communication techniques - classroom profiling

Communication

Techniques

Compiled by Kim Holmes

Guidance Officer, Cairns

Compass of Learning (Andrew Fuller, 2003)

A way of understanding your learning direction

Please circle one answer for each statement

A B C D

1. I am at my best:

Making realistic decisions

Reaching accurate conclusions

Uncovering hidden connections

Understanding people’s feelings

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. I seem happiest when my environment is:

Busy Safe & secure Friendly Task oriented ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. I am at my best:

Experimenting & tinkering

Listening & sharing

Guessing & exploring

Reflecting & thinking

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. Most people would identify me as:

Productive Creative Responsive Logical ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. One of my strengths is:

Planning Enthusiasm Practicality Listening ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. When learning I enjoy most:

Exploring hidden possibilities

Organising ideas

Making personal connections

Producing Results

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

7. I strive for:

Agreement Accuracy Efficiency Adventure

A B C D

8. Generally, I am:

Caring Precise Decisive Intuitive ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

9. If anything, I tend to be:

Too impulsive Too sensitive Too action oriented

Too critical

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

10. Generally, I am:

Cooperative Orderly Straightforward Free spirited ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

11. When I don’t know an answer, I tend to:

Get on with the task even though I don’t have the answer

Ask for more Information about the task

Seek reassurance or ask others for the answer

Move onto Something else

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

12. I am most comfortable with people who are:

Supportive Innovative Productive Rational ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

13. I seem least comfortable with people who are:

Rigid Disorganised Indecisive Aggressive ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

14. Generally, I am:

Studious People oriented Down-to-earth Innovative ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

15. If given a choice, I would probably prefer to:

Make the world a happier place

Learn new facts

Solve practical problems

Create new ways of doing things

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Learning Directions (Andrew Fuller, 2003)

All people are more complex than one direction. However, it is useful to consider which direction you are strongest in and which areas may need to be encouraged to develop further.

1. SOUTH

Imaginative & Social Learners

These people love people! They thrive on developing good ideas even though this can be time consuming. They are good at building relationships but are sensitive to disharmony so they do not learn well in situations of high conflict, competitiveness or tension.

They are excellent at understanding why certain things are important and learn well when they understand the context of new information. They may need to work harder than other people to understand what they need to learn, how they can use their knowledge and what other applications it has.

STRENGTHS

Ability to get along with others Listening and taking into account other points of view

POSSIBLE VULNERABILITIES

Avoidance of conflict, sensitivity, difficulty saying ‘No” Can rely too much on others for help, and be distracted by others May devalue their own skills and knowledge There is also a risk that these people can be so attuned to others that

they lose sight of their own aims to fit in with others

2. WEST

Analytic Learners

These people love information! They like weird facts, they can think things though, work out the details and will often dazzle you with obscure facts about the size of the average dinosaur’s nostril. These learners function by thinking things though and being attentive to detail. These people are good at prioritising, and can work out easily what they need to know. They are generally good at concentrating, but may lack confidence putting ideas into action and may have to work harder than others to understand how their knowledge can be used in other situations.

STRENGTHS

Goal setting Emphasis on quality Thoroughness Task focus


Losing sight of the big picture Being too cautious Avoidance of conflict Sensitivity, difficulty saying “No”

3. NORTH

Action Learners

They thrive on plans and time lines, are action oriented and tackle problems by quick decisions. They respond well to challenges but can compare themselves too much to others. They quickly see how new information can be utilised but become disinterested if they can’t find a way to use what they are learning. They action outcome focus can mean they have to work harder to see the social connections.

STRENGTHS

Can-do attitude Short decision-making times Like a challenge


Can value getting an answer over getting the correct answer

4. EAST

Visionary Learners

These people like new things – ideas, possibilities. They tackle problems by looking for patterns and scanning for possibilities. They can be inspirational learners who have lots of energy.

Sometimes, these learners can reach accurate conclusions in the absence of a logical justification and are often risk takers. Their focus on how new knowledge cam be used in different ways leads to creativity but can also mean these learners have to work harder to learn the details.

STRENGTHS

Goal setting The big picture, the vision, and enthusiasm


Tend to get bored with details, procedures and rules Can see the wood but forget to prioritise the trees Desire for change can mean these learners can find it hard to

settle and get ready to learn

The Compass of Learning (Andrew Fuller, 2003)

GRAPH

15______________________________________________________________________________________________

10______________________________________________________________________________________________

5_______________________________________________________________________________________________

0_______________________________________________________________________________________________

NORTH SOUTH EAST WEST

NORTH

(ACTION)

EAST

(VISIONARY)

SOUTH

(IMAGINATIVE,

SOCIAL)

WEST

(ANALYTIC)

The Compass of Learning

(Andrew Fuller)

ANSWERS

The Compass of Learning (Andrew Fuller, 2003)

SCORING To work out your learning direction, count up the number of Easts, Souths, Norths, Wests and then graph below.

SCORING CODE:

1. (A) NORTH (B) WEST (C) EAST (D) SOUTH 2. (A) EAST (B) WEST (C) SOUTH (D) NORTH

3. (A) EAST (B) SOUTH (C) NORTH (D) WEST

4. (A) NORTH (B) EAST (C) SOUTH (D) WEST

5. (A) WEST (B) EAST (C) NORTH (D) SOUTH

6. (A) EAST (B) WEST (C) SOUTH (D) NORTH

7. (A) SOUTH (B) WEST (C) NORTH (D) EAST


9. (A) EAST (B) SOUTH (C) NORTH (D) WEST


11. (A) NORTH (B) WEST (C) SOUTH (D) EAST

12. (A) SOUTH (B) EAST (C) NORTH (D) WEST

13. (A) EAST (B) WEST (C) NORTH (D) SOUTH

14. (A) WEST (B) SOUTH (C) NORTH (D) EAST


COMMUNICATION &

INTENTIONAL INTERVIEWING AT WORK

The following materials are based on Ivey’s approach to Intentional

Interviewing and Counselling and a problem solving approach to teacher

development and change.

The information taken from these sources concentrates on using

communication and problem solving skills as part of an interview process by

adding structure, gathering information, defining outcomes, generating

alternatives and, to a lesser degree, information and advice giving. Part 1

examines interviewing and helping micro skills. while Part 2 covers a model

for the use of interview skills. The workshop attempts to integrate the two

skill areas into a useful approach for educators working with classroom

teachers.

PART 1: INTERVIEWING AND HELPING MICRO SKILLS

An important aspect of effective interviewing is the notion of intentionality.

Intentional interviewing not only involves being attuned to and aware of

one’s own behaviour and the behaviour of others but also involves having a

range of alternative behaviours and responses in particular interview

situations. Personal and interpersonal awareness and the choice of

alternative actions will help the interviewer in approaching and working

with others.

COMMUNICATION MICRO SKILLS

ATTENDING BEHAVIOUR

Attending behaviour is the basis of communication because it encourages a

person to talk openly and freely. During an interview, interviewer attention

is far more important than interviewer talk. Effective interview attention

reduces the amount of interviewer talk.

NONVERBAL ASPECTS OF ATTENTION AND COMMUNICATION

Eye Contact: Eye contact is a way of regulating communication. It tells

people when to come into a conversation, what our reactions are and

whether there is an understanding. We need to be aware of our own eye

contact as well as the eye contact of others. To facilitate communication we

need to maintain comfortable eye contact by looking away occasionally and

avoiding intense stares. In a work interview it is important to avoid a ‘stare

down’ situation. It is important to focus on attending and to avoid becoming

involved in issues and behaviours unrelated to our objective.

Body Language: Changes in body language provide insight into our own

and other people’s behaviour. A natural and relaxed body manner will

assist us in being effective in the interview. The following body movements

will generally assist in facilitating communication:

1. Leaning towards the other person;

2. Having an open position with arms and legs uncrossed;

3. Facing the other person;

4. Sitting at the same level;

5. Being at a comfortable distance (be alert for signs of discomfort).

We need to avoid distracting gestures, such as fidgeting with a pen, glancing

at papers, answering the phone, using a keyboard, and tapping feet or

fingers. We also need to be aware that noise, interruptions and intervening

objects such as desks or computers are likely to impede effective

communication.

Facial Expressions: The forehead, eyebrows and jaw give information

about the way we are reacting and the way others are reacting to us. Be

aware of the ‘nice person’ smile and the ‘wry’ smile (often associated with

sarcasm) when making an observation.

Vocal Qualities: Changes in voice pitch, volume and speech rate

communicate feelings we have towards others. A steady, even pace with an

emphasis on key words facilitates communication while hesitant speech at a

varied pace and clipped words impair communication. Throat clearing

should be avoided.

Non-attention: This can be a useful tool in assisting communication when

the objective of the interview is not being met. There are times when it is

appropriate not to attend to what a person is saying. If a person is jumping

from topic to topic, perseverating on one aspect of a conversation or on

events that distract from the purpose of the interview, then non-attention

can be a useful alternative. Poor eye contact, shifts in body posture and vocal

tone, jumps to more relevant topics and a restatement of the purpose of the

meeting can assist the interviewer in discouraging unhelpful responses and

behaviours.

Silence: While a difficult tool to use in an interview situation, this can be

extremely useful in encouraging a person to answer a question or to

continue with their response following a delay. Too frequently, we feel the

need to ‘jump in’ and fill the silence with a further question or observation.

We need to resist the temptation and practice coping with silence and using

silence to assist a person to express their ideas. We all need to practice being

silent in interviews and in conversations.

NOTE:

When, not if, we become lost or confused in an interview and we do not know

what to do, we need to concentrate on actively and intentionally attending. It

may help to ask an open question but we still need to actively attend.

QUESTIONS

The purpose of questioning is to gather additional information so that we

can better understand a person’s concern or issue. Questions also assist in

moving the interview along smoothly. They open new areas for discussion

by identifying and clarifying issues and help the person better understand

themselves and their behaviour. Questions are critical in understanding and

assessing a problem.

We need to remain aware that some people may feel uncomfortable in a

question / answer situation, particularly if they have been ‘put on the spot’

or grilled by someone else in similar circumstances. They may associate

questions with anger or guilt. While we need to be aware that our questions

may evoke negative feelings and behaviours, questions remain an essential

tool in an interview. The effectiveness of questioning depends upon using

questions wisely and intentionally. It is important to come to an

understanding of the properties of questions and how we can use them in an

interview.

As with attention, questions can encourage and discourage communication.

When we use open questions we can expect an increase in openness and

freedom in communication and when we use closed questions we can expect

to limit talk.

Open questions are those which cannot be answered in a few words. They

encourage people to talk and provide the listener with the maximum amount

of information.

Open questions tend to begin with: What, How, When, Why or Could.

For example. “What happened then?” or “Could you give me an example?”

Take care with “Why” questions during interviews because they are often

difficult to answer. For example, “What is happening in your classroom?”

tends to be a more effective question than “Why are the children

misbehaving?”.

Closed questions can be answered in a few words and can frequently

encourage one or two word responses. They focus the interview and are

useful in gathering specific information. They have the disadvantage of

placing the focus of the communication on the interviewer and function to

increase interviewer talk.

Closed questions frequently begin with: Is, Are, and Do.

“Are you enjoying teaching” elicits specific and concise information. A useful

alternative or follow up question could be “What do you enjoy about

teaching?” An open question encourages the teacher to talk and elaborate.

Open questions can help begin an interview.

Some examples include:

“How did it go with week?” or “What has happened since we last talked?”

Open questions encourage elaboration and assist the interviewer to restart

or keep the interview moving.

“Could you tell me more about that?”

“How did you feel when that happened?”

“Given what you’ve said, what would be your ideal solution to the

problem?”

Open questions help to bring out concrete examples or specifics to the

situation.

“Could you give me a specific example of what the children do”

“What exactly does he do that makes you angry?”

“What do you mean by … ?”

Open questions provide critical information about the problem.

“What is the person’s problem?” “What is happening?” “What are the

specific details of the situation?”

“When does the problem occur?” “When did it begin?” “What immediately

preceded the onset of the problem?” “When is there no problem?”

“Where does the problem occur?” “In what environments or situations?”

“How does the person react to the problem?” “How does the person feel

about it?”

“Why does the problem occur?”

NOTE:

If you think you are talking too much or over explaining in an interview

situation, then you almost certainly are.

Remember that the solution lies within the teacher not within the interviewer.

Your purpose is to help the person change their needs, characteristics and

behaviours. Questions play the fundamental role in gathering information and

exploring possible actions and outcomes for a particular person in a particular

situation.

ACTIVITY:

Open Questions (OQ) and Closed Questions (CQ)

Tell a story about a typical day in your job and include open questions

(OQ) and closed questions (CQ).

Feel free to use the questions in the examples below as a guide:

Example 1

CQ. Do you feel angry?

OQ. How do you feel?

Example 2

CQ. How many children do you have?

OQ. Tell me about your children.

Example 3

CQ. Do you argue with your class often?

OQ. What is your relationship like with your class?

Example 4

CQ. Did you punish Coby when he misbehaved?

OQ. What did you do when Coby misbehaved?

Example 5

CQ. Do you enjoy your job?

OQ. Can you tell me about your feelings towards your job?

Example 6

CQ. Is the atmosphere tense in the staff room?

OQ. What is the atmosphere like at school?

TEN GUIDES FOR EFFECTIVE LISTENING

1. STOP TALKING!

You cannot listen if you are talking.

2. PUT THE TALKER AT EASE

Help a person feel free to talk. This is often called a permissive environment.

3. SHOW A TALKER THAT YOU WANT TO LISTEN

Look and act interested. Do not read your mail while someone is talking. Listen to

understand rather than to oppose.

4. REMOVE DISTRACTIONS

Do not doodle, tap or shuffle papers. Will it be quieter if you shut the door?

5. EMPATHISE WITH TALKERS

Try to help yourself see the other person’s point of view.

6. BE PATIENT

Allow plenty of time, Do not interrupt a talker. Do not start for the door or walk

away.

7. HOLD YOUR TEMPER

An angry person takes the wrong meaning from words.

8. GO EASY ON ARGUMENT AND CRITICISM

This puts people on the defensive, and they may ‘clam up’ or become angry. Do not

argue. Even if you win, you lose.

9. ASK QUESTIONS

This encourages a talker and shows that you are listening. It helps to develop points

further.

10. STOP TALKING!

This is first AND last as all other guides depend on it. You cannot do an effective

listening job while you are talking.

- Nature gave people two ears but only one tongue, which is a gentle hint that

they should listen more than they talk.

- Listening requires two ears: one for meaning and one for feeling.

- Decision makers who do not listen have less information for making sound

decisions.

ENCOURAGING, PARAPHRASING AND SUMMARISING

Encouraging, paraphrasing and summarising are way sin which an

interviewer can communicate to a person that they have been listened to.

They also provide interviewers with a procedure for checking the accuracy

of their understanding and further assist a person to investigate their

thoughts and feelings more accurately.

ENCOURAGING

Encouragers are a variety of verbal and nonverbal techniques the

interviewer can use to encourage a person to continue to talk and inform the

person that their conversation is being followed. Encouragers include head

nodding, open-handed gestures, a phrase such as “Ummm”, and the simple

repetition of key word the person has spoken.

Minimal nonverbal encouragers, such as head nods and open gestures, and

minimal verbal encouragers, such as “Ummm”, encourage, but have minimal

effect on, the direction of a person’s conversation. In contrast, restatement

or repetition of key words include the course of a person’s conversation.

Restatements or repetitions, such as “You were happy?”, “Angry?”, “Last

term?”, or “You had no problems with your class early in the year?”,

encourage the person to focus on particular aspects of their conversation.

These are powerful techniques for directing the conversation and

influencing the content.

All types of encouragers facilitate talk unless they are overused or used

badly. Excessive head nodding and excessive parroting can be annoying and

frustrating and, as such, can evoke anger and resistance.

PARAPHRASING

The aim of paraphrasing is to encourage a person’s exploration and

clarification of the situation or issue. In encouraging and restatement, the

exact words are fed back to the person. In paraphrasing, the entire content

is repeated back to the person in a shortened and clarified form.

If we provide an accurate paraphrase then we are likely to be rewarded with

a “That’s right” or “Yes … “ and the person will explore the issue in more

depth. If the person responds with a “No” or “That’s not right” then we have

the opportunity of asking the person to correct our understanding. We then

have the opportunity to practice active attending skills.

Accurate paraphrasing also helps a person to stop repeating a story or

aspects of a situation or issue. Some people feel the need to tell their story

over and over again until someone shows that they have been heard clearly and

accurately. Accurate paraphrasing encourages and, at times, allows a person to move on.

A paraphrase often has four components. The first is a sentence stem that

leads to the paraphrase. It can be something like “It looks like you’re saying

… “, “I hear you saying … “, or “Let me see if I’ve understood what you are

saying?”

The second section includes the key words and construct system used by the

person to describe the situation or issue. We need to include the main ideas

as well as some of the person’s exact words. A paraphrase is more complex

than a restatement in that it moves on from the person’s own words to the

interviewers words and covers a larger amount of the conversation.

The third section is a summary of what the person has said. The

interviewer’s task is to transform a person’s, at times, confused and

sometimes long and repetitious statements into succinct, meaningful, and

clarified statements. It is important for the interviewer to feedback the

person’s ideas without repeating them word for word.

The final section is to check for accuracy. At the end of the paraphrase it is

important to ask the person for feedback on the accuracy and usefulness of

the paraphrase. A check question could be “Have I heard you accurately?”,

“Am I close?”, or “Am I hearing you correctly?”

SUMMARISATION

Summarisation falls on the same continuum as the verbal encourager,

restatement and paraphrase. A summarisation differs in that it covers a

longer period of conversation and, at times, may cover an entire interview

or even materials covered over a number of interviews. As with

paraphrasing, the interviewers attends to nonverbal and verbal comments

and selectively attends to and restates key concepts and dimensions. A

check at the end is an important part of effective summarisation.

A summarisation can be made at the beginning of an interview where the

interviewer covers previous conversations and agreements. It may also be

useful to review the aim of the present interview and issues, or the situation

that has preceded the interview.

For example,

“The last time we talked about seating changes in your classroom and

changes in the way you interact with the children. We focused on children

being encouraged to work in groups and the use of rewards for appropriate

behaviour. We discussed the relative usefulness of rewards as opposed to

what we considered to be the overuse of punishment. You indicated you’d

change the seating and trial various seating models. You also indicated you’d

introduce … Is this an accurate summary of our last discussion?”

A summarisation can be very useful during an interview.

For example, “So far the plan hasn’t worked very well. While you changed

the seating in your classroom, you’ve now moved them back to the original

individual seating. I anticipated that you’d take more time to … Can you

see what I am talking about?”

A summarisation is useful at the end of the session.

For example,

“During this talk we’ve reviewed the classroom changes we decided upon

last week. Some of the following things seem to stand out. Firstly, our plan

didn’t work out as well as either of us expected. We discussed seating and

have come out with a longer-term plan … The frequency of rewarding

children has increased while I believe …

You’ve agreed to … I’ve agreed to … I’ll come into your class next Tuesday

from 10am to…… Does that cover everything?”

The purpose of the above section on helping and interviewing micro skills

has been to examine the interview process so that we can enter an interview

with awareness of specific skills, competencies and concepts. In many cases,

it is a matter of bringing the skills we currently use in interviews into

consciousness so that we can use them more effectively and intentionally.

Kevin Duggan October 2000

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

(original five-stage model)

Self-actualisation

personal growth and fulfilment

Esteem needs

achievement, status, responsibility, reputation

Belongingness and Love needs

family, affection, relationships, work group etc.

Safety needs

protection, security, order, law, limits, stability etc.

Biological and Physiological needs

basic life needs: air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex, sleep etc.

Adapted 7 level Hierarchy of Needs diagram based on Maslow’s theory

Self-actualisation

personal growth and fulfilment

Aesthetic needs

beauty, balance, forms etc.

Cognitive needs

knowledge, meaning, self-awareness

Esteem needs

achievement, status, responsibility, reputation

Belongingness and Love needs

family, affection, relationships, work group etc.

Safety needs

protection, security, order, law, limits, stability etc.

Biological and Physiological needs

basic life needs: air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex, sleep etc.

CRITERIA FOR PLANNING

ACHIEVING SUCCESS

WANT: What do you want?

DOING: What have you tried to do to achieve what

you want?

EVALUALTE: Has it worked? If yes, keep doing it. If not,

OPTIONS: What else can you do?

PLAN: Choose from your options and decide how,

when, were you will implement your plan

S

SPECIFIC

M

MEASURABLE

A

ATTRACTIVE

R

REALISTIC

T

TIME FRAMED

Feedback Effectiveness starts

with:

• Helpful Attitudes

• Effective Skills and Behaviour

• Self awareness

The Helping Relationship starts

with:

• Genuineness

• Respect

• Accurate empathy

• Concreteness

• Attending

• Contracting

• Listening

• Acknowledging feelings

• Elaborating and clarifying

• Listening for themes and gaps

• Immediacy

• Self disclosure

• Confrontation

• Stimulating and encouraging

• Constructive action

• Problem solving

• Skill acquisition

Teacher Problem Solving starts with:

• Self exploration

• Self understanding

• Constructive action

communication techniques - classroom profiling

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