SPEAKING AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS INSTRUCTION
Speech Course
In the first two schools in which I taught, all sophomores had to take one semester of instruction on speaking skills. This artifact displays the activities through which I helped students progress in their skills. I slowly built them up, using activities that worked on one aspect of speaking at a time in order to gradually build their comfort and ability to produce a longer formal speech. This often was a satisfying semester of instruction for me: much tangible evidence existed showing large student growth as they moved from scared, stiff, and monotone into creative, conversational, confident presenters.
Artifact:
Artifact:
progression_of_speech_assignments.pdf | |
File Size: | 1381 kb |
File Type: |
Team Communication Unit
This artifact shows a unit I created to improve students’ group speaking and listening skills and increase their awareness about their own communication strengths and weaknesses. The unit places students inside of several challenges that requires them to precisely communicate in competitive scenarios, then reflect on what worked and what didn’t. In my eyes the unit is a perfect combination of fun and frustration: students are actively engaged but are also stretched as they are placed outside of their comfort zone. This unit also often produces a role reversal. Students who typically find a great deal of academic success often struggle, while other students with mediocre academic grades but practical work experience often shine.
Artifact:
Artifact:
teamwork_communication_unit.pdf | |
File Size: | 1960 kb |
File Type: |
Powerpoint Guide
The document below provides direct evidence of a practical extension of my graduate studies to my classroom teaching. Taken from an educational technology course, these notes detail to students some parameters for successfully using Powerpoint in their presentations. Too often students assume that if they’ve created a Powerpoint of any kind, their presentation is somehow better. Worse yet, I see many adults (including educational professionals) as significant offenders of these basic ideas. These notes ask students to consider the effects on the audience of their arrangement of their material. Along with these notes, I’ll often show students actual presentations from my past academic experiences and have them critique what I did well and what I did poorly based on the guidelines.
Artifact:
Artifact:
powerpoint_guide.doc | |
File Size: | 19 kb |
File Type: | doc |