Communication - the human connection--is the key to personal and career success.
~Paul J. Meyer
~Paul J. Meyer
Standard 6
Communication Skills - The teacher uses a variety of communication techniques to foster inquiry, collaboration, and supportive interaction in and beyond the classroom.
Reflection
Good communications skills, I feel, are perhaps some of the most undervalued skills in the teacher profession, but perhaps one of the most important skill sets that one can possess. I feel good communication skills are vital because of the constant interaction throughout the school day with the students, parents, staff, and the community. The first artifact that demonstrates communication skills is an effort in collaboration and use of technology within the classroom.
This was a PowerPoint presentation in which several members of my class and I split the work in order to study the Nampa School District and then meet back to discuss our findings. While the group did not function as well as I would have liked, it was a terrific opportunity to learn to work with other teachers, or in this case beginning teachers. It was in my opinion a true representation because you will always have some people that you work in collaboration with that are fabulous and helpful, while others seem to not contribute as much. This though, I feel demonstrates communication skills because despite several difficulties, our group managed to pull together a very commendable presentation. I loved creating the presentation as well because it was so much more engaging for students to watch instead of simply the standard stand up in front of a classroom and report.
Another example of a situation in which communication skills within the classroom were vital was in conducting my ethnographic case study. This case study is artifact two and I believe it fits within this strategy because it was focused largely on communicating with my lead teacher, the student that I surveyed, and coordinating with parents for permission. This, I feel required communication skills because it required me to actually ask the more personal questions and take an effort to get to know a student within the class I was observing. Then, I attempted to discuss within my case study all that I had seen and learned during my time there. This I found was quite difficult, because you have to try to find the right words to describe accurately and positively the situation, even when the situation is largely not positive. This I feel then demonstrates the skills needed for this strategy.
My third artifact is a collaborative book review that our group produced during Math for Elementary School Teachers. This was more difficult to coordinate because frequently my group members’ schedules did not all line up nicely. It then became an effort to practice good time management and communication skills in order to help everyone stay involved in the process. This was harder too, because frequently when you collaborate many people have different ideas. Taking the time though, to work through it is always worthwhile. After finishing and presenting to the group, I was surprised with how well we had managed to complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses. It was also an opportunity to prove that communication skills are absolutely necessary when things get hectic, which frequently occurs within the classroom.
My fourth artifact for communication skills was my list of technological resources. These were all websites that we brainstormed as a class during Literature for Children and Adolescents or provided by Patti Copple. These were both entertaining and helpful because there were so many different kinds of websites. Each person picked their own style of website, which was ultimately very helpful for having a great variety. This was also another way in which an online communication technique can prove to be exceptionally helpful within the classroom.
My last artifact for this strategy is similar but focused more on one individual author. For the same class, I conducted an author study in which I studied Laurie Halse Anderson’s book and censorship. I found frequently that censorship is actually based on wrong information. Being able to communicate why controversial books are being used then is vital to the new teacher. When a teacher can reasonably discuss the reasons for and against using the book, then the parent is far more comfortable discussing the issue with them. Another reason this demonstrates communication as well was because of the required presentation of the information. Learning to share in front of fellow teachers is a skill that I believe is instrumental in developing important staff relationships.
This was a PowerPoint presentation in which several members of my class and I split the work in order to study the Nampa School District and then meet back to discuss our findings. While the group did not function as well as I would have liked, it was a terrific opportunity to learn to work with other teachers, or in this case beginning teachers. It was in my opinion a true representation because you will always have some people that you work in collaboration with that are fabulous and helpful, while others seem to not contribute as much. This though, I feel demonstrates communication skills because despite several difficulties, our group managed to pull together a very commendable presentation. I loved creating the presentation as well because it was so much more engaging for students to watch instead of simply the standard stand up in front of a classroom and report.
Another example of a situation in which communication skills within the classroom were vital was in conducting my ethnographic case study. This case study is artifact two and I believe it fits within this strategy because it was focused largely on communicating with my lead teacher, the student that I surveyed, and coordinating with parents for permission. This, I feel required communication skills because it required me to actually ask the more personal questions and take an effort to get to know a student within the class I was observing. Then, I attempted to discuss within my case study all that I had seen and learned during my time there. This I found was quite difficult, because you have to try to find the right words to describe accurately and positively the situation, even when the situation is largely not positive. This I feel then demonstrates the skills needed for this strategy.
My third artifact is a collaborative book review that our group produced during Math for Elementary School Teachers. This was more difficult to coordinate because frequently my group members’ schedules did not all line up nicely. It then became an effort to practice good time management and communication skills in order to help everyone stay involved in the process. This was harder too, because frequently when you collaborate many people have different ideas. Taking the time though, to work through it is always worthwhile. After finishing and presenting to the group, I was surprised with how well we had managed to complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses. It was also an opportunity to prove that communication skills are absolutely necessary when things get hectic, which frequently occurs within the classroom.
My fourth artifact for communication skills was my list of technological resources. These were all websites that we brainstormed as a class during Literature for Children and Adolescents or provided by Patti Copple. These were both entertaining and helpful because there were so many different kinds of websites. Each person picked their own style of website, which was ultimately very helpful for having a great variety. This was also another way in which an online communication technique can prove to be exceptionally helpful within the classroom.
My last artifact for this strategy is similar but focused more on one individual author. For the same class, I conducted an author study in which I studied Laurie Halse Anderson’s book and censorship. I found frequently that censorship is actually based on wrong information. Being able to communicate why controversial books are being used then is vital to the new teacher. When a teacher can reasonably discuss the reasons for and against using the book, then the parent is far more comfortable discussing the issue with them. Another reason this demonstrates communication as well was because of the required presentation of the information. Learning to share in front of fellow teachers is a skill that I believe is instrumental in developing important staff relationships.
Nampa School District Powerpoint Presentation
powerpoint.pdf | |
File Size: | 8933 kb |
File Type: |
Diversity Ethnographic Case Study
case_study.pdf | |
File Size: | 7836 kb |
File Type: |
case_study_2.pdf | |
File Size: | 3794 kb |
File Type: |
case_study_3.pdf | |
File Size: | 4656 kb |
File Type: |
Collaboration for Math Book Review
book_review_0001.pdf | |
File Size: | 4253 kb |
File Type: |
Technology Resources
technology_resources.pdf | |
File Size: | 1827 kb |
File Type: |
Author's Study
author_study.pdf | |
File Size: | 4518 kb |
File Type: |