Standard 6: Communication and Technology

Description

The teacher uses knowledge of effective verbal, nonverbal, and media communication techniques to foster active inquiry, collaboration, and supportive interaction in the classroom.

Reflection

Communication is a crucial part of teaching. Teachers and students are constantly sending and receiving messages from one another through a variety of different ways. It is extremely important for a teacher to be aware of each form of communication and to always send the right messages to their students. Some of the most important forms of this are verbal, nonverbal, and media. Verbal will often be the most obvious and most frequently used for of communication in the classroom. It is very important that a teacher clearly express his or her thoughts in a way that will model what is expected from the students. By this I mean that students should never have unclear instruction for assignments and that the teacher uses the same language and grammar that is expected from the students. Nonverbal communication can be just as important when trying to establish a welcoming environment. Students can pick up on body language from a teacher very quickly. If the teacher is enthusiastic about the class, students and assignment than this will reflect in their body language. Often times enthusiasm can be transferred to the students with this communication. However, on the other hand negative attitudes can be just as influential on students. It is important to know exactly what messages you are sending and how these are being received.

The use of technology is an excellent way to supplement the first two forms of communication. This form of communication has exploded in the last few years, and is something that the students at the high school lever are very familiar with. This can be a great way for a teacher to communicate with his or her students outside of the classroom. With the use of virtual learning environments the teacher can send messages, clarify or change assignments, answer questions, communicate with parents, and much more. The possibilities for communication with this tool are seemingly endless.

Evidence

Though my experiences as a coach I have a gained a lot of knowledge about communication. We often ran complex drills at practice and the instructions for these drills were very important. Athletes at practice are very similar to students in a classroom in that they need to know exactly what is being asked of them. There have been times that my players were unclear on what was being asked, as I am sure there will be in my classroom. However, an effective teacher should be able to recognize when this happens and make the appropriate adjustments. Even if these corrections in communication are not made before the end of class, I feel confident in my knowledge on virtual learning environments and would be able continue my communication with the students well after class is over and school is out.

I have done several research papers and presentations on communication and realize the importance of technology to assist with this. Click here for an example of a research paper on the use of technology.

INSERT RESEARCH PAPER ON COMMUNICATION FROM ADO!!!