Keys to Active Listening

06/24/2008

You are not the darkness you endured. You are the light that refused to surrender.
John Mark Green

Are you a good listener? In her book, Learning to Listen, Listening to Learn (Washington, DC: NAEYC, 2008), Mary Renck Jalongo shows how you can rate your listening skills using the "ladders to active listening":

Look at the person you are talking with and use body language to express your interest.
Ask pertinent questions and make relevant comments after the speaker has finished.
Don't interrupt or allow yourself to become distracted. Keep asking yourself, "What's the point?"
Don't change the subject. Make a brief mental summary of the conversation as you go along.
Emotions should be kept under control. Try to identify with the speaker.
Respond appropriately to words and underlying meanings.
Slow down your internal thoughts and concentrate on the speaker's message.

Check out our Curriculum Tool Kit

Exchange has packaged six of its most popular curriculum resources into a single Curriculum Tool Kit and is offering the entire set at a 33% discount. Resources in the kit include…

Beginnings Workshops Book #4 — Curriculum: Brain Research, Math, Science
Beginnings Workshops Book #5 — Curriculum: Art, Music, Movement, Drama
Hearing Everyone’s Voice: Educating Young Children for Peace and Democratic Community
Connecting: Friendship in the Lives of Young Children
The Wonder of It: Exploring How the World Works
Out of the Box Training Kit: Recognizing the Essentials of Developmentally Appropriate Curriculum

Let Walden University transform you from a good educator into a great one. Our M.S. in Education, Ed.D. and Ph.D. in Education programs provide the skills you need to be a leader in the 21st-century education market. Our expert faculty and quality curricula set Walden apart. Learn more here.

For more information about Exchange's magazine, books, and other products pertaining to ECE, go to www.ccie.com.