Here are seven things you can do to encourage active listening:
1. Get to know students—and let them get to know you: Students are more likely to listen to instructors who have taken the time to get to know them as individuals. They’re also more likely to listen to someone they view as three-dimensional—as opposed to a talking head. Make a concerted effort to learn their names, hobbies, and interests, and help them see that you are a warm-blooded and even (gasp!) fallible person.
2. Talk less: Regardless of your class size, remember that your ultimate goal is for students to learn, and that listening to you talk about something in no way ensures they learned it. If and when you find it necessary to lecture, make it a mini-lecture on a crucial/complex matter or a longer lecture punctuated by individual, pair, or group work—i.e., opportunities for active learning.
3. Let others do the talking: Listening to each other grapple with issues, think through problems, and share viewpoints can be just as (if not more) illuminating for students as hearing you do it. A guest speaker and carefully-selected video or audio clip are other good alternatives.
4. Hold them accountable for listening: If you truly want your students to listen, you’ll have to give them good reasons to do so. At the very least, you should avoid giving them reasons not to listen. Providing access to detailed PowerPoint slides, for instance, discourages listening and note-taking because the slides seem so clear and comprehensive. If you, instead, provide only skeletal/outline versions of your slides, students have to listen to fill in the gaps. Impromptu activities and questions based on what was just said can also hold students accountable for listening.
5. Model good listening behavior: Too often, we start to formulate our next statement while students are talking and don’t listen as intently as we should. To enhance your own listening skills, consider trying what the counseling profession calls “restatement.” Basically, you would paraphrase your students’ responses to convey that you are genuinely listening and to make sure you understood them correctly. You could also ask them to restate each other’s or one of your points.
6. Let them help each other listen: Inevitably, students will miss something important now and again. Instead of letting this upset you, consider allocating a couple of minutes for what’s often called a “note-check.” Students compare notes with 1 or 2 students sitting near them and fill in any major gaps they missed.
7. Keep ‘em on their toes: Nothing encourages drifting off into one’s imagination, falling asleep, or inattention more than monotony. If students realize that at any moment you could call on them or ask them to work on an exercise, they are much more likely to stay attentive.
Refference : Dr. Isis Artze-Vega is the assistant director of the Center for the Advancement of Teaching at Florida International University.
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