This monthly article will feature a different learning skill each month and instead of talking theory will ONLY give ideas for targeting/strengthening that learning skill for ages 2 to 102! Remember that you can find ALL the learning skills in a free interactive tool.
Active Listening: maintaining attention on what is being said with interaction
- What active listening LOOKS like (non-verbal)
- Eye contact; focusing on the other person
- Leaning forward a little or nodding
- Sitting still
- Letting the other person finish what he or she is saying without interruption
- Interested silence; giving a person time to respond
- What active listening SOUNDS like (verbal)
- Restating what someone says
- Reflecting what someone is feeling
- Asking open-ended questions like, “What happened? How did you feel about that?”
- Sounds of encouragement (“Mmhmm” or a tonal “Mmmm”) — these are often culturally-based
As any parent knows, active listening skills can be challenging to teach young children. But there are LOTS of strategies that can make it enjoyable for everyone:
Model active listening: Children learn by example, so model it. But also point it out in others when it happens. And absolutely be ready for your young one to insist that YOU listen actively when they have something to communicate. Teaching this skill means practicing it yourself…possibly with a dedication you never imagined!
Use gestures: Cupping one’s ears means LISTENING. Making wide eyes is WATCHING. Leaning forward is PAYING ATTENTION.
Play listening games: “Simon Says” is a classic. But so is having “Q and A” where you practice taking turns speaking and exchanging information. Asking children open-ended questions and modeling active listening in response not only makes them feel heard and cared about, it also teaches them how to engage thoughtfully and with their full attention.
The SINGLE BEST tool for teaching active listening in any class is modeling it. Beyond this, interviewing can be incorporated into nearly any course. It can be a fun kind of theater where one student takes on the persona of someone being studied (Churchill, Emily Dickinson, Freud, etc.) and other students interview as if for a TV show. Both sides need to be creative, practice active listening, AND get to dig deeper into the course content. Related is the idea of role playing, where individuals have to take on a persona and interact. This allows them to practice empathy, a central part of active listening. Another strategy is holding moderated discussions where students work to extract maximum meaning from one another as a topic is discussed. This tends to work better than debate where each side is almost exclusively focused on what they’re going to say.
Again, modeling active listening is your single best tool. Additional active listening activities in STEM courses can be a great deal of fun. The most basic tends to be teaming and collaboration where students have to figure out how to practice active listening skills. Remember to intervene on process, not content, so demonstrating active listening and doing spot models can be particularly effective as students work in teams. Far more enjoyable for all, however, is playing “clients and specifications“. ANY course that has a potential real-world component (this includes the arts, by the way!) can do this. The instructor can be the client with specifications (chemical, biological, mathematical, structural, etc.) and task the students to interact through active listening to the client. You can also have students do this in groups or one-on-one.
There are many opportunities to engage in active learning in our personal lives—first and foremost when interacting with family and friends. Catch yourself when your attention drifts or you find yourself being judgmental and work to understand instead, as you listen.
- Other (fun) ways to practice active listening are when watching foreign films—try matching subtitles with expressions/body language.
- In any TV program or film (or even commercial!), try to read characters from dialog; what perspectives and motivations can you find? This is most enjoyable when there’s someone else you can watch and discuss with.
- And finally, a game: INactive Listening! Watch a film or show and try to catch all instances where characters DON’T practice active listening. Make a note of them and compare notes with a fellow player afterwards.