Communication Skills for Teachers and Coaches

As a teacher/coach, you must communicate with...

• students

• parents

• administration

• all of the above

What were major issues with the way students were emailing the teacher?

• Lack of proper greeting

• Too many emojis

• No subject line

• All of the above

What is an example of an email that a TEACHER could write to a parent using the same style of writing the students were using in the video?

• A formal email discussing the student's progress.

• A casual email inviting parents to a school event.

• An email using the same informal style as the students in the video.

• A detailed email about the school's curriculum.

What impression would that give to the parents about the teacher?

• The teacher is competent and caring.

• The teacher is disorganized.

• The teacher is indifferent.

• The teacher is strict.

Scenario: Mr. Banker is a 1st grade teacher. He has noticed that Lilly has been failing several spelling tests lately. He wants to talk to the parents about his concern. Make sure everything is ok at home. If so, maybe dyslexia could be an issue. He calls home to talk to the parent about his concern but gets a negative response from the parent. They feel that Mr. Banker is saying that Lilly is dumb. What could have gone wrong in the gray and yellow boxes that could have led to the parent ‘hearing’ something different than what Mr. Banker was ‘saying’?

• Mr. Banker used unclear language.

• The parent was defensive.

• There was a misunderstanding.

• All of the above.

Nonverbal communication is sending messages without using words. The value of nonverbal communication is demonstrated in this clip from Modern Family. Even though the TV clip was silent, I could tell that these things were happening...

• The characters were arguing.

• The characters were happy.

• The characters were confused.

• The characters were celebrating.

Examples of nonverbal communication that helped me understand the situation (even without hearing the words) were...

• Facial expressions

• Body language

• Gestures

• All of the above

How can teachers use this information when communicating with a mother compared to communicating with a father?

• By using different communication styles

• By providing more detailed information to mothers

• By being more direct with fathers

• By using the same approach for both

How can teachers use this information when communicating with a female student compared to communicating with a male student?

• By using gender-neutral language

• By understanding gender-specific communication styles

• By focusing on academic performance only

• By ignoring gender differences

How does age play a role in how a teacher speaks to a student?

• Teachers use simpler language with younger students.

• Age does not affect the way teachers speak to students.

• Teachers use more complex language with older students.

• Teachers speak the same way to all students regardless of age.