Communication: Don’t Limit me!
Two weeks ago, during the “cold day” our administrative team got together and discuss the 4-C’s – Critical Thinking, Collaboration, Creativity and Communication. They got into 4 groups and each one generated a blog post about what their “C” meant for Saline Area Schools. Here is the post about Communication produced by: Brad Bezeau, Carol Melcher, Kevin Musson, and Michelle Szczechowicz.
EdLeader21 articulates four areas that define the 21st century learner: critical thinking, creativity, collaboration and communication. The future ready student will embody all of these skills and employ them with clarity and flexibility across a wide range of environments.
Previous blogposts have defined the first three of these. Finally, communication is explored. Several bullet points help clarify the skills that all students will learn and demonstrate:
Communicate Clearly (EdLeader21)
Use effective interpersonal skills during conversations and discussion to build positive relationships with others and promote collaborative learning.
Communicate interactively and effectively to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others using a range of contemporary tools, transmissions and processes.
Listen effectively to decipher meaning, including knowledge, values, attitudes and intentions.
Communicate ideas through the creation of authentic products using a combination of words, data, and visual representations to inform, persuade and entertain others
Communicate effectively in diverse environments (including multi-lingual). Show cultural understanding and global awareness when engaging with learners of other cultures.
Deliver effective oral presentations to communicate the results of inquiry. Field questions to demonstrate conceptual understanding and knowledge, along with details about the inquiry process.
Effective communication is purposeful, intentional and flexible. Megan drives home the point that students should embrace, not fear, oral presentations, and communicates well that ALL students can learn to communicate effectively.
In the end, when we prepare students with skills for open, interactive, effective communication, the potential for success is limitless.
Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.
~Stephen R. Covey~
Scot Graden's Blog 
Active listening is a skill that is a must have for good communication. Most people only “hear” what the other person is saying and working on their response. A good rule to remember for effective communication is the we have two ears and one mouth for a reason, we should listen twice as much as we talk.