updated 3/24/08
THE
ART OF LISTENING. Proficiency in oral communication includes not only
speaking, but, what is far more rare and valuable, the ability to listen.
To strengthen this
skill, which may be more valuable even than writing or reading, from
March 25th through May 1, students who come to class on time can earn
ten points per class for listening.
To
earn Listening points, during the discussion, students must maintain
eye contact with the speaker and listen with all their being, without
talking to others, without interrupting, without thinking about
they want to say next, without writing down anything but the briefest
of notes, etc. Each
time a student fails in this endeavor five points will be deducted.
For example, each
student who arrives on time will start with ten points for listening.
One failure will result in 10-5=+5. Two failures result in 0. Three
failures result in -5. Four failures result in -10, etc. (At that
point, obviously, the student might be better off not coming to
class in the first place.)
Students
prepare by reviewing "Guidelines
for Listening" in our anthology.* During
the discussion they listen attentively -- staying in the present moment,
suspending judgment -- and help the organizer generate a meaningful
discussion. They focus their sympathetic imaginations on the speaker and
concentrate well enough to repeat what the speaker has just said and
the course of the discussion to that point. If
they can not do this, five points will be
deducted from their listening grade.
Students
who talk to others while the speaker is talking and/or encourage this
rude behavior with a willing ear, will have ten points deducted from
their listening grade for each incident. Egregious behavior such as
sleeping in class, reading materials other than ours, copying
notes for another class, studying for another class, using one's laptop
or cell phone in class, acting out, disrupting class, etc. will
be subject to greater penalties. Students who insult, threaten, or
harass others will have thirty points deducted from their class participation
grade for each incident, and be referred to the Dean of Students. Their
entire class participation/attendance grade can thus become a negative
grade.
*Listen
by simply opening your heart truly to hear the person speaking. Maintain
silence: do not comment.
Why?
It is a wonderfully healing experience simply to be lovingly, openly
heard by others, knowing that you are free to express how you feel
without being ignored, judged, advised, or interrupted.
Everyone
has their own wisdom, their own answers within them.
It
is wonderful to empower another person by facilitating them to find
their own path by giving them your full, undivided attention as they
speak.
This
does not make other forms of sharing wrong: this is just one way of
extending love and support to another person.
Concentrate
on the person who is speaking, yet also be aware of what you are feeling
as that person shares. We are all here to further our own growth.So
be aware of words that others say that trigger your own pain or fear
or joy or need to "fix" them. Do your best just to have your
feelings, just releasing them into the circle formed by the group and
refocusing on listening and being with the person speaking. Later you
can share what came up for you. When it is your turn, don't offer advice
or try to fix anyone you perceive as wrong or in pain. Talk only about
yourself; make "I" (not you) statements.
EARNING
POINTS BY CONTRIBUTING TO THE DISCUSSION
While
any student who arrives on time can earn the listening points, and
participate in the discussion, only students who have prepared can
earn additional points by discussing. This requirement rewards students
who have read the assignment and makes it more difficult for students
who have not to steer the discussion away from
specifics toward generalities or away from the topic altogether. (As
John Henry Newman noted in The
Idea of a University, "Without
a firm hold on things, we shall waste ourselves in vague speculations.")
Students
prepare for class discussion by being on time, by reading the assignment
and related Discussion Board in advance and by bringing the books assigned
for that day and printouts of their DB journal, their grades (on Tuesdays
only), and current, up-to-date pages of that day's entry in the schedule
and the schedule entry for the next class. To minimize the time spent
on awarding points for bringing these materials, they need to be set
out in front of the student before class begins and the student needs
to be ready to respond with the total points when attendance is taken.
Each item must be easily seen at a glance by the instructor. Role
call will not be delayed while the student displays these materials or
figures out the total points.
In
addition to the listening and homework grades, the teacher
will act as grader and, if need be, co-facilitator of the discussion
process, awarding points to those who cite from their books and/or
printouts of the Discussion Board and/or make good connections. Students
will be awarded up to five points for each contribution to the discussion
that cites from the assigned readings without forcing the discussion
off topic to do so and without wrenching the quote out of context.
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EARNING POINTS BY LEADING THE DISCUSSION
SPOKEN COMMNICATION AND LEADERSHIP:
"A
university both leads and is a catalyst for leadership. ... The university's
challenge is to provide informed, ethical, compassionate and respectful
leadership."
LEADING CLASS DISCUSSION AT LEAST ONCE IS
STRONGLY ENCOURAGED.
Students
post their reading journals on a Blackboard Discussion Board by 8 P.M.
the night before class. Students willing to lead the discussion on
the following day signify to that effect by putting the word "WILLING" at
the end of their entry. The first student to end their post with that
word (who has not led the discussion before) then becomes the leader.
(The first student to end their post with the words "MUSIC WILLING" gets
to provide a brief musical interlude and a printout of the lyrics if it is
a song.) The
leader identifies and organizes key themes and dialectics in the posted DB
entries and comments received by midnight or so.
The leader then prepares his/her plan for the discussion and uploads the
discussion plan to the relevant Discussion Board by 9:30 A. M. on the day
of the class discussion. In addition to the uploaded discussion
plan, to get credit for leading the discussion, the student must give to
the instructor notes demonstrating careful reading of each
and every entry received before midnight.
The
leader then guides the class in an organized discussion of the topics and
readings assigned for that day. The leader focuses on how the Discussion
Board entries and readings relate to each other and to the themes of the
course throughout the semester (earning up to fifteen points). The discussion
leader's goals are to (1) facilitate a productive and comprehensive discussion
involving as many students as possible; (2) keep the discussion focused on
assigned readings; (3) "Only Connect" the readings
to each other and to our other themes for this semester.
The
leader can earn more than fifteen points by integrating the written assignment
into the discussion, steering students to specific passages. In addition
to including the specific passages in the discussion plan, when the leader
calls on someone to speak, at some point the leader is expected to ask, (1) "what
quote do you have for us to consider?" (2) Then the leader asks for
the page and location on the page of the quote. (3) Then the leader asks
for a summary of the context of the quote. (In both the initial Discussion
Board entry and in the ensuing class discussion it is crucial to demonstrate
close reading, especially getting the context of quotes correct: otherwise
the quotes do not count and the speaker may make egregious errors.))
When
vague abstractions are introduced, the leader is expected to ask for definitions
and examples immediately. (Students who introduce vague abstractions should
be prepared to supply these definitions and examples.) Why? "Without
a firm hold on things, we shall waste ourselves in vague speculations" (John
Henry Newman, author of The Idea of a University ).
The
leader will try to include everyone in the class. After those with their
hands up have all spoken once, instead of calling on them again, the leader
will call upon one of those who have not raised their hands and ask that
person to summarize the discussion so far. (They will lose points if they
can not do so.) The leader can then call on more of those who have not
participated or alternate between them and those who have already spoken
once or ........
If the leader
wants to retain the option of going outside for class, s/he needs to have
a readable printout of the Discussion Board to take outside (and/or tested
wireless computer access in the place s/he wants to hold class).
------------------------------------
"Only
connect! ”
E.
M. Forster, Howards End (1910),
ch. 22
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RATIONALE FOR
SPOKEN COMMNICATION
IN CLASS
One of the primary goals
of this state university, enshrined in the college seal, is training
students to be good citizens of a democracy. A key exercise in that training
is learning how to participate in a civilized discussion.
The
Boyer Commission on Educating Undergraduates in the Research University,
1998
Undergraduates
Too Often Shortchanged in the Past.....
The failure of research universities seems
most serious in conferring degrees upon inarticulate students. Every university
graduate should understand that no idea is fully formed until it can be communicated,
and that the organization required for writing and speaking is part of the
thought process that enables one to understand material fully.... Many
students graduate having accumulated whatever number of courses is required,
but still lacking a coherent body of knowledge or any inkling as to how one
sort of information might relate to others. And all too often they graduate
without knowing how to think logically, write clearly, or speak coherently........
AN
ACADEMIC BILL OF RIGHTS includes training
in the skills necessary for oral and written communication at a level that
will serve the student both within the university and in postgraduate professional
and personal life.
recommendations:
[1] Beginning with the freshman year, students must learn how to
convey the results of their work effectively both orally and in writing.
[2] Inquiry-based learning, collaborative experience, writing and speaking
expectations need to characterize the whole of a research university education......the
changes need to include greater expectations of writing and speaking....
[resulting in ] graduates
who are proficient in both written and oral communication.
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