Throughout this semester I feel that I have grown in this area specifically with my time observing at Belmont Secondary. With my time in Physical Health Education related classes, as well as Foods classes I was able to pick up and practice different communication strategies depending on what class I was in (who my audience was).
Physical Health Education:
In the PHE classes, I was able to pick up on how to communicate with students of different skill levels, as well as motivation levels. With all levels of students, I would first have one on one communications with the students to get to know them and their needs. If I ran into a student with low motivation I would chat with them, then invite them to participate in what the class was doing but at a level they may prefer more. With more advanced students I would use the same strategy but advance the skill or add more leadership to keep engagement.
Foods:
In foods my strategy was similar, but I found I had more room for conversation with the students because of the nature of the class. In this class, I circulated the kitchens and would try to engage with all the students in one way or another. For some of the more outspoken students, I would make comments with them here and there and check on their food progress. With the more quiet students I would spend a bit more time asking them about what they are making, what is going well, and sometimes to create conversation, ask them what else they have been making on the days that I am gone.
In both of these subjects, I was able to learn how to communicate with different learners in a way that was positive and encouraging towards the material of the subject. In both cases, it was also a good way for me to create respect from the students and a good relationship moving forward.
Photo by Volodymyr Hryshchenko on Unsplash