Effective Communication with preschools: What is Communication, Types of Communication, Communicating with Preschool
Understand the Principles of Effective Communication Skills.
Important Aspects:
- Understand the principles of communication skills.
Examine the skills teachers need for effective communication.
- Recognize your strengths and the areas where you can improve.
- Use appropriate strategies to communicate with students, parents, colleagues, and supervisors or school leaders.
What is communication?
Communication is the process of sharing a message or meaning to create a common understanding with others.
Types of Communication
Interactive Listening Tips
- Paraphrase the message to confirm understanding.
- Repeat the message.
- Probe for missing information by asking questions.
- Clarify any points that you may not understand.
Importance of Effective Communication for Teachers
Students--Parents--Colleagues--School Staff--School Heads--Management
Some Scenarios has been given below:
Scenario 1
A young child was supposed to be picked up by their mother from school instead of taking the bus home. The teacher forgot to tell both the child and the bus attendant. As a result, the child got on the bus and went home. The parent is furious.
Scenario 2
You arrive at your classroom and see that the floor has not been cleaned since yesterday. The board is covered in scribbles, and the benches are dusty. Clearly, the didi in charge has not taken care of the room. You feel annoyed and upset.
Scenario 3
You have gathered money for the annual concert costume. You were supposed to give the collected cash to the Accounts office. To your surprise, you discover that some money is missing, even though you carefully recorded the details. The Accounts team has asked you to report this issue to the principal or Section Head.
Scenario 4
You have several deadlines approaching. You need to guide student interns, plan for sports day, and submit lesson plans. Your colleague, who shares this responsibility, shows no interest. This leaves you feeling frustrated and angry.
Scenario 5
One of your students learns at a slower pace and has some behavioral problems. His grades are not good, and every teacher has a complaint about him. You will meet the parent on Open House Day.
Communication Shutdowns
- Don’t be ridiculous.
- It’s not really our problem.
- It simply can’t be done.
- We don’t have time.
- We’ve never done that before.
- If it doesn’t work, you will get the blame.
- We tried it before, and it didn’t work.
Tactful Communication
“Tact is the ability to share sensitive information with someone without upsetting or offending them.”
“It’s your fault that you failed the test.”
“Maybe you could study more effectively for the test next time.”
“Your son never hands in homework on time.”
“Please remind your son to turn in his homework by the due date.”
“My cat could make a better exam than this teacher.”
“This teacher could use some help with creating this exam.”
Communicating with preschoolers
- Stop what you are doing and pay full attention.
- Get down to the child’s level and make eye contact.
- When a child tells you something, summarize it back to make sure you understand what they are saying.
- Nod, smile, and be warm when a child is talking.
- Try to listen until the child finishes telling a story.
- Pay attention to your child’s body language and behavior, along with their words.
Communicating with preschoolers
- In case of a question, take the time to give the real answer.
- Use phrases that show you’re interested. For example, you can say, ‘Really?’, ‘Go on’, or ‘And then what happened?’.
- Give children lots of specific praise and encouragement. For example, ‘Thanks for finishing the story when it was time to eat lunch’.
- Make sure your body language and facial expressions match what you’re saying.
Tips for Improving Communication Skills
- Practice
- Interact more with people
- Read more
- Collect feedback from your listeners
- Prepare and plan
- Be confident
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