Listen to Your Students - Listening is A Skill We All Need to Practice

 

"The biggest communication problem is we do not listen to understand. We listen to reply.” Stephen Covey

I was inspired to create this post as a reminder for myself that I need to learn to be a better listener. Teacher to Teacher and my friend Don Sturm recently posted these questions on Twitter and they started me thinking about the simplest ways we can get to know our students.

Listen to your students! Really listen to them and get to know their stories. I believe the best teachers often learn more from their students then they teach to them. This is not as easy as it sounds, to often we get caught in the day to day rush of school and miss opportunities to have our students share their stories. I know I frequently catch myself planning a response or getting ready for what is next instead of really listening to my students. 

I do really believe this is one of the simplest things we can do is provide our students with opportunities to share their stories in a variety of ways. It all starts with remembering to listen. Here are a few ways I try to open the door for my students to share their stories. 

• Ask questions! Not just questions about content, but questions about life. Then just listen. 
• It doesn't always have to be verbal. Start the day with a Google form or Pear Deck question. We often start our classes with this question in Pear Deck, "What is something awesome you will make happen in the next week?"
• Share a video or quote and have students share how this connects to their life. We do this in my class by taking a break with some Happy Friday Videos.
• Create and activity to have students share something unique about themselves. Maybe something like a One Word Challenge or 7 Days / 7 Photos.

If you are looking for some digital communication tools, be sure to visit our collection of Communication Resources. 

How do you get to know your students? Please share in the comments below or reply to Don's Tweet. 

I know I always need this reminder!