DEVELOPING LISTENING SKILLS

INTRODUCTION

In all the time we spend communicating we spend the most time listening. Listening is a skill and we can all learn to be better listeners. Better listening skills will help you perform better in school and improve your relationships with family and friends. Listening helps build team spirit and gives you a better understanding of the world. You can succeed by listening. Listening can be divided into three levels:

Level 1 - Empathic Listening

Level 2 - Hearing words, but not really listening

Level 3 – Listening in Spurts

It is your goal to demonstrate skills to listen at Level 1 during this web page exercise.

THE TASK

1. Identify how often you listen at Level 1
1. When
2. With Whom
2. Identify what characteristics could be involved in Level 1 listening
3. Identify what skills you would use to employ Level 1 listening in the classroom

RESOURCES

WEBSITE RESOURCES INCLUDE:

http://www.how-to-study.com/index.htm

http://www.i5ive.com/article.cfm/womens_success/19926

w3.nai.net/~bobsalsa/lectures.htm

http://www.smartbiz.com/sbs/arts/bly55.htm

http://www.storyarts.org/classroom/usestories/listenrubric.html

BOOK RESOURCES INCLUDE:

“Listening The Forgotten Skill” by Madelyn Burley-Allen, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

VIDEO RESOURCES INCLUDE:

“Succeed by Listening” by Madelyn Burley-Allen, Dynamics of Human Behavior

THE PROCESS

1. Refer to the questions under The Task to start the process.

2. Look up the definitions for the three Levels of Listening in the book “Listening The Forgotten Skills.” Record these definitions on the log sheet provided.

3. Click on the first resource under websites to identify characteristics of Level 1 listening and ways to incorporate Level 1 listening skills in the classroom. Record your impressions on the log sheet provided.

4. Click back to the resource page and scroll down to the next resource.

5. Continue as in step three until you have recorded all the information needed to complete the log sheet by scrolling down to the next four websites.

6. If further clarification is needed schedule a time to watch the video “Succeed by Listening.”

THE EVALUATION

Each student will be evaluated on their ability to use the website links to research and answer questions under The Task portion of the web page. The scoring evaluation will be as follows:

• Conclusions drawn are highly defined and complete = 4

• Conclusions drawn are adequately defined and complete = 3

• Conclusions drawn are half complete = 2

• Conclusions drawn are less than half complete = 1

CONCLUSION

Remember listening is a skill and with practice, as illustrated by this web page exercise, you too can succeed by listening. With continued practice on refining your listening skills you can improve your performance in the classroom and enhance your relationships with your friends and family.