{"id":62,"date":"2018-11-28T19:28:13","date_gmt":"2018-11-28T19:28:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-oneonta-education106\/?post_type=chapter&p=62"},"modified":"2024-06-07T15:31:31","modified_gmt":"2024-06-07T15:31:31","slug":"communication-with-students","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-hvcc-education106\/chapter\/communication-with-students\/","title":{"raw":"1.5 Communication","rendered":"1.5 Communication"},"content":{"raw":"To teach is to communicate.\u00a0 One cannot be an excellent educator if they do not possess strong communication skills.\u00a0 According to Silver (2018),<\/span><\/span>\r\n
Teaching is all about communication - listening, speaking, reading, presenting and writing. Teachers who hone their communication skills are prepared to instruct, advise and mentor students entrusted in their care. Additionally, teachers must communicate well to effectively collaborate with colleagues and update administrators on student progress. Frequently, parents call, visit or email, so teachers must be adept at answering questions verbally and in\u00a0<\/span>writing.<\/span>\r\n\r\n-Freddie Silver<\/a><\/blockquote>\r\nAs noted above, teachers are engaged in communication with many different people.\u00a0 While much of a teacher\u2019s day is spent with their students, they must also interact with other teachers, paraprofessionals, administrators, parents, and community members. Many\u00a0<\/span>first-year<\/span>\u00a0teachers are surprised by how many different forms of communication they must engage in each day. Because of this, it is good to have a basic understanding of these different types of communication.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n

Communication with Students<\/h2>\r\nCommunication in a classroom is very different from communication in other aspects of life. \u00a0Rarely is the teacher engaged in communication with one student while others wait patiently to be heard. \u00a0Many interactions are happening concurrently. Disruptions happen frequently. It can be very confusing, to say the least. \u00a0In classroom communication, you will find that it is helpful to understand its various functions. It helps to be aware that classroom communication serves three purposes at once: content, procedures and behavioral control (Wells, 2006).\r\n
\r\n\r\nClassroom events are often so complex that just talking with students can become confusing. It helps to think of the challenge as a problem in\u00a0communication\u2014or as one expert put it, of \u201cwho says what to whom, and with what effect\u201d (Lasswell, 1964). In classrooms, things often do not happen at an even pace or in a logical order, or with just the teacher and one student interacting while others listen or wait patiently. While such moments do occur, events may sometimes instead be more like a kaleidoscope of overlapping interactions, disruptions, and decision\u2014even when activities are generally going\u00a0well. One student finishes a task while another is still only halfway done. A third student looks like she is reading, but she may really be dreaming. You begin to bring her back on task by speaking to her, only to be interrupted by a fourth student with a question about an assignment. While you answer the fourth student, a fifth walks in with a message from the office requiring a response;\u00a0so\u00a0the bored (third) student is overlooked awhile longer. Meanwhile, the first student\u2014the one who finished the current task\u2014now begins telling a joke to a sixth student, just to pass the time. You wonder, \u201cShould I speak now to the bored, quiet reader or to the joke-telling student? Or should I move on with the lesson?\u201d While you are wondering this, a seventh student raises his hand with a question, and so on.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n
\r\n\r\nOne way to manage situations like these is to understand and become comfortable with the key features of communication that are characteristic of classrooms. One set of features has to do with the functions or purposes of communication, especially the balance among talk related to content, to procedures, and to controlling behavior. Another feature has to do with the nature of nonverbal communication\u2014how it supplements and sometimes even contradicts what is said verbally. A third feature has to do with the unwritten expectations held by students and teachers about\u00a0how\u00a0to participate\u00a0in particular kinds\u00a0of class activities\u2014what we will later call the structure of participation.\r\n

Communication with the Community<\/h2>\r\nSince teachers have public personae that extend beyond the classroom, it is critical teachers\u00a0<\/span>are able to<\/span>\u00a0communicate effectively to multiple community stakeholders who may be invested in local, statewide, or national educational policies and decision making. There is a multitude of social contexts where teachers will be required to communicate and represent themselves, their students, and their schools. This poses a unique challenge to educators as they navigate these disparate communicative contexts.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nAs representatives for their schools and students, teachers may be asked opinions on various educational policies. Teachers need to be critically aware that these opinions will not be interpreted as entirely personal opinions, but rather their opinions could\u00a0<\/span>be seen as<\/span>\u00a0representing an official school or school board policy.<\/span>\r\n\r\nTeachers may also need assistance from outside agencies, media, and others to aid in building robust educational activities for their students. It is important, then, for teachers to consider the intended audience and purposes for their communication and ensure that the teachers\u2019 intentions can be easily discerned and that they fall within the legal confines of their position.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n
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Quick Write<\/h3>\r\n