# data[].attributes.headline
Various Posters/ activities/ strategies 

# data[].attributes.subject
Various Posters/ activities/ strategies 

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.thepathway2success.com/free-social-emotional-learning-resources/
Ex: "My Coping Strategies" Notebook for student use.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
How Does Social and Emotional Development Affect Learning?

There is no doubt that social emotional learning teaches character. Many years ago the question of how does social and emotional development affect learning was investigated.

In 1995, New York Times science reporter Daniel Goleman published the book, Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ, which launched the social emotional movement.

The case he presents and validates with preliminary evidence is that:

Character matters

Character can be taught

Character improves academic, social, and professional achievement

Since then, all subsequent research shows that social emotional learning does, in fact, enhance children's academic success while preventing problems such as mental health disorders and violence. Social-emotional competencies empower kids to grow self-aware and confident, to manage difficult emotions and impulses, and to embody empathy, which translates to not only improved behavior but also test scores.

Daniel Goleman's 5 Social Emotional Learning Skills

Danial Goleman describes 5 social emotional learning (SEL) skills:

Emotional self-awareness - knowing what one is feeling at any given time and understanding the impact those moods have on others

Self-regulation - controlling or redirecting one's emotions; anticipating consequences before acting on impulse

Motivation - utilizing emotional factors to achieve goals, enjoy the learning process and persevere in the face of obstacles

Empathy - sensing the emotions of others

Social skills - managing relationships, inspiring others and inducing desired responses from them

To understand how these 5 components of social-emotional intelligence (aka: EQ), affect learning, we must also look at brain-based research.

The social emotional learning of children is all about developing neutral awareness and thoughtful choices (aka: mindfulness). To be able to respond rather than react, children need to cultivate the executive functions of their neocortex (frontal lobe of the brain) as well as the heart-centered intelligence of their mid-brain limbic system, which houses meaning making and memories.

Social emotional learning helps children move out of their lower, automatic "reptilian brain" thinking and into higher, rational thinking and regulation, by establishing rules and activities that promote safety - physical, emotional and social - and teach respectful, kind and compassionate ways to think and behave.

SEL Shapes the Brain

Classrooms that include SEL are organized around the principles of respect, kindness, and empathy. SEL teachers and lessons engage students in learning and practicing how to embody those qualities.

How does social and emotional development affect learning? By providing a kind environment, it helps to encourage optimal brain development as well as social connection and collaboration. In other words, SEL affects learning by shaping children's developing neural circuitry, particularly the executive functions.

As children feel safe and learn how to inhibit disruptive emotional impulses, they exhibit greater self-confidence, better behavior and enhanced memory. They enjoy the learning process and thus, readily engage and fully immerse themselves in gaining new information and skills.

This article was originally written authored by Leah Kalish.

Reference: Goleman, D. (1996). Emotional intelligence. Why it can matter more than IQ. Learning, 24(6), 49-50.

Resources to Explore Social Emotional Development

Emotions Packet encourages children to practice fine motor skills, visual motor skills and more with 5 activities and 10 worksheets that explore emotions.

The award-winning Self-Regulation Videos and Flash Cards, called Scooter & Me movement stories, help your kids/students become more physically fit, emotionally stable and learning able! And watch them thrive. Taught by experts and developed with kids, these self-regulation video classes combine exciting stories with creative movement, yoga and Brain Gym®. Kids get the fun of acting out the story through movement - being a scooter, a jet boat, a storm, a butterfly, a lion and so much more - while learning easy-to-do, self-regulation techniques called Adventure Skills. Find out more here.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How Does Social and Emotional Development Affect Learning? - Your Therapy Source

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
There is no doubt that social emotional learning teaches character. Many years ago the question of how does social and emotional development affect learning was investigated. In 1995, New York Times science reporter Daniel Goleman published the book, Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ, which launched the social emotional movement.

# data[].attributes.body
This website has resources that kids, adults, and parents can use if they ever need help. There is even a number listed for them to call at anytime to talk to someone about their problems.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Whether you're feeling angry, sad, frustrated, lonely, or anxious - it's important to have some healthy ways to cope with these painful emotions.

Let your emotions out physically

Let your body help you express your feelings by:

Try some relaxation strategies

Help your mind and body to refocus by trying some:

Distract yourself

If your emotions are too strong to express in other ways, try to distract yourself by:

Looking up funny videos or memes

Doing something you enjoy

Talking or hanging out with friends

Was this information useful?

Help us by rating this page:

Thanks for your feedback!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Some emotions are easier to deal with than others...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Whether you're feeling angry, sad, frustrated, lonely, or anxious - it's important to have some healthy ways to cope with these painful emotions.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
SWIFT Domains and Features at Henderson School

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
New teachers-and experienced ones too-can find ideas here on how to stop disruptive behavior before it begins.

In the 1950s, psychologists Jacob Kounin and Paul Gump discovered a curious side effect of discipline: If a student was being disruptive and the teacher responded with strict disciplinary measures, the student might stop-but other students would start exhibiting the same misbehavior. Kounin and Gump called this the " ripple effect," and it demonstrated that efforts to control a classroom can backfire.

"The teacher who is interested in controlling ripple effects can generally do so best by giving clear instructions to the child rather than by exerting pressure on him," Kounin and Gump wrote.

Decades later, classroom management is still a thorny issue for teachers. Nearly half of new teachers report that they feel "not at all prepared" or "only somewhat prepared" to handle disruptive students, in part because the average teacher training program devotes just eight hours to the topic, according to a 2014 report from the National Council on Teacher Quality. This lack of training comes with a cost, as teachers report losing 144 minutes of instructional time on average to behavioral disruptions every week, which comes out to roughly three weeks over the course of a year.

Recent research confirms what Kounin and Gump discovered decades ago. A 2016 study found that while negative attention-reprimands like "Stop chitchatting!"-may temporarily stop misbehavior, students eventually became more likely to engage in disruptive behavior. Students in the study felt disengaged, had difficulty concentrating, and weren't able to effectively regulate their thoughts and emotions-a vicious cycle that "actually amplifies students' inappropriate behavior," the study authors explain.

8 Proactive Classroom Management Strategies

Instead of handling disruptions after they've happened, it can be more effective to set up conditions in which they are less likely to occur. Here are eight classroom strategies that teachers have shared with Edutopia, all backed by research.

1. Greet students at the door: At Van Ness Elementary School in Washington, DC, Falon Turner starts the day by giving each of her students a high-five, handshake, or hug. "During that time, I'm just trying to connect with them.... It's kind of like a pulse check to see where they are," she says.

In a study published last year, greeting students at the door helped teachers set a positive tone for the rest of the day, boosting academic engagement by 20 percentage points while reducing disruptive behavior by 9 percentage points-adding roughly an hour of engagement over the course of the school day.

For older students, give plenty of warning if you need them to follow instructions. Reminders and cues are helpful ways to encourage students to follow instructions without being overtly controlling or forceful. For example, if you can anticipate a disruption-such as students getting out of their seats if they finish an assignment early-give a short reminder of what they should do instead.

Reminders are commonly verbal, but can also be visual (flicking the lights to signal that it's time to be quiet), auditory (ringing a small bell to let students know they should pay attention to the teacher), or physical (using a hand signal to let students know to get back in their seats).
Courtesy of Emily Polak
But that doesn't mean choice is always bad. Giving students a sense of ownership in the room, paired with clear expectations for behavior, can have surprisingly positive effects. A welcoming space can reduce anxiety and boost academic performance. Emily Polak, a ninth-grade teacher in Madison, Alabama, gave her room a cozier feel by adding a couch, a loveseat, rugs, a coffee table, and posters. Her students decide where to sit-but if they can't get their work done, they get moved back to a desk. "Discipline issues have significantly decreased. My students seem to feel more relaxed and more motivated in a setting that honors their choices," Polak says.

It's also helpful to avoid using the word don't, suggests Alyssa Nucaro, a sixth-grade English teacher in Memphis. Students are more likely to listen to instructions that include clear reasons.

6. Set clear expectations: Instead of just displaying rules for behavior, have a discussion with your students about why those rules matter. Bobby Shaddox, a seventh-grade social studies teacher in Portland, Maine, works with his students to create a list of norms-words such as inclusive, focused, and considerate -to build a sense of community. "It helps us own the behavior in the classroom," Shaddox says. "Instead of a top-down list of rules that a teacher gives a class, these are words that we generated together. These are words that we believe in."

A 2017 study found that a teacher's nonverbal cues-such as smiling and making eye contact-can "reduce physical and/or psychological distance" with their students, boosting students' positive feelings toward the teacher and the course material while improving behavior.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
New teachers-and experienced ones too-can find ideas here on how to stop disruptive behavior before it begins.

# data[].attributes.body
Students do better in a classroom that is structured, predictable, and consistent.

# data[].attributes.body
“Research shows that educational experiences that are active, social, contextual, engaging, and student-owned lead to deeper learning.”

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Collaborative learning can occur peer-to-peer or in larger groups. Peer learning, or peer instruction, is a type of collaborative learning that involves students working in pairs or small groups to discuss concepts or find solutions to problems. Similar to the idea that two or three heads are better than one, educational researchers have found that through peer instruction, students teach each other by addressing misunderstandings and clarifying misconceptions.

Why use collaborative learning?

Research shows that educational experiences that are active, social, contextual, engaging, and student-owned lead to deeper learning. The benefits of collaborative learning include:

Development of higher-level thinking, oral communication, self-management, and leadership skills.

Promotion of student-faculty interaction.

Increase in student retention, self-esteem, and responsibility.

Exposure to and an increase in understanding of diverse perspectives.

Preparation for real life social and employment situations.

Considerations for using collaborative learning

Introduce group or peer work early in the semester to set clear student expectations.

Establish ground rules  for participation and contributions.

Plan for each stage of group work.

Carefully explain to your students how groups or peer discussion will operate and how students will be graded.

Help students develop the skills they need to succeed, such as using team-building exercises or introducing self-reflection techniques.

Consider using written contracts.

Incorporate  self -assessment and  peer  assessment for group members to evaluate their own and others' contributions.

Getting started with collaborative learning

Shorter in-class collaborative learning activities generally involve a three-step process. This process can be as short as five minutes, but can be longer, depending on the task at hand.

Introduce the task. This can be as simple as instructing students to turn to their neighbor to discuss or debate a topic.

Provide students with enough time to engage with the task. Walk around and address any questions as needed.

Debrief. Call on a few students to share a summary of their conclusions. Address any misconceptions or clarify any confusing points. Open the floor for questions.

For larger group work projects, here are some strategies to help ensure productive group dynamics:

Provide opportunities for students to develop rapport and group cohesion through  icebreakers, team-building, and reflection exercises.

Give students time to create a group work plan allowing them to plan for deadlines and divide up their responsibilities.

Have students  establish ground rules. Students can create a contract for each member to sign. This contract can include agreed-upon penalties for those who fail to fulfill obligations.

Assign roles to members of each group and change the roles periodically. For example, one student can be the coordinator, another the note-taker, another the summarizer, and another the planner of next steps.

Allow students to rate each other's quality and quantity of contributions. Use these evaluations when giving individual grades, but do not let it weigh heavily on a student's final grade. Communicate clearly how peer assessment will influence grades.

Check in with groups intermittently but encourage students to handle their own issues before coming to you for assistance.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Collaborative Learning | Center for Teaching Innovation

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Collaborative learning can occur peer-to-peer or in larger groups. Peer learning, or peer instruction, is a type of collaborative learning that involves students working in pairs or small groups to discuss concepts or find solutions to problems. Similar to the idea that two or three heads are better…

# data[].attributes.body
Tools to identify and how to come to a solution
-Causes of behavior
-Positive reinforcement

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Belongingness is the human emotional need to be an accepted member of a group. Whether it is family, friends, co-workers, a religion, or something else, people tend to have an 'inherent' desire to belong and be an important part of something greater than themselves. This implies a relationship that is greater than simple acquaintance or familiarity. The need to belong is the need to give and receive attention to and from others.

That's how Wikipedia defines the word "belongingness. We all have different wants and needs in life; like our need to be loved, we have strong desire to belong to the group, organization or community where we are rightfully placed.

But educators for inclusive classrooms tell a different story. More than their strong desire is a goal that each of his students will feel the belongingness in the class and will not single-out in any way. The inclusion of special needs students becomes a reality in general education. Hence, facing another set of challenges especially when it comes to handling disruptive behavior efficiently.

Every educator's objective is to provide the best instruction and education for his students. So, as an educator, how do you handle disruptive behavior? You might want to consider this tried and tested techniques from the experts.

Four Techniques to Better Manage Behavior in the Classroom

Identify the cause of student misbehavior

Boredom due to lack of interest in learning or grade level misplacement.

Disrespect for authority figures compounded by a disregard for teachers.

Cliques that are run by students who influence others to disrupt the class.

Physical, cognitive and biochemical disabilities and learning impairments.

Embrace special needs students

Students with learning impairments frequently become frustrated and angry. This can lead to emotional outbursts and time-consuming tantrums. Among special needs students, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is the No. 1 diagnosis. Autism spectrum disorders include Asperger's syndrome and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Set high expectations for inclusive classrooms

Establishing and reinforcing positive expectations for special needs students sets the bar higher for all students within inclusive classrooms.
Demonstrate classroom leadership abilities Cultivate classroom organizational skills Create a positive classroom atmosphere Resolve student behavior conflicts

Set goals for inclusive classrooms

Effective teachers establish a call to action for the class every day. Like good presenters, they tell students upfront what they are going to learn. They teach them, and then they tell them what they've learned. This helps keep all students within inclusive classrooms task-oriented. Telling students what they're going to learn and accomplishing it also establishes a bond between the teacher and students.

(Access full article here: Behavior Management Techniques for Teachers: Inclusive Classrooms)
5 Effective Strategies for the Inclusive Classroom

Get to know your students' IEPs/504s

Upon receiving notice that a student with a specific plan is entering your class, it's important to connect with that student's case manager. For a student with a 504 plan, that is usually the school counselor; for a student with an IEP it's either the Special Education Teacher or Resource Specialist. You should receive a brief synopsis of the IEP, often referred to as the "IEP at a Glance" form.

Implement Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

It's an approach to curriculum planning and mapping that makes learning engaging and accessible to a wider range of learners with different strengths and needs.

Support Important Life Skills

telling time from an analog clock

writing a simple letter

signing their name in cursive

note taking and study skills

Engage in Collaborative Planning and Teaching

Opening up your room to service providers, paraprofessionals, special education teachers, and parents gives you valuable opportunities to participate in collaborative teaching. Collaborative teaching looks differently depending on what school, level, and setting you are working.

Develop a strong Behavior Management Plan

Some specific behavior management strategies that support effective instruction are:

Posting daily schedules

Displaying classroom rules and expectations

Encouraging peer to peer instruction and leadership

Using signals to quiet down, start working, and putting away materials.

Giving students folders, labels and containers to organize supplies.

Checking in with students while they work

Utilizing proactive rather than reactive interventions as needed

Speaking to students privately about any concerns

Employing specific, targeted positive reinforcement when a student meets a behavioral or academic goal.

(To get more information visit this site: ww2.kqed.org)

Educational Research Newsletters and Webinars released these Strategies for Inclusive Classrooms

Managing behavior in inclusive settings also represents a considerable challenge, requiring both classroom management techniques and individualized methods. Teaching students to monitor and manage their own behavior has proved effective. Self-management involves teaching students how to observe and record their behavior, focus on the quality of behavior, and reward themselves when a certain amount of good behavior has been recorded.

Instead of reacting to misbehavior in a punitive or controlling way, she used instructional techniques to teach desired behavior and created a motivating environment for students. Her set of rules for class behavior were "The Magic Five."

Students also participated in choosing both individual and group rewards from a menu provided by the teacher. Whole-class games were very desirable rewards. Edible rewards like candy were also popular and were used on a temporary basis to quickly improve behavior, but were gradually eliminated once student behavior began to improve.

(Read full article here: Strategies for Inclusive Classrooms)
Helpful Links for Managing Disruptive Behavior in an Inclusive Classroom
We are not affiliated with any organizations or bloggers mentioned in this article. But we admire their selfless act of helping educators provide the best instruction and education to the students through these free resources. Just like you, we have high hopes for the day to come that no one will be single-out nor left behind in an inclusive classroom because everyone deserves to belong to their own rightful place!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How to Manage Disruptive Behavior in an Inclusive Classroom? | TherapyTravelers

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Belongingness is the human emotional need to be an accepted member of a group. Whether it is family, friends, co-workers, a religion, or something else, people tend to have an 'inherent' desire to belong and be an important part of something greater than themselves. This implies a relationship that is greater than simple acquaintance or [...]

# data[].attributes.body
Inclusive educators encourage parent and guardian collaboration in the classroom as well as conversations about the necessary supports, goals and achievements of an individual student. It is important that we create that safe space for parents to openly communicate their child's needs.

# data[].attributes.body
Communication is far more then the act of conversating. This TedTalk explores 10 ways in which all people can better their conversations thus bettering communication. As Celeste Headlee mentions" Communication is a balance!" This tool will help you find balance in your future conversations as an educator, colleague and speaker.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Celeste Headlee: 10 ways to have a better conversation | TED

# data[].attributes.body
"Restorative Justice  can be used in your classroom to develop relationships, build communities, and respond to conflicts and problems that arise. With restorative circles, you give everyone an equal opportunity to speak, and be listened to this creates an open and save environment for offenses and discussions to be addressed.
Below are types of restorative circles you could practice.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Restorative circles are strategies you can use in your classrooms to develop relationships, build communities, and respond to conflicts and problems that arise. With restorative circles, you give everyone an equal opportunity to speak, and be listened to.

When you're building your restorative circles, the basic structure is easy to learn. Gather everyone around in a circle, and follow the guidelines of whatever circle type you're using!

You always keep two things the same across restorative circle types.

One, only let your participants speak one at a time. Don't allow interruptions while others are talking. By doing this, you encourage everyone to listen while giving each of them an equal chance to respond.

Two, don't pass judgement, but seek to understand problems. Your circle's goal isn't to pass judgement and define punishment. Instead, challenge those involved to understand why the conflict happened, and how it affected others.

Here are three types of restorative circles you can use in your classroom

Sequential Restorative Circles

Real Justice Conference

Fishbowl Restorative Conference

1. Sequential Restorative Circles:

Sequential Restorative Circles

In sequential restorative circles, one person speaks at a time. The chance to speak moves around your circle in one direction.

Structure your sequential restorative circles around topics or questions raised by your circle facilitator. This format gives quite or reserved voices, who often get pressured by loud or assertive voices, a chance to speak freely. By using topics and questions, you also help guide your circle, and give your participants a more structured way of voicing their concerns.

When using a restorative circle, you'll often rely on the help of a circle facilitator. Your job as a circle facilitator is to help guide your circle, but not lead it. You don't determine who is right or wrong. Instead, you keep everyone on track, making sure they all have an equal chance to speak.

You don't need a leader to run a successful restorative circle though. Often you can simply trust your participants to go around, as many times as you need, keeping order yourselves.

2. Real Justice Circles:

Real Justice Circle

Another type of restorative circles you can use is known as a Real Justice Circles. When using real justice conferences, your order of speaking is different and more structured.

Your participants still sit in a circle, and discussion is still lead by a circle facilitator. However, your order of speaking is not sequential. Instead, follow a specific speaking order that's defined by your conference script. The general format most people use goes: offender, victim, victim's supporter, and offender's supporter. As a circle facilitator, ask each person a set of restorative questions and listen to their response.

Once everyone has responded to the restorative questions, transition into a more open model of discussion. During this time, you can discuss what the victim needs and how those needs can be met. Once you're at this point, the previous order is broken down. Everyone is allowed to talk in a non-ordered discussion, while still following the original guidelines.

3. Fishbowl Restorative Circles:

Fishbowl Restorative Circle

An additional restorative circle format you can use is the fishbowl. Fishbowl circles are drastically different than other restorative circles.
First, create an inner circle of active participants using either a sequential approach or a non-sequential activity. Outside the inner circle place your observers, each arranged in as many concentric circles as are needed to accommodate the group.

You can use fishbowl circles when you might have a large number of active participants but it would be impractical to have them all involved. Observers watch the circle activity and occasionally comment on it, but aren't active members of the circle.

To create a slight variation on this, place an empty chair in the middle of the room. Have your outside observers sit in the chair, one at a time, say something, and then return to the outer circle. This helps you maintain a limited amount of participation by observers.

Restorative Circles are valuable tools for developing relationships and building classroom communities because they give each participant an equal opportunity to speak and be heard. Unlike traditional discipline models, they also allow individuals to understand how their actions impacted others. By not responding with just punishment, and instead listening to the stories, experiences, feelings, and thoughts of others, you get a deeper understanding of why something might have happened.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
3 Types of Restorative Circles * Region 13's Blog

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Restorative circles are strategies you can use in your classrooms to develop relationships, build communities, and respond to conflicts and problems that arise. With restorative circles, you give everyone an equal opportunity to speak, and be listened to. When you're building your restorative circles, the basic structure is easy to learn.

# data[].attributes.body
Consider the two school systems. If you are currently working in a school what system do you feel your school is practicing. What steps can you take to create a positive outcome for your students and school community?

# data[].attributes.headline
Behavior Management in Inclusive Classrooms

# data[].attributes.subject
Behavior Management in Inclusive Classrooms

# data[].attributes.body
Resource for Teachers

# data[].attributes.headline
The Role of Talking in an Inclusive Classroom

# data[].attributes.subject
The Role of Talking in an Inclusive Classroom

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Equity and inclusive education for all students is paramount to what we do as teachers. There is greater diversity in many classrooms than ever before and expectations that students have the relevant intercultural communication skills.

The classroom teacher plays a huge role in ensuring the classroom environment and culture helps every student feel accepted, safe and challenged to learn as much as possible (Sperry Smith, 2013).

There is a definite relationship between talk and inclusion. Communication between teacher and student and between students is essential in order to build strong relationships consisting of mutual trust and respect. From a constructivist view of learning, talk is also essential to students' understanding of new information within their existing schema.

Setting up an inclusive classroom: changing practices

While I like to think I have a pretty inclusive classroom environment, there's always room to improve. At the conclusion of a Navitas professional development course, we were encouraged to reflect upon our own teaching practices and how we might transform them.

Most of these changes that I plan to make to my own practice revolve around active, hands-on involvement in learning. Tempting as it is to keep full control and read from the PowerPoint slides, here we go!

1. Get to know your students' capabilities and provide appropriate scaffolding. Keeping Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) theory front-of-mind helps develop a mindset of making sure students are included through appropriately tailored learning, not left unsupported.

2. Plan to spend the extra time and effort on relationships. It takes time to establish rapport, build relationships with students and foster relationships amongst students. This creates an environment where students feel safe enough to share and understand that what they have to say matters.

3. Emphasise equal participation and the equal worth and value of each person within the classroom (Churchill et al, 2013). As Martin Luther King said, "Equality means dignity".

4. Adopt an interactive approach. We should be working closely with our students, listening, encouraging ideas, and providing adequate scaffolding when necessary.

5. Provide a variety of engaging experiences and activities that require collaboration. Collaboration enhances problem-solving skills through hearing about different approaches, allowing students and teachers to gain insight into what others are thinking, allowing problems to be refined and new insights into thinking to be achieved. Use the simple 'think-pair-share' to get people talking with one peer then sharing with the class. Change it up with peer tutoring, pairing a knowledgeable student with a student with less understanding of the topic. There are many combinations for peer collaboration - that is, for pairing students to find a solution to a problem that they may otherwise have been unable to solve independently (Jones, 2012).

6. Encourage students to share their experiences orally. I really believe in letting students talk. When I stop my PowerPoint and stop talking, students begin verbalising their own learning out loud.

7. Encourage students to reflect on their work - what they did well and what they could have done better next time. Get everybody talking within the classroom to share their reflections and metacognitive strategies that can help in future.

The relationship between talk and inclusion is clear. Also, self-verbalisation is one of the most effective ways for students to learn.
And, if you really need another reason, talking and building these relationships makes teaching and learning so much more enjoyable!

How do you plan for purposeful student talk? Check out David Barrs' work (including a video and infographics) on ways to reduce unaware teacher talk and increase purposeful student talk.

Watch my full presentation on inclusivity and talk below:

To continue the discussion or to share your own practice, please contact Learning and Teaching Services.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The role of talk in an inclusive classroom - Learning and Teaching at Navitas

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Student talk is essential for learning, giving them opportunities to articulate understanding and voice opinions. A HSA nursing teacher shares practical plans for improving classroom practice.

# data[].attributes.headline
Communication in the Classroom: Skills for Teachers 

# data[].attributes.subject
Communication in the Classroom: Skills for Teachers 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Communication is key in the classroom: successful teaching is generally considered to require only 50% knowledge to 50% communication skills. As a result, a teacher should be proficient in all four modes of communication - listening, speaking, reading, and writing - and should know how to utilise this proficiency effectively in a school environment. Being able to do this has been proven to impact the success students achieve in their academic lives, as well as the teacher's own career success.

In this article, we will outline the reasons why classroom communication has such importance. You will also learn some of the strategies you can use to help you and your students attain your best outcomes.

Why is it Important for Teachers to Have Effective Communication Skills?

Teachers benefit from good communication skills in three different areas: when communicating with students, with parents, and with colleagues.

Communicating with Students

Communication skills are most vital for interactions with students, because the act of teaching itself requires them. In your role, you are responsible for comprehending and breaking down complex information, conveying this information clearly to your students (both verbally and in written resources), presenting in a manner that sustains their attention, and listening to and resolving their questions or problems.

You are also required to adapt content for different learning styles, motivate students to learn, build supportive relationships using encouragement and empathy, manage the classroom, and give feedback - making your classroom a safe and supportive learning environment. All of these things require good communication skills.

The better your communication skills, the more effectively you can perform these tasks. In turn, your students will make more academic progress. Studies have found that the success of students is directly related to interactive, engaging teaching environments formed by able teachers (see Mashburn et al., 2008). Additionally, the way that you communicate with your students can positively affect their perceptions of school, their role in the classroom, themselves and their abilities, and their motivation to succeed (see Dobbs & Arnold, 2009).

However, this works both ways: poor communication skills - and thus poor methods of teaching - causes students' comprehension levels to drop, and may affect their academic progress negatively. It could also lead to students lacking motivation, disliking school, and believing themselves to be unable to achieve. This could have consequences for the rest of their lives.

Therefore, effective communication between teachers and students is extremely important. It allows you to perform your job well, with positive results for your pupils. An added benefit is that your class can use you as a model for improving their own communication skills, which are critical for their development and future learning.

Effective coaching and mentoring can help boost your communication with students as you focus on three key areas: foundations, principles and practice.

Explore how to coach with consistency and plan for an effective mentoring session with our Coaching and Mentoring course which has been designed to give you the practical skills needed to get started with your successful teaching career.

Communicating with Parents

As a teacher, you will also need to communicate effectively with parents. This could take place through a variety of mediums, including phone calls, emails, and in-person meetings, so you must be skilled with both verbal and written language.

This is particularly important because you will often have to discuss sensitive subjects - such as behaviour issues, learning problems, and the student's strengths and weaknesses - without making the parent feel confused or defensive. It is vital that you are clear, but tactful, at all times. Failing to communicate well with parents could lead to doubts on their part about your ability to teach, and possible complaints, as well as a lack of understanding of their child's performance and educational needs.

Communicating with Colleagues

Teaching does not always involve independent work - it also requires collaboration. Whether you are planning lessons together, updating your colleagues on certain students' progress, or sharing tips about how to handle issues in the classroom, good communication skills will be of use to you.

You might also utilise these skills in staff meetings and training sessions - being able to lead meetings, present in front of varied audiences, and give feedback to other staff could illustrate to your colleagues and superiors that you are a good candidate for promotion.

As we have demonstrated, there are many reasons why effective communication skills are imperative in a teaching career. In the next section, we will give you some strategies to improve your communication in the classroom.

Strategies for Effective Communication in the Classroom

What we classify as 'good' or 'effective' communication depends on the context. When you are presenting in front of the class, you will use different strategies than when you are facilitating a group discussion, or speaking to a student one-to-one.

Here, we will suggest eight strategies that are applicable to each of the contexts that you may encounter.

1. Create a safe learning environment with supportive relationships

It has been proven that supportive relationships between students and teachers have a positive impact on class engagement, participation, and the students' achievements. It has even been suggested that these supportive relationships may negate the tendency for low-income students to have poorer school outcomes (see O'Connor & McCartney, 2007).

This is because, when students feel supported, they are more comfortable expressing their own thoughts and ideas in class discussions, attempting challenges, and asking when they need help. Higher levels of engagement and participation then lead to better developed knowledge and greater achievement.

A supportive learning environment is built using communication: you should get to know your students well, and show them that they are safe from judgement or humiliation in your classroom. It is a good idea to learn students' names early in the year, and use them often. Have an open-door policy for students to come and talk to you about any issues, and be empathic and caring when you interact with them at all times: don't tell them off for not understanding and don't ridicule their thoughts and ideas.

Additionally, you should recognise that some students don't feel comfortable talking in front of the class. If you do ask them to participate, you could use scaffolding (such as sentence starters) to make them feel safer doing so. However, forced participation is usually unnecessary: it is likely that quieter students have excellent listening skills, and are learning just as much, despite not sharing their own thoughts.

2. More teamwork

Teamwork and group discussions contribute to making the classroom a more comfortable environment. By working in small groups, students are able to share their ideas more easily, and improve their own communication skills. These activities also give them a good opportunity to ask you questions and get feedback on their work, leading to effective communication between you, better understanding of the lesson, and academic benefits.

You could also try to improve your communication skills through teamwork with your colleagues. Planning more lessons together, sharing ideas, and problem-solving together will develop the way that you interact.

3. Body language

Communication is not only verbal, but also non-verbal: you should ensure that the signals you are giving out through your body language are positive, confident, and engaging.

For example, making eye contact with students when you are talking to them shows that you are being supportive and attentive. Making eye contact is also important when you are presenting to the whole class - it motivates everyone to pay attention, which helps them to learn, as well as making them feel involved. In order to make more eye contact, you may have to learn your lesson content more thoroughly in advance, so that you don't have to look away to read your notes.

As you teach, you should use gestures to emphasise your words. This increases the interactivity of the lesson, making it more visually interesting and hence, more memorable. Keep your arms open - do not fold them - and use smiles, nods, and thumbs up to encourage students when they participate. Moving around the classroom while you teach can help to remove the barrier between you and your students, and gives them less opportunity to zone out or get distracted.

Body language is also important when dealing with negative behaviour. To avoid being confrontational, ensure that you don't stand directly above or in front of a student, point, or invade their personal space. It may be effective to get down to their level and talk quietly about their behaviour, or speak to them outside the classroom, to avoid drawing too much attention. Remember that students' behaviour is also a form of communication, and think about what it is telling you.

You can find out more about dealing with challenging behaviour from our dedicated article: ' How to Deal with Challenging Behaviour in the Classroom '.

4. Active listening

The 'listening' component of communication should not be overlooked - over 60% of all misunderstandings result from poor listening (Caruso, Colombi, & Tebbit, 2017).

Practising good listening in the classroom can benefit you in two ways. Firstly, you will be a model for your students, who will improve their own listening skills, and thus retain lessons better. Secondly, by using active listening, you can correct misunderstandings and extend learning, resulting in a better education for your students.

Active listening involves listening carefully to what your students say, checking that you have understood them correctly (for example, repeating back to them what you think they have said), building on their ideas, and challenging or questioning them. It is the best approach to use to foster understanding in the classroom, and is an excellent example of effective communication.

5. Feedback

Feedback is also an important component of communication in the classroom. There have been many studies focusing on feedback in recent years. It has been shown that positive feedback (i.e. praise) builds students' confidence - making them more likely to believe that they can succeed - and helps to create a supportive environment and increase academic success.

You can also use positive feedback to modify students' behaviour: for example, praising a student for having their hand up is likely to cause the students around them to stop 'shouting out' and copy this behaviour, in order to be praised themselves (Howell, Caldarella, Korth, & Young, 2014).

However, positive feedback can be detrimental to learning if it is used without being deserved, or too frequently (Cannella, 1986). Phrases such as 'good job' or 'beautiful' may not motivate students, because they do not understand what they are specifically being praised for, while over-praising can cause children to lack interest in situations where they are not being praised (e.g. Howell et al., 2014). As a result, you should give specific, deserved positive feedback - use the student's name, explicitly state what they are doing right, and thank them enthusiastically.

Negative feedback is used more often in the classroom than positive feedback, and many researchers have argued that this should not be the case. While negative feedback can help students to improve - for example, by changing their behaviour, or trying harder at a task (Conroy et al., 2014) - it does also contribute to conflictual relationships with students (e.g. Allen et al., 2013). It has also been suggested that it can cause lower levels of academic success (e.g. Wu et al., 2010).

These disadvantages are compounded by the fact that the negative feedback is not always successful - students tend to continue the behaviour despite negative feedback around 20% of the time - and it tends to decrease students' motivation and interest in a task (e.g. Spilt et al., 2016). Other consequences include decreased self-worth, which impacts children's academic success (e.g. Harter, 2012).

As such, you should ensure that you use negative feedback only sparingly; for general classroom management, using positive feedback to illustrate the behaviour that you want to see is much more effective. In situations where you do have to use negative feedback, you should explicitly address the behaviour you want to stop, give an explanation why (e.g. 'don't do that. I don't think it is safe'), allow the student to think about morality (e.g. 'are you doing the right thing?'), or use a simple form of 'no' (e.g. 'no', 'mm mm'). These techniques increase the effectiveness of negative feedback, and decrease any detrimental impact that it might have.

Finally, you should give students the opportunity to give you feedback on your lessons or teaching styles. This shows that you value their opinion, increases communication between you, and helps you to improve your teaching and their learning.

6. Sense of humour

The use of humour in the classroom has been found to increase learning, self-motivation, and positive relationships between students and teachers (see Segrist & Hupp, 2015). It allows you to establish a rapport with your class, and keep them interested in the lesson.

For example, you might tell jokes or funny anecdotes, give light-hearted personal examples, or laugh at students' own jokes. However, you should ensure that you don't use negative humour - where you demean or embarrass students - or humour that is either irrelevant to the lesson, disturbing, violent, sexual, or forced. Only continue to use humour that has received a positive response from the class (such as laughing).

7. Technical skills

Using up-to-date teaching aids such as computers, videos, and online resources is another way to keep students engaged and reinforce their understanding. It can also increase the effectiveness of your communication with students with different learning styles, who may benefit more from online resources than more old-fashioned ones. Try to work some of these aids into your lessons on a regular basis.

8. Be clear

Good communication - and good teaching - is about understanding and being understood. For this reason, you should always be clear and unambiguous, and adapt your words to your audience. Think about this while writing lesson plans (ensure that you break complex ideas down into simple, logical parts for your audience to understand), but also while you interact with the children after presenting the lesson. For example, you may wish to check that your teaching was clear by asking your students questions, or requesting summaries of the lesson in their own words.

When you ask your students questions, use appropriate scaffolding to ensure that they understand exactly what you are asking. If you teach in a primary school, your students' language abilities won't yet be fully developed. Closed questions (eliciting yes/no responses), forced alternatives (such as 'is he angry or happy?'), and sentence starters (e.g. 'a noun is...') are most effective for communicating with younger children. For older children, open-ended questions (such as 'how do you think...' or 'tell me about...') allow them to extend their thinking and develop their problem-solving skills.
The importance of effective communication in the classroom should not be underestimated - it can have an impact on your students' academic progress, feelings of self-worth, perceptions of school, and your own career. Using communication strategies like the ones we have detailed above could allow you to become a more successful teacher who better meets your students' needs.
Further Resources:

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Effective Communication in the Classroom: Skills for Teachers

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Communication is key in the classroom: successful teaching is generally considered to require only 50% knowledge to 50% communication skills. As a result, a teacher should be proficient in all four modes of communication - listening, speaking, reading, and writing - and should know how to utilise this proficiency effectively in a school environment.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Teachers are continually looking for ways to enhance student collaboration in the classroom. Student collaboration can add much-needed variety to the standard, traditional lecture style of teaching. Classroom collaboration also encourages communication and cooperation among students and in effect allows them to teach one another. In some instances, students actually understand the material better when it is explained by their peers.

Another significant benefit of collaborative learning is the positive bonding experience that occurs among the members of each group when everyone is contributing to a common goal. During cooperative activities in your classroom, be sure to take the time to circulate among the groups. Check in and facilitate understanding as needed. Encourage all students to participate in some way to really enhance the collaborative benefits.

Group demographics

Consider the size and makeup of each group as you assign members and create roles. Ideal collaborative learning allows for the group to work cooperatively while individual students are able to retain their creativity and accountability. Every student should play an important role in the group and be able to benefit from their duties and place in the group.

In some cases, and for some assignments, it might make sense for students with similar abilities to be grouped together. In other instances, groups comprised of students with differing skill levels could benefit both the students and the project. Sometimes the stronger students will be able to teach and benefit the others, and all of them will benefit from their various strengths and talents.

One of the goals of collaborative learning is to highlight the fact that all students have something to contribute, and finding the most beneficial role for them benefits the group as a whole. The Global Development Research Center recommends assigning specific roles to qualified students for specific activities they are suited for. Determining what tasks or duties students are predisposed to may take some time and observation. Some suggested roles within a group might be:

Leader or manager: Responsible for keeping the group on-task and overseeing each component of the activity

Secretary or recorder: Takes notes and the minutes of meetings

Artist/Creative director: Makes drawings, diagrams or illustrations as needed

Monitor: Watches the time, distributes and collects equipment, keeps work area tidy

Introducing new curriculum

A University of Manitoba study has found that collaborative activities are even more effective when the class is introduced to new material or starts a new unit in the classroom. When introducing a new idea or concept, take the opportunity to break up the class into discussion groups of two or three. After 10 minutes, ask for a representative from the group to share what they talked about. This model works especially well with more subjective or open-ended concepts.

Hands-on projects

Organizing collaborative activities that involve creating or building something can be a very effective learning tool. Pairs or groups can work together to bring something from the idea phase all the way to completion, and every student involved will know they have played a role. From building a visual vignette from history, to creating a game related to social studies, to constructing a realistic, over sized model of a microscopic organism from science class, the collaborative students and the final results will make an impact. Students are also far more likely to retain what they've learned.

Collaborative learning

Collaborative learning works best when brand new material is being taught. Ideally, the material should be easily divided into roughly equal parts. One example would be dividing the elements and components of a country's history into assignments for groups in your class. Assign each group a distinct chunk of the teaching and some suggestions related to how to explore it. Once they are through, have the group demonstrate or present what they have learned to the class. By the end of this collaborative activity, your students should have a fairly complete picture of the new material or teaching.

Collaborative learning is a fun and energizing break for students from the more traditional teacher-lecture model of education. Student collaboration in the classroom is an excellent educational enhancement. Collaborative lessons will make a memorable impact on your students, and they are well worth the time and effort to plan and implement.

Advertisement

Tags: Engaging Activities

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
4 Methods to Enhance Student Collaboration in the Classroom | Resilient Educator

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Teachers are continually looking for ways to enhance student collaboration in the classroom. Student collaboration can add much-needed variety to the standard, traditional lecture style of teaching. Classroom collaboration also encourages communication and cooperation among students and in effect allows them to teach one another.