Teaching Strategies 3. What follows are examples of teaching strategies to assist students in developing MATE skills. Meaningful Communication
Students should be given opportunities to practice meaningful communication in a variety of situations, including those where conflict or heightened emotions are present. Role playing or analysis of case studies that focus on communication problems and provide an opportunity for constructive feedback can be highly effective. Table A provides some principles of meaningful communication which students should integrate into their communications. Table A: Principles of Meaningful Communication
Component
Principles
Examples
Active Listening Purpose: To focus
§ Be attentive; maintain eye contact, if appropriate. § Take time to listen to the full story without interrupting. § Allow for silence. Silence allows time to think. § Ask for clarification or repetition of statements to understand. § Listen without judgment. § Set your reactions aside and focus on the feeling.
your attention on the listening process and demonstrate to the other person that you ARE listening. Paraphrasing Purpose: To make sure that you have heard and understood what the other person has said by stating in your own words what you understand the other person to be saying. Reflective Listening Purpose: To make sure that you have understood what the other person is feeling, even though they may not have expressed the feelings.
Look the person in the face; use good eye contact.
“So, what I hear you saying is…” “If I hear you correctly…”
§ Listen carefully to what is said, focusing on key words. § Paraphrasing is appropriate to use before moving on to another subject.
“That must make you feel…” “It sounds like you were really feeling…” “If I were in your shoes, I might have concerns about that also.” “I can see why you’re feeling…” “You have really worked hard this last year. I know it has been difficult.”
§ Reflecting the other person’s feelings back to them so they know they have been heard. § The difference between paraphrasing and reflective listening is that in paraphrasing you are only summarizing what the person has said. With reflective listening, you are going beyond sum- marizing to identifying feelings that the person may not have identified, but their words and attitudes point to such feelings. § Listen carefully. § Make a mental note of key points. § Notice how you are feeling. § Ask yourself how you would feel if you were in that situation as you listen to them share the experience.
Affirmation Purpose: To provide support for the other person and reflect on the other person’s feelings.
§ Statements that recognize and validate a person’s strengths and acknowledge that the person has been harmed.
Adapted from (Gounaris, M., 2014) 4
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