Listening Skills :: Communication

CLOSE LISTENING According to scholars in the field of listening, â€Å"Listening is the process of receiving, constructing meaning from, and responding to spoken and/or nonverbal messages" (qtd in Thompson, et al. 1994). While we may feel that we are already good listeners, we are also aware that sometimes our attention wanders, we space out completely, or we lose track of a speaker because we begin thinking about our own ideas. By asking you to practice listening, we are not suggesting that you are not a good listener already, but that by thinking about listening -- what qualities make a good listener, the various kinds of listening roles we play, and the personal challenges we have in effective listening – and doing some listening exercises, you’ll maintain the listening skills you have and perhaps develop new ones. Getting Started (Class 1) 1. First, working in groups of 4 or 5, generate a list of 8 qualities that good listeners have. These might include both visible and non-visible items. 2. Next, create a list of 8 things that can get in the way of ones ability to listen fully and effectively. For example, what kind of environments are best for listening? What kinds of emotional states make it harder to listen accurately? 3. Next, think about the different kinds of listening people engage in; what roles do listeners play from day to day? 4. Finally, come together as a class and compile a master list of your group’s findings. The â€Å"What I heard† Exercise (Class 2) Because a big part of engaged listening involves giving feedback to a speaker, sometimes we have to be able to both listen and think simultaneously. While focusing too much on our own thoughts can get in the way of effective listening, making simple connections to explore later can be very useful. In this exercise, you will listen to your classmates describe the main points from their Close-Reading papers (from Assignment One), and follow-up with a segue to your own paper. 1. First, one person says what passage his or her Close Reading is about and either reads all of it or an excerpt aloud. 2. Next, that person tells the class about the main points of his or her Close Reading, using the Close Reading paper as notes. 3. At this point, anyone whose passage is similar (some may even have identical passages) or raises similar issues, enters the conversation with an affirmation that he or she has heard the previous speaker by saying something like, â€Å"What I heard you say is †¦Ã¢â‚¬  followed by the link that the student sees between his or her own paper and the paper of the previous speaker. Listening Skills :: Communication CLOSE LISTENING According to scholars in the field of listening, â€Å"Listening is the process of receiving, constructing meaning from, and responding to spoken and/or nonverbal messages" (qtd in Thompson, et al. 1994). While we may feel that we are already good listeners, we are also aware that sometimes our attention wanders, we space out completely, or we lose track of a speaker because we begin thinking about our own ideas. By asking you to practice listening, we are not suggesting that you are not a good listener already, but that by thinking about listening -- what qualities make a good listener, the various kinds of listening roles we play, and the personal challenges we have in effective listening – and doing some listening exercises, you’ll maintain the listening skills you have and perhaps develop new ones. Getting Started (Class 1) 1. First, working in groups of 4 or 5, generate a list of 8 qualities that good listeners have. These might include both visible and non-visible items. 2. Next, create a list of 8 things that can get in the way of ones ability to listen fully and effectively. For example, what kind of environments are best for listening? What kinds of emotional states make it harder to listen accurately? 3. Next, think about the different kinds of listening people engage in; what roles do listeners play from day to day? 4. Finally, come together as a class and compile a master list of your group’s findings. The â€Å"What I heard† Exercise (Class 2) Because a big part of engaged listening involves giving feedback to a speaker, sometimes we have to be able to both listen and think simultaneously. While focusing too much on our own thoughts can get in the way of effective listening, making simple connections to explore later can be very useful. In this exercise, you will listen to your classmates describe the main points from their Close-Reading papers (from Assignment One), and follow-up with a segue to your own paper. 1. First, one person says what passage his or her Close Reading is about and either reads all of it or an excerpt aloud. 2. Next, that person tells the class about the main points of his or her Close Reading, using the Close Reading paper as notes. 3. At this point, anyone whose passage is similar (some may even have identical passages) or raises similar issues, enters the conversation with an affirmation that he or she has heard the previous speaker by saying something like, â€Å"What I heard you say is †¦Ã¢â‚¬  followed by the link that the student sees between his or her own paper and the paper of the previous speaker.

Ethnographic Methods

Examine the advantages and disadvantages of using ethnographic methods for sociological research I am going to look at the advantages and disadvantages of using ethnographic methods for sociological research. Ethnography is in-depth research into people’s lives through the use of primary data such as Observations and Interviews, and also secondary data such as diaries, and official documents. The first method of research I am going to look at is a primary research method that is unstructured interviews.There are a few advantages to unstructured interviews such as; if a researcher is going to conduct and unstructured interview then the participant is more likely to discuss sensitive information with them, this is because they may feel that the interviewer is sympathetic and understanding and so are more likely to open up towards them. Another advantage is that it allows people to explain their answers further if they need to, for example with questionnaires the person answering may not be able to explain why they put that answer, and so their point is not put across as they would like to have been.There are also some disadvantages to unstructured interviews such as it takes time and can cost a lot of money; although this method is very effective at finding out detailed information about a person and their life, it can take a lot of time to conduct an interview and even longer as it is unstructured so the interviewer can ask as many questions as they like; it could cost quite a lot as you might need to hire an office to do so, and if you need to interview a lot of people over a few days the cost could rise very quickly.Also interview bias is another disadvantage; this means that the interviewer can ask questions that can influence the answer, which then affects the outcome of the results. Interviewer bias can be illustrated through the use of leading questions for example â€Å"Do you get on well with your boss? † this question can make the intervie wee question their relationship with their boss, and subtly raises the prospect that maybe they don’t get on with their boss.Another method of primary research covert observation, this involves the researcher joining the group that they are studying, and in covert observation the researcher does not tell them or allow them to find out their true identity. There are some advantages to covert observation such as it has high validity, as the researcher gets first-hand information about the people they are studying.This is a major advantage to covert observation because if this was done by someone else it may not be on the exact same topic and so not all the information they need is there. Another advantage of this method is that it avoids the observer effect, which is that people change their behaviour when they know they are being observed, and this would not show a true reflection of what they are really like.Some disadvantages to covert observation is that the participants ar e unaware of the experiment and so this is an ethical issue, as some people may not have wanted to be a part of the experiment, and if they find out that they are they could try and sue the researcher. Another disadvantage of this method is that the researcher could become influenced by the group and when writing their findings down it could be in favour or prejudiced against the group.

The Effects Of Stem High Schools On The Transition Of...

The world today is much different than it was fifty years ago, or even ten year ago. New advances in science and technology are continuing to revolutionize life. As a result of this rise of science and technology, there is a corresponding increase in demand of capable employees in these fields. This area, collectively known as STEM, which stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, has seen a great increase in demand. One response to this increase in demand is early and more focused STEM education. This has led to the recent and increasingly large appearance of STEM focused high schools. With this recent push to better prepare the next generation of students to be high achieving in STEM and fill the projected demand, the number of STEM high schools has grown. Along with the current societal setting of a changing transition to adulthood, the questions of what are some measured outcomes of STEM high schools and how do STEM high schools affect the transition to adultho od arise. Stepping back to the factors that have encouraged the growth of STEM high schools, first what STEM is and why it is so important will be explored. Next, the growth of STEM high schools and what they are will be examined. After, the measured outcomes of graduates from STEM high schools will be inspected as well as looking at the current expected transition to adulthood for those who graduate college with STEM majors. 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