Who Am I As A Communicator?

          As I reviewed the assignment for this week and I proceeded to evaluate myself, I was provided valuable information that will help me build a communication style that will allow me to express myself in a professional and meaningful matter. I was able to see that yes I am sometime uneasy in some communication situations and in other communication opportunities I am more confident.  I can certainly see that when I am in small settings or conducting one on one conversation I am more at ease with my dialogue.  When I am in a large group setting, I tend to become tense because I want to ensure that I stay on target and that the information that I am presenting comes across effectively.

          I do agree that I am apt to become aggressive when communicating with staff members about their performance especially when it becomes repetitive in addressing what is desired and what the staff member is actually doing which does not meet the standards for programming and customer service.

          It was also interesting to see that through the eyes of my family member and colleague, there were similarities in the area of communication anxiety and listening styles. I was more intrigued with the evaluation of my family member who evaluated my verbal aggressiveness as being moderate and my colleague’s response was similar to what I had evaluated as being at a significant level of crossing the line and being aggressive to the listener which could cause hurtful feelings.

          Upon assessing the evaluation, I do acknowledge that I need to be more attentive in the way I verbally communicate.  I must say that I would have considered myself to be an action-oriented person when it comes to listening. The evaluation results reflect that I am people-oriented listener. With this in mind, I need to find a medium in the way I listen and how I communicate in all settings whether small, large, or one on one.  I do not want to make anyone feel uncomfortable, yet I want to make sure that I am effective and productive in anything that I am apart of whether it be on the job, at home or in my community.

References

Communication Measures: Rubin, R. B., Palmgreen, P., & Sypher, H. E. (Eds.) (2009). Communication research measures: A sourcebook. New York: Routledge. “Communication Anxiety Inventory" and "Verbal Aggressiveness Scale".  Copyright 2009 Taylor & Francis Group LLC Books. Used with permission from Routledge via the Copyright Clearance Center.

Communication Measure: Rubin, R. B., Rubin, A. M., Graham, E. E., Perse, E. M., & Seibold, D. R. (Eds.) (2009). Communication research measures II: A sourcebook. New York: Routledge. "Listening Styles Profile-16". Copyright 2009 Taylor & Francis Group LLC Books. Used with permission from Taylor & Francis via the Copyright Clearance Center.

Communication Styles

Communication is a growing process and for me it all depends on the setting.  I often find myself to be more apt to listening with minimum non-verbal expressions when I am in meetings with professional colleagues, those I supervise, parents and with those who I am not familiar.  When I am with my family and friends, I tend to tell it like it is as I see it with a lot of non-verbal expressions. 

After this week’s assignments, it has become clear to me that I need to look at myself and how I can be more effective in my communication styles so that people truly listen to what I am saying. “You develop a self-concept by thing about your strengths and weaknesses, observing your behavior in a wide variety of situations, witnessing your own reactions to situations, and watching others’ reaction to you (Synder, 1979)”, (O’Hair & Wiemann, p. 47, 2012).

I grew up learning the Golden Rule, the concept of treating others as you want to be treated.  This is not always true because others may not feel the way I feel or see things the way I see them.  The Platinum Rule, provides a way for others to see how to truly see how people want to be treated without perception. “Competent communicators want to learn and improve. They are motivated to enhance their ability to relate to others as they are”, (Beebe, Beebe, & Redmond, p. 107, 2011).  This is way it is important to get to know people and learn of their cultural upbringing without assuming or putting self-perception into play. “The less sure you are of the person’s qualities, the way the person will behave, or what will happen, the higher that degree of uncertainty”, (O’Hair, & Wiemann, p. 201, 2012).

 

References

Beebe, S. A., Beebe, S. J., & Redmond, M. V. (2011). Interpersonal communication: Relating to

others (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. Chapter 4, "Interpersonal Communication

and Diversity: Adapting to Others" (pp. 85–114).

O'Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2012). Real communication: An introduction. New York:

Bedford/St. Martin's.

Communication Skills: Language, Nonverbal, Listening

This week’s assignment required me to look at a television show that I have never seen before.  This was not easy, but I remembered a show that I came across last spring called, “Community”.  This show is based on a lawyer who was scuppered when it is discovered that he has falsely claimed to have a bachelor's degree. He is suspended and enrolls himself into Community college. He forms a study group so that he can get closer to an attractive student. The study group includes a millionaire, a former drug addict, a former quarter-back, a single mother, and a film student.

As I watched “Community-Introduction to Teaching” in silence, I observed a lot of eye movement, hand gestures, questionable looks, swaying of the head, and faces full of angriness, confusion, frustration, doubt and a little compassion from teachers and students.  The show included classroom instruction time, facility instructors meeting together, the study group session, and individual meetings between facility instructors, instructors and students, and between students.

When I reviewed the show with voice dialog, I was able to put together the reason for my observations. The lawyer student was introduced to the role of a facility member.  His first day, the student who he was attracted to calls him out because he was not prepared to teach.  Throughout the show, there were numerous other encounters among the instructors and students. I am glad that I was able to understand why the film student (who participates in the study group) became overwhelmed and was acting out in his presentation assignment of watching a Nicholas Cage movie and providing thoughts about his acting skills.

As educators, we must be aware that verbal and nonverbal communication can be contradicting. Communication does have many facets and can be seen in different ways. “It is important to bear in mind, however, that just because we tend to place more stock in nonverbal communication doesn’t mean that we are always right,” (O’Hare & Wiemann, 2012, p. 130).  Just watching in silence, I would assume that the students and teachers did not really care for one another.  It is best to be provided the whole picture before making a decision or forming an opinion.

After watching this show, I was able to find that this show is relaxing with a little humor.  It is not one that I would continuously watch weekly, yet it would be an alternative if I could not find something more interesting.

    

                                         Reference

O'Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2012). Real communication: An introduction. New York:

Bedford/St. Martin's. Chapter 5, “Nonverbal Communication”.

Competent Communicator

          Most recently I had the opportunity to observe my oldest daughter at her place of employment.  I was amazed at how she was so informative and maintained her composure while working with a patron who was displaying her frustration during the process of completing paperwork.  My daughter politely invited the patron to her desk, and asked "how can I assist you today". 

          After we left the office, I asked my daughter how she felt and she said that she could sense the tension when the patron first walked into the office.  So to ensure that the conversation remained pleasant and productive, my daughter said she thought the best way to handle this situation would be to keep smiling, maintain eye contact as the person spoke to her and provide answers that were direct and to the point.   My daughter also said that she continued to remember that everyone has a bad day and it is better to stay calm and collect. My daughter keeps a picture of a lighthouse on her desk that reminds her of being in an environment that is warm and pleasant.  This picture helps her to focus on what the patron needs and how to assist in meeting the need as the office motto is:  "The customer is always right".

          I am thankful for being able to observe my daughter role modeling the steps of being an effective communicator.  I liked how she took the time to listen, digest the information and then provide a solution based on the facts and not how she (my daughter) felt about the person. " A successful communicator needs to develop the ability to determine what is appropriate and what is not in a variety of cultures and situations", (O'Hare & Wiemann, 2012, p. 17)

Reference:

O'Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2012). Real communication: An introduction. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.

         

When I Think About Research

          These last 8 weeks have been enlightening to me.  I have always known that research takes patience and should be confidential due to observing and collecting data.  What I did not know was that research has many layers to include selecting a topic, finding literature, forming a specific issue/question, designing the research, collecting the data, processing the data, drawing a conclusion, and finally writing reports.

     The most fascinating part about research that I will always ensure is that children will be provided the opportunity to make the decision to participate. Research should reflect relationships between the participants and the researcher. Ethics play a vital role for everyone involved.

       Thank you to all my colleagues for your feedback and sharing your expertise and experiences.  Dr. Meyers, you have been so informative and active in providing me the opportunity to learn and understand how to create a meaningful research project.

RESEARCH AROUND THE WORLD

EARLY CHILDHOOD AUSTRALIA

Early Childhood Australia is currently conducting research on flexible practices and patterns across the early childhood sector, funded through the Australian Government’s Child Care Flexible Fund.

The purpose is to meet the needs of the families to include areas in the range of , but not limited to:

·         Non-standard hours

·         Flexible sessions and enrollment

·         Working in combination of other services

·         Flexible location or service delivery

Surveys were conducted in January and February 2014 to that lead to identifying the range of flexible programs and included asking about barriers to flexible practices that may be considered to be more flexible.

There is also a  Research in Practice Series that provides practical, easy-to-read resources for those involved in the early childhood field.  These series offer effective new approaches for those challenging issues which arise in the care and education of young children, (Early Childhood Australia, 2014).The recent 2014 research topics that I found on this site are:

·         Pedagogy: Programs and relationships in practice

This topic helps educators to understand the meaning of pedagogy and the link to their everyday decisions made while working with children and families to build a relationship that this respectful, responsive, and reciprocal

·         Professional partnerships in children’s services: Working together for children

This topic finds ways for educators to effectively work with other professionals to build partnerships that will enhance the services for children.  The goal is to work in new and different ways that will make a difference in the daily work that is being done for the children to learn productively.

There is a support group that has developed a “Reconciliation Action Plan”.  This plan is a platform of values and principles to help the Early Childhood Australian organization to advance reconciliation with the community and provide leadership and support to the early childhood education and care professionals it represents.

I enjoyed the flow of the website.  It was easy to locate information and I like the resources that are available not only to educators but to the entire community. 

 
Reference
Early Childhood Australia, 2014.  www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/

 

Research that Benefits Children and Families

I became interested in the topic of severe headaches and migraines after my two daughters experienced severe headaches but were not diagnoised as having migraines until they were teenagers. This weeks assignment gave me reason to revisit migraines and the severity of pain that children experience.

 According to research at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital, it has been identified that migraines affect more than 6 million children and adolescents in the United States adn causes them to miss nearly 130,000 days of school every two weeks. I do not recall my children experiencing this type of affect during their years in school, however I do remember that they were often told by phyisicians to wear reading glasses to reduce the pressure on thier eyes,(they did not or do not now where prescribed glasses). The study did reveal that pediatric migraines are one of the five most prevalent childhood disorders in the United States. The negative impact of migraines on overall quality of life is similar to childhood cancer, heart disease and rheumatic disease.

 Since the research has been establishiment nearly 6,000 children with the complaint of headaches have been seen. A standardized diagnosis using the International Classification of Headache Disorders, Second Editon, was established using a detailed questionnaire about the child's headache, and a computer-based database to accumulate medical information as well as response rate was designed and is continually updated. Treatment strategies include acute therapy for individual headache episodes and psychological intervention including feedback assisted relaxation training as wellas behavior adjustments. The multidisplinary approach has been demonstrated to be highly effective, not ony in the standard methods of measuring outcome, but also in using tools developed and validated at Cincinnati Children's to characterize disability and quality of life. Upon obtaining this information, I am going to communicate this to my children so that they can have information for reference if their children ever experience severe headaches.

Reference
 Cincinnati Children's Hospital Center, 2014.  www.cincinnatichildrens.org/service/h/headache-center/about/