Assignment 2- Individual Essay Tatiana Barbari S00171763

Assignment 2- Individual Essay

Effective communication, both within the classroom and the community

around it, is the most critical aspect of maximising learning for students in the
primary school setting. Discuss

Communication is the process of sending and receiving messages from one

person to the other (Thompson, 2011). When communication is effective, the
message sent from one person to the other must be received (Ewing, Lowrie
& Higgs, 2010). Interruptions can cause the message not to be received, due
to not listening, loud noises, not paying attention and no interest, etc. Though,
when it is received, it must be understood otherwise it is meaningless,
especially for learning to occur. In the classroom, the teacher must use
effective communication, as it is indispensable in the teaching and learning
process (Haneef, Faisal, Alvi & Zulfiqar, 2014). Gordon (2003) explains that
simply the way a teacher communicates can send thousands of messages to
students. Therefore, in order to maximize students learning in primary school
settings, effective communication must be custom in the classroom and the
communities around it. In order for communication to be effective. Firstly, It is
vitally important for teachers to use verbal and non-verbal communication.
Including being able to interpret student’s body language as the knowledge is
being verbally delivered. Effective communication is receptive and expressive.
This includes expressing and delivering the communication effectively to
maintain the students attention in learning. In addition, there must be effective
communication between teachers and parents in order to report progress and
work collaboratively. Lastly, as communication is a social skill, teachers must
collaborate with colleagues and professionals in order to improve their
communication skills.

Effective communication maximizes learning as teachers demonstrate verbal

and nonverbal communication. Verbal communication is using words that
project sounds to communicate a message. In contrast, nonverbal
communication is “all communication other than language” (Andersen, 1999,
p. 2). When the communication is nonverbal, it is demonstrated through body
Assignment 2- Individual Essay Tatiana Barbari S00171763

language. These are considered to be symbolic as “These nonverbal cues

convey the same meaning as the verbal message, and either complete or
supplement it” (Gregersen, 2007, p. 54). These are natural gestures such as
movement of the hands when communicating, smiling, frowning, pointing, etc.
Gestures are vital when communicating with English as an Additional
Language (EAL) student as the verbal communication acts as a barrier. As
the gestures are done to further convey the meaning of the verbal message, it
can guide the student to understand the message. In order to maximize every
students learning, teachers will often incorporate gestures as they
communicate. An example of this is during my teaching rounds, when a
student found the activity challenging, I will follow the verbal message with a
smile to give the student encouragement to try again before giving up and
asking for help. In this example, the teacher has verbalized and demonstrated
care through gestures, giving the student the encouragement that she needed
to try again. This way the learning has been maximized as the student
received both effective forms of communication, allowing the student to
overcome the challenge and continue their learning.

Adding on, teachers need to observe student behaviour as they are delivering
the information to the students to see whether they show understanding or
confusion through their facial expressions. When confusion arises in students,
only the confident students will put up their hand to communicate their
question. However, other students won’t and this will be shown through their
facial expressions and body language. For example, I’ve observed during my
teaching rounds students extending and stretching their arm to relive muscle
cramp, which is an act to deliberately avoid communication. Whereas, a
student stretching their arm above during discussion is seen as a gesture to
participate in the discussion. This is an effective body language
communication from the students to the teachers that maximizes their
learning. This has shown that not all behavior’s are intended for
communication between the student and the teacher (Gregersen, 2007).

As communication is receptive and expressive, teaches and students must be

able to effectively use both forms in order to maximize the students learning.
Assignment 2- Individual Essay Tatiana Barbari S00171763

Teachers need to be receptive when students share ideas and opinions, and
vise versa (Sharifirad, Rezaeian, Jazini & Etemadi, 2012). This way, both are
respecting each other and having an input in the learning process. As being
able to listen is also a significant part of effective communication. Teachers
and students need to be able to listen with an open mind without prejudicing,
making preconceptions and assumptions (Sharifirad, Rezaeian, Jazini &
Etemadi, 2012). When listening with an open mind, teachers and students
are open to being influenced by what they are listening to and take into
consideration what is being heard. This results in the students and also
teachers gaining new valuable knowledge, as everyone sees things from
different perspectives. However, sometimes listening with an open mind can
be an obstacle for students during misbehaviour. In these situations, teachers
need to use their effective communication skills to stop the misbehavior
completely during its early stages and redirect them back to learning (Cooper,
2011). Through effective communication, the teacher will send a verbal
message that will guide the student to stop the misbehaviour and continue
with the learning.
As communication is expressive, teachers need to be skilled at explaining the
knowledge clearly in order to maximize the students learning. In order for the
communication to be effective, teachers must be able to break down complex
ideas into smaller pieces of information for the students to process the
information much easier (Arends, 2015). During this process, teachers need
to be able to effectively communicate and explain the smaller chunks of
information using words that are suitable for the year level. In fact, teachers
must be able to adapt different methods of communication in a classroom
depending on the student’s ability to understand the learning style. Through
communication, teacher will get to know the student’s ability, in order to learn
and adapt their communication to the students needs (Cooper, 2011). An
example of this was during my teaching rounds. In the classroom there was a
student that had Autism. When I worked one on one with him, I had to adapt
my verbal communication in order to assist his needs.

In order to maximize the students learning, using expressive communication

effectively includes being able to maintain the students attention on the
Assignment 2- Individual Essay Tatiana Barbari S00171763

learning. A teacher needs to be able to communicate the information in a way

that will capture the student’s attention. This could be by using questioning
strategies to maintain the students attention on the learning. Also, Bloom’s
Taxonomy stresses the need for teachers to communicate with the students
through questioning to check for learning (Krathwohl, 2002). Teachers should
formulate questions from each of the six levels to maximize the students
learning. This will require the students to respond using different kind of
thought process, and will encourage them to engage in a variety of cognitive
processes (Krathwohl, Anderson & Bloom, 2001).

Teachers must be able to effectively communicate with parents in order to

inform them about their student’s progress, to maximize their learning. Gelfer
& Perkins (1987) state “Parents are their children’s earliest and most
influential teacher. Their effectiveness depends upon their knowledge,
experiences and interests in helping children lead complete lives” (p. 19).
Therefore, to maximize the students learning, teacher must form a
relationship with the parents. This will allow parents to feel comfortable with
asking questions about their child’s learning. Teachers use varies form of
communications when communicating with the parents, such as verbally and
written (Ranjan, 2007). This can be through reports, letters, meetings, emails,
phone calls, regular visits, etc. Through these, the teacher will communicate
and inform the parents about the student’s progress. The strengths and
weakness will be discussed and through effective communication, together
they will come to an agreements, solution, strategy, etc. The outcome of the
effective communication is that the teacher will share strategies on how the
parents can maximize the learning from home, and techniques that the
teacher can implement to maximize the learning from the school setting
(Gelfer & Perkins, 1987). As mentioned above, one of the students in my
classroom had Autism, therefore his mother at the end of each day would
have a quick talk with me and my mentor to inform her how his day was.
Through this process, the teacher and parents must always be receptive
rather than defensive when delivering or sending messages. Especially, in
situations where the teacher has to communicate with the parents to report
misbehaviour issues or learning problems. With this in mind, families will also
Assignment 2- Individual Essay Tatiana Barbari S00171763

communicate with the teacher due to the student not getting enough
homework or attention in the classroom. In cases like this, the communication
must be clear and precise, in order for the message to be delivered without
any confusion (Ranjan, 2007). However, Feddersen (1972) also suggests that
a teacher shouldn’t always only communicate with the parents when there is a
concern with the students learning. Teachers should also communicate with
the parents to report positive progress in the students learning, such as a new
achievement (Feddersen, 1972). The overall outcome of parents and teachers
communicating suggested by Gelfer & Perkins (1987) is to create a working
relationship that contributes to the child’s learning.

In order to maximize students learning, teachers must effectively

communicate with colleagues and other professionals. In the Australian
Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (2014) the teachers standards
state that they must “Engage with colleagues and improve practice” (Standard
6, Focus Area 6.3). As teaching is usually done in isolation, teachers must
consult with others about their teaching, in order to always be improving their
communication skills and practice (Cole, 2012). Schools are professional
learning communities, therefore they support and encourage teachers to
collaborate to plan lessons, learn from one another and gain pedagogical
knowledge (Sawyer & Rimm‐Kaufman, 2007). One way to improve
communication in the classroom is to communicate with teachers, teacher’s
aids, expert tutors and specialists to seek for help. Another way is to attend
seminars, be aware of new research and developments in education, by
reading websites, journals, newspapers, etc. These all require great
communication skills as it involves being able to listen share and discuss new
ideas. Through these discussions, teachers will learn valuable communication
skills and strategies to implement into the classroom to maximize the students
learning. During my teaching rounds, a student in the classroom didn’t want
to listen or participate during discussion time. Consequently, I asked my
mentor what she would do in that situation, as she has gone through similar
situations before. As I consulted with her, she shared communication
strategies that I could use to make sure the student was listening and
Assignment 2- Individual Essay Tatiana Barbari S00171763

participating. Through this process, teachers and colleagues or other

professionals, will analyse evidence and share powerful strategies that can be
implemented in the classroom to improve the students learning (Australian
Institute for Teaching and School Leadership, n.d). These ideas will allow the
teacher to effectively communicate with the student by redirecting in order for
the learning to continue. In order to maximize the students learning, the
communication between colleagues must be frequent and ongoing (Australian
Institute for Teaching and School Leadership, n.d).

In conclusion, through effective verbal, nonverbal, and written communication,

the students learning can be maximized. Teachers must be able to use verbal
and nonverbal communication, such as gestures to further convey meaning to
the verbal message. This also includes being able to interpret student’s non-
verbal communication during classroom time, to see whether the student
shows understanding or confusion. The verbal communication between a
teacher and a student must be receptive and expressive. Receptive
communication consists of being able to listen to the teacher or student with
an open mind in order to learn from the other person. Expressive
communication is being able to express the intended message effectively by
breaking down complex information for the students. This also involves being
able to maintain the students attention in the learning through expressive
communication, which can be done through questioning. It is very important
for Teachers and parents to be able to communicate effectively as they are
the student’s first teachers (Gelfer & Perkins, 1987). Teachers must be able to
express themselves effectively verbally and written in order to report student
progress and to discuss ways to improve the students learning. Although
teaching is done in isolation, teachers must maintain constant communication
with other colleagues and professionals in order to always be improving their
communication with the students. This will allow teachers to learn about new
findings and developments, to improve and make sure effective
communication is practiced in their classroom.
Assignment 2- Individual Essay Tatiana Barbari S00171763

References:

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Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership. (2014).

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Assignment 2- Individual Essay Tatiana Barbari S00171763

Gelfer, J. I., & Perkins, P. G. (1987). Effective communication with parents: A

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Gordon, T (2003) Teacher effectiveness training. First Revised Edition. New

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