"Just Because" Justified

Communicating Effectively with Your Students

In a lecture given by Marquette University English Professor, Jean M. Czaja, she outlines 15 steps that a teacher can take to communicate effectively with their students.

1. Speak at a slower pace, but still naturally and articulate your words clearly
2. Ask direct statements and questions and avoid complicated sentence structures
3. Use simple vocabulary and avoid technical language that your students may not know.
4. Write down key words if your student doesn’t seem to understand you.
5. Use nonverbal cures such as gestures, facial expressions, and nodding to help convey meaning.
6. If your students don’t seem to understand you, repeat what you said again. If they still don’t understand you repeat what you said in a slightly different way.
7. Give your students time to understand what you’ve said before expecting a response. Don’t immediately repeat yourself.
8. Confirm that your students really understood you by using questions such as “Did that answer your question?”
9. Look at your students and pay attention to both verbal and nonverbal cues, which help convey meaning.
10. Tell you students when you don’t’ understand what they are asking you, but try to be specific about what it is you don’t understand.
11. Ask your students to repeat their question.
12. Paraphrase what you think the student is asking you.
13. Get to know our students
14. Share experiences from when you were a student
15. Be prepared for our class and make sure you are familiar with the material

Most importantly be persistent and patient with your students and give your students a chance to learn how to communicate with you!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frwP9f85TnU

Discipline and Expectations in the Classroom

Most educators, whether having just entered the field or having many years experience, find the task of responding to disruptive student behavior to be one of the most demanding and least rewarding aspects of teaching. Without the proper training and skills to respond effectively, teachers all too often find themselves resorting to the authoritarian models they may have experienced as students. Respect must be given to a student in order for the student to give respect back to the teacher; therefore, preventative measures are far more effective than punitive ones. Teachers who are effective classroom managers help students take responsibility for their own behaviors and learn other ways for handling frustrating situations. Here are some ways to deal with minor problems before allowing them to escalate into major problems:

-Arrange seating patterns so students are easily seen and accessed
-State classroom expectations and limits clearly and in a positive manner
-Use verbal as well as nonverbal cues indicating an inappropriate behavior
-Remain calm
-Speak courteously and make eye contact
-Offer assistance to students in need
-Use positive reinforcement when students are acting desirably

It is important to know that it is best if teachers handle disruptive instances themselves, rather than referring students to a counselor or administrator. It may be challenging for a teacher to handle every situation single-handedly, but doing so shows the students that the teacher possesses natural authority. This indicates that the teacher respects and genuinely cares for the students. Maintaining a positive relationship with students will make teaching and guiding them much more effective.

Quarterly Parent Surveys Encourage Communication

The use of a Quarterly Parent Survey is an efficient way to encourage communication from parents. At the beginning of the school year valuable information about a child may be revealed by a parent's response to a single question:

What are three things you would like me to know about your child?

Information provided may be valuable to a busy teacher who is trying to establish a relationship with each student early in the school year. As the year progresses, a carefully worded second survey may provide insight into a child's attitude about school. Consider the following questions:

What three things does your child like most about school?

What would you like me to know about your child?

A third parent survey at the beginning of third quarter may be worded so the teacher is provided with parent feedback about the many aspects of the classroom/school environment. For example:

As a parent, what three things do you like most about this school year?

Teachers and parents are very busy people and Quarterly Parent Surveys provide a quick and easy opportunity for communication.

The Pros to Positive Communication with your Students

Communication is the most important thing that happens between a teacher and her students. There are many Pros to having good communication with each and every student. For example: It sets the tone of how your student will treat you. Children at a young age will treat you how you treat them. You communicate positive with your students they will communicate positive right back. Teaching communication skills in Elementary school is extremely important being that it will stick with them forever. A Pro to positive communication skills is less chaos in the classroom between students, which would be a big plus for you. Less fights and outbursts lead to more education time. Therefore grades go up, children get along and everyone is happy. Good, positive communication skills save the day.

Communicating Effectively With Parents About Differentiated Instruction

Communicating effectively with parents about the way you meet the diverse learning needs of your students can help to create a supportive partnership between parent and teacher. If Differentiated Instruction is a mainstay in your classroom then you are aware of the unique learning environment you are creating for your students. Parents will become empowered to help their child learn in different ways by understanding the concept of this teaching method. I would recommend beginning your explanation by defining Differentiated Instruction. Basically, it is a learner-centered teaching method that modifies curriculum to meet the wide range of learner needs within the classroom.

Citing several examples of Differentiated Instruction will give parents an idea of the modifications you make in the classroom to accommodate different learning styles.

Examples of Differentiated Instruction Used in the Classroom

• Flexible Grouping - Organizes students into different groups based on readiness and interest.
• Scaffolding - Teacher models a concept or activity and then encourages students during participation.
• Compacting - Enables students to skip content they already know and move to more advanced work.
• Tiering - Gives students of different learning levels parallel tasks at different levels of complexity.

It would be wise to reassure parents that tasks and groupings are ever changing, and that you continually assess each student's skills and progress.

Introducing parents to several aspects of Differentiated Instruction will help them understand how this teaching method encourages students to be active learners, and nurtures creative spirit.

Through the process of effectively communicating important aspects of Differentiated Instruction, you may find a bond develop with parents as you work together to ensure student success and independence.