Transcript Communication Strategies for Children

Communication Strategies for
Children
By
Leigh Brown
Discipline of Exercise Sciences &
Sydney Swans Football Club
Topics in this presentation
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Positive communication
Non-verbal communication
Active listening
Effective feed-back
Disciplinary techniques
RMIT University
Slide 2
Positive Communication
There are numerous ways a coach
can communicate positively with players.
• Positive communication builds confidence
and commitment from players
• Players who enjoy coming to
training/games will continue if they have
the confidence “ripped out” of them they
will stop coming.
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Slide 3
Positive Communication
Some approaches that positive coaches use
are:
• A warm greeting using the player’s name
• A smile, a wink or thumbs-up sign
• A pat on the back and an arm slung around a child’s
shoulder
• Talking and joking with children
• Asking advice and listening to what children say
• Helping children set and adjust learning goals
• Giving individuals specific suggestions for improvement
• Offering regular praise and encouragement
• Staying around after training and games to talk to
children and meet parents
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Slide 4
Positive Communication
At all times a coach should demonstrate
exemplary behaviour and set the tone for
the group. A coach must avoid:
• Sarcasm or ridicule
• Making hasty judgements about the cause of
misdemeanours
• Disciplining the group for the behaviour of an individual
• Becoming too emotional
• Displays erratic behaviour
• Threatening or frightening a child
• Moralising and long winded “sermons”
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Slide 5
Non-Verbal Communication
• Non verbal communication refers to all
information which is not presented verbally by
the coach
• Has powerful messages
• Can bring positive and negative behaviours in
players
• Can be effective used in the correct manner and
destructive if used inappropriately
• Can be confusing when spoken word conflicts
with your N-VC.
• What examples can you think of?
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Slide 6
Four main areas non-verbal
communication
• Visual – All aspects of body language such as
posture, gestures, facial expressions and eye
contact
• Touch – pat on the back or shoulder or manual
manipulation of a skill. Be careful with physical
contact. Different players will feel comfortable
with different amounts of physical contact and
closeness and this should be respected
• Voice Expression – “It’s not what you say but
how you say it”
• Role Model – Don’t underestimate your actions
with your players.
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Slide 7
SOLVER
• S = Squarely face the player and move to their
height
• O = Open posture. Crossed arms or legs puts up
a barrier and suggests an unwillingness to listen
• L = Lean slightly forward which shows you are
listening
• V = Verbal comments are relevant
• E = Eye contact should be made and maintained
without overdoing it
• R = Relax. Be comfortable and show it.
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Slide 8
Active Listening
• Occurs when you concentrate completely on
what the player is saying in their actions and
words.
• Hard not to “butt in”
• Advantages of actively listening
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It shows interest and fosters a positive environment
It reduces the chance of being misunderstood
It encourages further communication
The player is more likely to listen to the coach if the
coach listens to them
– The coach can learn from player
RMIT University
Slide 9
Four Simple Steps to Improve
Active Listening
• STOP – what you are doing and pay attention to what
the player is telling you
• LOOK – Make eye contact with the player
• LISTEN – Listen to the emotion in what is being said.
Use Non Verbal cues such as nodding, smiling, frowning
appropriate to the context of the message. Support this
with encouraging words to show you are focused on
what the player is saying.
• RESPOND – Re-state what the player has told you in
your own words. This shows you are listening, checks
that you did understanding and can summarise what was
talked about. Remain neutral and supportive. Use
questions to prompt the player for more information.
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Slide 10
Use of Feedback
• Feedback encourages the children to
continue practicing because it lets them
know you are watching them move
(Silverman, 1992)
• When teachers provide feedback, they
also tend to travel around the teaching
area
• Feedback helps the children assess
their performances, which they can’t
really see or feel on their own
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Slide 11
Use of Feedback
• Feedback lets the coach assess individuals to
determine how quickly and correctly they are
learning the skill being taught
• focuses on expectations to learn
• creates positive learning environment
• forces instructor to observe
– -key learning points
– -individuals
• informs, reinforces, motivates
RMIT University
Slide 12
Effective Feedback
• Information about a response used to
modify the next response
• Type of feedback influenced by level of the
learner
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Slide 13
Prerequisites to giving
feedback:
• clear objectives
• instructor knowledge of skill, skill
sequence
• instructor knowledge of common errors
• instructor ability observe and analyse skills
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Slide 14
General feedback:
• provide general, “positive” information
about response (guidelines for effective
praise)
• provide understanding of task
• young or beginning students
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Slide 15
Specific feedback:
• related to skill components
• student understanding how component
relates to whole skill
• greater specificity = greater value
• consistency - component, prompts,
language
• check for player understanding
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Slide 16
Guidelines: Effective Praise
– Immediate & contingent
– Identifies specific parts done well
– State why behaviour is important
– Matched to behaviour being reinforced
– Related to criteria or previous performance
– Reinforces effort & ability
– Sets expectations next effort
– Sincere, enthusiastic, variety
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Slide 17
Summary
• Feedback is important for learning
• Students want to know how they are doing
• Feedback that is
– specific rather than general,
– congruent rather than incongruent, (relates to the idea
just presented)
– simple rather than complex and
– positive or neutral rather than negative is most
effective with children
RMIT University
Slide 18
Disciplinary techniques
Managing behaviour
•
Coaches should follow a positive approach, employing
techniques that:
– Create appropriate behaviour
– Reduce inappropriate behaviour
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Siedentop (1991) defines appropriate behavior as positive
behaviour that is consistent with the educational goals of a
specific education setting
RMIT University
Slide 20
Managing Behaviour
• Despite effective managerial and instructional task systems,
some children have difficulty adhering to behavioral
boundaries established
• When inappropriate behavior occurs, coaches should
examine:
– His/her own behaviour
– Appropriateness of lesson
– His/her own performance as teacher
• Children like coaches who are fair, consistent, accurate and
unemotionally involved
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Slide 21
Six techniques for increasing
appropriate behaviors:
– Proactive Strategies (3) increase the likelihood that
appropriate behavior will continue
– Reactive Strategies (3) are used after the inappropriate
behavior has occurred
RMIT University
Slide 22
• Proactive Techniques
– Positive interaction: verbal and nonverbal interaction
– Eliminating differential treatment: not singling out
children with a reprimand each time they display
inappropriate behavior
– Prompting: reminding students what is expected of them
• Reactive Techniques
– Ignoring inappropriate behavior: when it is of short
duration, a minor deviation, reacting to it would cause
interruption
– Nonverbal teacher interactions: simple nonverbal
techniques, such as close physical proximity, borrowing
equipment, eye contact, simple signal
– Person-to-person dialogue: talking with student outside
of physical education class
RMIT University
Slide 23
Techniques for decreasing
inappropriate behaviours
– Employed when strategies for increasing appropriate
behaviour do not work
– Should always be accompanied by techniques to increase
appropriate behaviour
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Slide 24
Techniques to Decrease Inappropriate Behavior
• Desists: a verbal statement that tells a child to stop doing
something
• Time-outs: withdrawals from class for a specified amount of
time
• Planning time: resolving conflicts with another person
• Behavior contracts: formal agreement between teacher and
student
• Letters to parents: listing specific violations
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Slide 25
Techniques for Maintaining Appropriate Behavior in
Entire Groups
• Incorporating a system for developing student responsibility—
Hellison’s Social Responsibility Model
• Class rewards—class as a whole can earn rewards for abiding by
class rules
• Token systems—rewards desirable behavior by giving tokens that
can be exchanged for various rewards
• Behaviour games—teaching appropriate behaviour via a game
• Coachable moments – when something happens that reinforces
what you were aiming for with your group stop the group and explain
why it was/wasn’t appropriate
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Slide 26
Something to consider
• The Social Responsibility Model by Hellison
– Focuses on empowering players to
• take responsibility for their own bodies and
lives
• be sensitive to right, feelings and needs of
others
– Is a philosophical approach to
teaching/coaching, focusing on creating
personal and social responsibility through
physical activity/sport
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Slide 27
Other Coaching Skills that Promote a Positive
Learning Environment
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Move throughout the class in an unpredictable pattern
Scan the group frequently
Be seen and heard by all children
Provide clear, concise directions
Check for understanding
Maintain with-it-ness
Practice overlapping
Avoid dangles
Avoid flipflopping
Use targeting
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Slide 28
Good Luck!
Remember when you don’t want them to
misbehave work them so they are puffing
then they have two choices
Talk or Breathe!
Most choose to Breathe!