A colleague and I looked at listening expectations of stakeholders when communicating with organizations in social media. What we found is that people expected active and emphatic listening. This means responses that acknowledge the stakeholder's situation and perspective, as well as working toward a solution or action.
What if we consciously applied those concepts to our interactions in an online class? I think many teachers do this without even thinking, especially in primarily face-to-face courses. Bodie et al. (2012) identified high-ranking verbal behaviors of competent listeners. Here, I'll try to translate those to online courses, which really means continuous feedback.
Reference
Bodie, G. D., St. Cyr, K., Pence, M., Rold, M., & Honeycutt, J. (2012). Listening competence in initial interactions: Distinguishing between what listening is and what listeners do. International Journal of Listening, 26(1), 1-28. doi:10.1080/10904018.2012.639645
What if we consciously applied those concepts to our interactions in an online class? I think many teachers do this without even thinking, especially in primarily face-to-face courses. Bodie et al. (2012) identified high-ranking verbal behaviors of competent listeners. Here, I'll try to translate those to online courses, which really means continuous feedback.
- Responding with something pertinent — in many of my classes, I ask students to reflect on the week's tasks in low-stakes writing. The journal entries could be assessed with a quick rubric of check, check+, check-. But it's also an opportunity to take something they said and respond to it.
- Answers and asks questions — this could mean popping onto a discussion board to further a thread along with a follow-up question, or answering a wonder suggested in a reflection paper with another question or a link to further information.
- Elaborates on topics being discussed — when students seem to have similar questions or misunderstandings about a concept, an extra video lecture on the specific topic could help. Or if a student really seems interested in a topic or is ready for the next level, elaborate on the next relevant topic.
- Offers advice, opinions, perspectives — this is where we excel, right?! Maybe we offer a counterpoint or share how the topic worked in a real-word setting in industry or a recent news article. I shoot a weekly welcome video where I can incorporate advice, opinions, and perspectives, based on student work from the previous week.
You may be thinking, this would take me forever. It's really not that time-consuming, and it has a big impact. Quick responses to assignments in a comments field, in addition to a rubric, can make the student feel like a real person read and reviewed their work, not a teacher-bot. Additionally, I use the student's name in the response, and write in a conversational tone, using some emojis and !!!.
Recently, a friend shared with me how her students lauded her for feedback in her online sections. She felt like she could do more. (Me, too!) We were both surprised by how thankful students are for even basic feedback — evidence that we are listening.
As you plot your next online section, consider your feedback plan and other evidence that you are listening. Could you be more purposeful in creating that social presence? How do you show that you are listening in your online courses?
Some of my listening research has been supported by a grant from the Arthur W. Page Center.
Reference
Bodie, G. D., St. Cyr, K., Pence, M., Rold, M., & Honeycutt, J. (2012). Listening competence in initial interactions: Distinguishing between what listening is and what listeners do. International Journal of Listening, 26(1), 1-28. doi:10.1080/10904018.2012.639645
