Chapter 7 – Developer
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7.1 Learning to Listen
(click the activity index number to take you back to the activities index)
When using your Developer role as an Academic Coordinator, you will be able to see
what others need to do to become more effective as teachers or learners. In this role you
will provide appropriate opportunities and resources for individual students and individual
staff members, as well as student groups and teaching teams to develop the skills and
knowledge they need to succeed.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this activity is to assist you in becoming a
more effective listener.Listening is one of the most important leadership skills that you can possess to
facilitate your effectiveness as an Academic Coordinator. Effective listening skills are at
the heart of supportive communication. They will assist you in identifying the strengths
and weaknesses of students and colleagues. Your communication skills will assist you
in determining what you can do to help them to become more effective as learners and
teachers. Most of us, however, do not listen effectively. Listening is an active process
and we often only retain a small part of what is actually heard. In fact the brain can
handle a speaking rate much faster than the average speed of a speaker. Hence, there
is lots of time for idle mind wandering when we are listening to people talk.
A variety of traits also affect listening effectiveness. These have been described by
Pearce, Johnson, and Barker (2003), and are listed in Table 1.