effective communication in co-teaching

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EFFECTIVE
COMMUNICATION

2. FOCUSING QUESTIONS
• What is a primary reason people fail in collaborative
efforts?
• What are key components in sending and receiving
messages?
• How does one establish rapport in order to facilitate
effective communication?
• What are major verbal and nonverbal skills for
communicating effectively?
• What are the primary roadblocks to communication?
• What are some important things to keep in mind when
using electronic communications and social networking?

3. COMMUNICATING AS COLLABORATORS,
CONSULTANTS AND TEAM MEMBERS
• Communication is one of the greatest
achievements by humankind.
• It involves talking, listening, managing interpersonal
conflict, and addressing concerns together.
• Good communication skills facilitate problem
solving and resolution of conflicts.
• Elements of trust, commitment, and effective
interaction are critical for conflict-free relationships.

4. PARTNER SHARE
• With a partner, discuss ways that you
communicate.
• What devices do you use?
• Who do you communicate with?
• What are different forms of communication?

5. COMMUNICATION FOR EFFECTIVE
SCHOOL RELATIONSHIPS
• Teachers manage many kinds
of relationships in their work
with students who have
special needs.
• Communication is the key to
successful relationships.
• Communication has become
simpler and more complex
due to modern technology.

6. WAYS THAT COMMUNICATION
HAS CHANGED
• We e-mail the person in the office
next door.
• We have a list of 15 phone
numbers to reach our family.
• We pull up in our driveway and
use our cell phone to see if
anyone is home to help carry in
the groceries.
• We get up in the morning and go
online before getting our coffee.

7. FACE-TO-FACE COMMUNICATION
• Computers, cell phones, the internet,
and television have changed
communication in the last decade.
• Face-to-face interactions are still the
standard and the most effective type
of communication for most
collaboration.
• People typically communicate 70%
of their waking moments.
• Lack of effective communication skills
is a major reason for work-related
failure.

8. COMMUNICATION FOR SPECIAL
EDUCATORS
• A supportive, communicative
relationship among special
education teachers, general
classroom teachers, students, and
their families is critical to the
success of children with
exceptional learning needs in
inclusive classrooms.
• Special educators must model
exemplary communication and
interaction skills.

9. CHALLENGES IN COMMUNICATING
EFFECTIVELY
• Because the development and
use of “people skills” is the most
difficult aspect of collaboration
for many educators, more and
more educators are stressing
the need for specific training in
collaboration and
communication skills if they
expect to help students with
special needs be successful.

10. DISCUSSION
• Discuss with a partner how special educators need
to communicate and who they need to
communicate with. Think of as many examples as
you can.

11. VERBAL ASPECTS OF COMMUNICATION
• Body language is important. A
message is 7% verbal, 38% vocal,
and 55% facial.
• Differing values, ambiguous
language, stereotypes, assumptions,
and personal experiences all can
serve as filters of language.
• Miscommunication breeds
misunderstanding.

12. NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
• 6 categories: eye contact, gestures,
paralanguage (volume, rate, pitch,
and pronunciation of the verbal
communication), posture, overall
facial expression, clothing, and setting
chosen for the interaction.
• Our facial expressions convey our
thoughts and feelings.

13. GENDER DIFFERENCES
IN COMMUNICATION
• Differences in communication
style between males and
females:
• Amount of time listening versus
talking
• Interrupting
• Physical alignment during
conversation
• Use of indirectness and silence
• Topical cohesion

14. CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN
COMMUNICATION
• Because language and culture are
so inextricably bound together,
communicating with potential
collaborative partners who are from
different cultural and linguistic
backgrounds is a very complex
process.
• Cultural differences can extend to
use of space, touch, appearance,
voice tone, and body language.

15. BUILDING SKILLS FOR
COMMUNICATING
• Effective communicators can do
the following:
• Rapport building
• Responsive listening
• Assertion
• Conflict management
• Collaborative problem solving
Do you have these skills?

16. RAPPORT-BUILDING SKILLS
• When we take time to build positive
relationships that are based on mutual
respect and trust, others are more
likely to:
• Want to work with us.
• Care about our reactions to them.
• Try to meet our expectations.
• Accept our feedback and coaching
• Imitate our behavior.

17. RAPPORT BUILDING SKILLS
• We are more likely to:
• Listen to and try to understand their
unique situations.
• Accept them as they are and not
judge them for what they are not.
• Respond appropriately to their
concerns and criticisms
• Advocate for, support, and
encourage them in their efforts to
serve student needs.

18. RESPONSIVE LISTENING SKILLS
• Successful consultants listen
responsively and empathically in
order to build trust and promote
understanding.
• Responsive, effective listening
makes it possible to gather
information essential to one’s role
in the education of children with
special needs.

19. 3 MAJOR COMPONENTS OF
RESPONSIVE LISTENING
• Nonverbal listening-discerning
others’ needs and observing their
nonverbal gestures.
• Encouraging the sending of
messages – encouraging others to
express themselves fully.
• Showing understanding of the
message – reviewing what they
conveyed, or paraphrasing.

20. ASSERTIVENESS
• The basic aspects of assertive
communication are:
• Use an “I” message instead of
a “you” message.
• Say “and” instead of “but.”
• State the behavior objectively.
• Name your own feelings.
• Say what you want to happen.
• Express concern for others.
• Use assertive body language.

21. THE ART OF APOLOGIZING
• Apologizing demonstrates
understanding, honesty,
confidence, and trust.
• It offers a chance to mend
fences
• Make sure you do not
repeat the behavior or
mistake.
• Allow them to vent, and
then say “I’m sorry” as soon
as possible.

22. GROUP THINK
• In groups of three or four,
• Please jot down skills that you have learned tonight
for more effective communication.
• Name any other skills you can think of.

23. ROADBLOCKS TO COMMUNICATION
• Barriers to successful interaction,
halting the development of effective
collaborative relationships.
• These are behaviors that send the
message that
“I’m not listening.” “It doesn’t matter
what you think.”
• Teachers send these signals by being
busy, not concentrating, or using
poor listening skills.

24. NONVERBAL ROADBLOCKS
• Include facing away when the
speaker talks or looking at
another person in the room when
the speaker says something
• Displaying inappropriate facial
expressions
• Distractions such as repetitively
tapping a pencil
• Rattling pocket change
• Checking message on the cell
phone while “listening.”

25. VERBAL ROADBLOCKS
• Judging- criticizing, name calling, and
diagnosing why a person is behaving a
particular way.
• Sending solutions – directing or ordering,
warning, moralizing or preaching, advising, and
using logical arguments or lecturing.
• Avoiding others’ concerns – implies “no big
deal” to the message-receiver. “You’ll feel better
tomorrow.”

26. TERMS, LABELS, AND PHRASES AS
ROADBLOCKS
• Do not focus on the disability label.
• Do not portray successful people
with disabilities as superhuman
• Use people-first language – “student
with autism”
• Emphasize abilities and not
limitations
• Do not imply disease by saying
“patient” or “case” when discussing
disabilities.

27. DISCUSSION
• With a partner, discuss some of the roadblocks
mentioned here.
• Can you think of other roadblocks to
communication?

28. MANAGING RESISTANCE, NEGATIVITY,
ANGER , AND CONFLICT
• Communication is the key to collaboration and
problem solving.
• Without back and forth discussions, there can be no
agreement.
• Problem solving often breaks down because
communications break down first.

29. RESISTANCE TO CHANGE
• Why do people resist change?
• Have a vested interest in the
status quo
• Have low tolerance for change
• Feel strongly that the change
would be undesirable.
• Be unclear about what the
change would entail or bring
about.
• Fear the unknown.

30. WHY COLLABORATIVE
PARTNERS RESIST: EXAMPLES
• Classroom teachers won’t share how they really feel
about working with exceptional students.
• They act excited about an idea when it is proposed but
never get around to doing it.
• They won’t discuss it with you, but they do so with others
behind your back.
• They take out their frustrations on the students.
• They state that there is not enough time to implement
the strategy
• They are simply silent.
• They make it clear that they just prefer the status quo.

31. HOW TO DEAL WITH
RESISTANCE AND NEGATIVITY
• Negative people sap the energy of
educational consultants. It can block
communication and ruin potentially
productive relationships.
• Do not engage in the negativity.
• Refrain from taking negativity
personally.
• Control your own behavior.
• Curb your own natural reaction to
resistance.
• Keep your eyes on the prize.

32. WHY PEOPLE GET ANGRY
• Anger is felt when a situation is perceived as unfair
or threatening, and the person angered feels
helpless to rectify that situation.
• Differences of opinions, values, and behaviors
exacerbate these feelings.
• Anger is a secondary feeling that follows frustration,
unmet expectations, los of self-respect, or fear.

33. HOW TO DEAL WITH ANGER
• Address the problem rather than the person.
• Seek to find a shared goal with the angry person.
• Defer judgment and together explore options.
• When an angry person is loud and belligerent,
speak more softly and calmly.
• Listen intently with responsiveness, not reaction.

34. WITH A PARTNER
• Discuss ways that you have dealt with negativity
and anger in a professional environment.
• What are some ways for resolving anger conflicts?

35. WHY CONFLICT OCCURS IN
SCHOOL CONTEXTS
• Conflict occurs when there are unreconciled differences
among people in terms of needs, values, goals, and
personalities.
• Teachers, administrators, and parents face many
occasions for conflict when they are involved with
educating children who have special needs.
• Parent goals and teacher goals may differ significantly,
and support personnel may add even more dimensions
to the conflict.
• Do not react hastily and promise something the teacher
can’t deliver.
• Values – when people have differing values about
children, education or educator roles within the learning
context, effective communication is a challenging goal.

36. HOW TO RESOLVE SCHOOL-RELATED
CONFLICTS
• First listen responsively and acknowledge
what is being said.
• The listener must concentrate with an
open mind and attend to the speaker’s
feelings.
• Consultants must put aside
preconceived notions about their own
expertise and learn from those who often
know the student best – family and
teachers.
• After listening constructively, consultants
need to help establish ground rules for
resolving the conflict.