date, and improve student learning. With email, the internet, discussion boards, and online agendas, communication between educator and student has never been more synchronous.