Skill Building Practice: Adding excitement to the adventure of communication

Overview  Oral  Written  Film Clips  Sources –End of chapter exercises –Instructor’s Manual –HC 100 website –Other T.A.’s

Preparation  Prior class session –Announcement –Brief description of exercise –Review concept that will be involved –Ideas that they need to be considering –Items they will need to bring –For dyads: choosing the partners –In-class participation points –Emphasize need to arrive on time –Identify “time points”

Note!  Be sure to either practice your skill building exercise ahead of time, or arrange to observe another T.A. run the exercise.  This eliminates bad results and surprises  Give consideration to unforeseen outcomes and disclosures

The Day of SBP: Before Class Begins  Bring necessary items (stopwatch)  Arrive early  Arrange classroom chairs  Write instructions on board as needed  Alert students as they enter the room

In-class  Handle housekeeping matters first –Reading, upcoming assignments  Describe the activity  Discuss any time limits that apply (write time points on the board if needed)  Ask for questions or clarification  Then form groups / dyads  Discuss importance of a positive attitude  Maslow’s Hierarchy (p. 31)

Running the exercise  Observing  Taking notes  Helping “stuck” groups  Time warnings  Stop  “Shake it off”  Repeat (if required)

Concluding  Compliment the students  Seats can be returned to rows  Instructor provides initial feedback to initiate discussion

Debriefing  What worked well?  What problems were encountered?  How could they have been solved?  Were there any unexpected results?  Did any of the communication patterns feel familiar to you?  How would this be useful?

Follow-up  Remind students of the concept  Apply their feedback to the concept  Coordinate with other concepts –Self-esteem –Intercultural communication –Nonbiased communication –Hierarchy of needs –Power of communication  Collect worksheets  Send s to students (if appropriate)

The next class  Provide a brief recap of concept and the results at the beginning of class  Again, ask for comments and feedback

Film Clips  The class before: –Announce which film ahead of time and the clip you have chosen –Explain the reason for showing –Consider handing out a script to follow  Day of: –Set-up AV / scene selection / volume ahead of time! –Review reason for clip –Provide a brief description of the movie to provide context –Forewarn if clip contains profanity

Film Clips, con’t  During the clip, point out relevant parts (in brief soundbites)  At end of clip, turn on room lights  Begin debriefing discussion –Why did you select this clip? –What communication event/pattern did it represent? –Verbal vs. nonverbal attributes –Hypothetical questions: what if the genders had been switched, or performed by an older/younger actor?  Help them to understand what “is” there by considering what “isn’t” there (critical thinking)

Written Exercises  Hand out the form ahead of time  Remind students to read it and bring it back with them  Tell them to start considering some different scenarios and outcomes  Allow time at the beginning of class period for them to review the form  Be very specific!