Last Updated on October 18, 2017
How To Get Students To Listen
This past weekend I led an impromptu workshop with teachers at EdCamp Boston about listening. I guessed about ten teachers would show up and be interested in talking about how to get students to listen. I underestimated. More than 25 teachers crammed into a small conference room and expressed frustration at their students for not listening. Here are 10 things I learned from the session:
- Research shows 65-90% of our time is spent listening, yet it’s a skill that’s entirely omitted from classroom instruction
- Unless we do something with what we hear, the brain won’t process it
- Studies show you can LEARN to LISTEN
- Kids listen more to their peer than they do to their teachers (how do teachers capitalize on this?)
- Here’s one exercise to train students to listen: Life with the Wright Family
- If you keep kids interested and engaged, the listening will happen
- Include listening as part of a student’s grade
- Record instructions for students to listen to at home Audioboo or Vocaroo – have them respond with audio as well
- Change up the pace of your classroom – pepper the students with rapid fire questions to see if they are listening
- Make sure you, as their teacher, are a good listener and modeling good listening skills
I would love to hear your feedback or thoughts on how these ideas help in your classroom!
Monica Brady-Myerov
Public Radio Reporter and Founder of Listenwise
listenwise.com
