Communication Observation

• Provide an account of your observation.

I observed a kindergarten child interacting with his mother while waiting for school to start.  I was on hallway duty, and the parent decided to wait with her child until the teacher brought them into the classroom.

• Describe what you noticed and learned.

As many young boys are, this child was very active and working very hard to get and keep his mother’s attention.  At first, they were talking about what type of day he was going to have.  After a while, the mom seemed somewhat irritated with his conversational skills.  He would often change subjects or have to think about some of the words he needed in order to finish his sentences.  Eventually, the mom got out her cell phone and began texting.  At first, the boy continued talking and seemed not to notice that his mother was no longer listening.  However, eventually his facial expression showed frustration.  He hunched his shoulders and sat quietly next to his mom.

• Make connections between what you observed and the effective communication strategies presented in this week’s learning resources. What could have been done to make the communication more affirming and effective?

Throughout the conversation, the boy stumbled on his words, or took a long time to get stories out.  The mother often finished his sentences, shushed him, or became disengaged when his speech was not rapid and fluent.  As mentioned in this week’s video, the presenter, Lisa Kolbeck discussed the importance of allowing children to talk, regardless of how long it may take.  The world moves very fast, and children need to be allowed to communicate and develop at their own pace.  By forcing children to speed up and rush, they may shut down all together (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011).

• Share your thoughts with regard to how the communication interactions you observed may have affected the child’s feelings and/or any influences it may have had on the child’s sense of self worth.

By rushing and eventually shutting out her child, this mother could have done damage to the child’s self confidence and willingness to communicate.  He was obviously frustrated, and his body language showed disappointment as well.

• Offer insights on how the adult-child communication you observed this week compares to the ways in which you communicate with the children. What have you learned about yourself this week with respect to how well you talk with and listen to young children? In what ways could you improve?

I consider myself to communicate well with children.  I feel I am especially strong in extending the language of my students and providing new sentence structures and vocabulary.  However, I do see, especially when the pace of the curriculum is speeding up, that I sometimes may rush my students, and not allow them to take the time that they need in order to effectively communicate with me, each other, and develop their communication skills.  I have learned the importance of allowing children the time they need, and this is something that I plan to improve on.  Communication is an important piece of children’s developing into successful and productive adults, which is the utmost goal of educators.  In order to improve the student’s educational experience and future, I must step back, slow down, and allow my students to communicate at a pace which is comfortable for them.

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (2011). Communicating with Young Children. Retrieved from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=6488776&Survey=1&47=8284450&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=1&bhcp=1