Newsletter #31: Listen Up!

“I don’t need you to fix it for me, Mom, I just need you to listen!” I had an epiphany several years ago during a conversation with my child. I’m not a very good listener. It turns out I’m in good company. In a recent survey, 96 percent of respondents said they were always or sometimes good listeners. However, a different study shows that on average we retain only half of what people say to us.

I’m no math teacher, but that doesn’t add up. There is a disconnect in what we perceive our listening skills to be and what reality is. The good news is we can improve through practice and we can pass those skills on to our students.

Project Zero, a Harvard Graduate School of Education initiative, creates simple, research-based thinking routines which can be used to educate people to think, engage, and actively listen.

The Micro Lab Protocol was developed by the New South Wales Educational Authority in partnership with Project Zero. The purpose of this routine is to give every student a participatory voice, to practice speaking and active listening.

• Set up: This routine works best in triads. It can be used to reflect and build on a particular topic or to present new information.
• The 1st person in the group shares for a set time (1-2 minutes). The other members listen attentively without comment or interruption.
• Pause for 30 seconds of silence to take in what was said. Notes can be taken.
• Repeat for persons 2 and 3, pausing for 30 seconds after each round.
• Discuss as a group (5-10 minutes) referencing the comments that have been made and making connections between responses.
• Share the thinking. As a whole group, ask students to reflect on the protocol itself and how it facilitated their thinking, listening, and speaking skills.

If we want to increase the social IQs and communication skills of our students, it’s critical we teach them how. Next time a student speaks out of turn, interrupts, or asks a question you’ve already answered, take 15 minutes to teach correct behaviors. We cannot expect students to know things we haven’t explicitly taught them, and it’s unfair to punish them for behaviors adults haven’t mastered. Do you hear me?