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
POSSIBLE VULNERABILITIES
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
POSSIBLE VULNERABILITIES
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
POSSIBLE VULNERABILITIES
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, 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
8. (A) SOUTH (B) WEST (C) NORTH (D) EAST
9. (A) EAST (B) SOUTH (C) NORTH (D) WEST
10. (A) SOUTH (B) WEST (C) NORTH (D) EAST
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
15. (A) SOUTH (B) WEST (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