Students elicit various forms of feedback in classroom communication Discuss how a trainer can appropriately monitor and receive

the various forms of feedback in classroom communication [50]

Introduction
Communication is a complex, ongoing process that brings us into contact with the people in our world. Often communication is viewed as a straightforward exchange of messages between a speaker and a listener, but this is a nave view. As indicated in this paper, communication is a symbolic process of sharing meanings. Shannon's (1948) model of the communication process is, in important ways, the beginning of the modern field. It provided, for the first time, a general model of the communication process that could be treated as the common ground of such diverse disciplines as journalism, rhetoric, linguistics, and speech and hearing sciences. Part of its success is due to its structuralist reduction of communication to a set of basic constituents that not only explain how communication happens, but why communication sometimes fails. The model's enduring value is readily evident in introductory textbooks. It remains one of the first things most students learn about communication when they take an introductory communication class. Indeed, it is one of only a handful of theoretical statements about the communication process that can be found in introductory textbooks in both mass communication and interpersonal communication.

Shannon's model, as shown in the diagram above, breaks the process of communication down into eight discrete components:

1. An information source. Presumably a person who creates a message. 2. The message, which is both sent by the information source and received by the destination. 3. A transmitter. For Shannon's immediate purpose a telephone instrument that captures an audio signal, converts it into an electronic signal, and amplifies it for transmission through the telephone network. 4. The signal, which flows through a channel. There may be multiple parallel signals, as is the case in face-to-face interaction where sound and gesture involve different signal systems that depend on different channels and modes of transmission. 5. A carrier or channel, which is represented by the small unlabeled box in the middle of the model. The most commonly used channels include air, light, electricity, radio waves, paper, and postal systems. 6. Noise, in the form of secondary signals that obscure or confuse the signal carried. Today we use noise more as a metaphor for problems associated with effective listening. 7. A receiver. In Shannon's conception, the receiving telephone instrument. In face to face communication a set of ears (sound) and eyes (gesture). 8. A destination. Presumably a person who consumes and processes the message. The major problem with Shannons model of communications is that it is simplex communication. That is to say it depicts communication as occurring from the originator of the message to the receiver. Such a model, whilst it is adequate for explanatory purposes, fails to address the manner in which most communication processes go by. First and for most, in real life communication scenarios, the parties that are communicating both assume the roles of transmitters and receivers simultaneously. That is to say communication is normally a duplex process. Shannons model also fails to explain the responses that the listener provides to the originator of the message as a means of acknowledging receipt. This is an important part in the communication process, in which feedback must be generated by the listener. The interactive communication model is a way to represent how two people communicate. One person, the sender, wants to send a piece of information, the message. The sender uses a communication channel, such as email or face-to-face conversation, to a second person, the receiver. Sometimes noise, a term referring to any distractions, will compromise the message. Once the receiver has

the message, he or she will send feedback, letting the sender know whether the message was transmitted well and how the receiver feels about it. The communication of both people, the sender and receiver, is influenced by their individual experiences, culture, and knowledge. This is called their field of experience. Other models of communication are also used to represent communication. The linear communication model is more basic, while the transactional communication model is more complex. The importance of communication in the classroom is a key part of keeping the class together. The way that a teacher communicates with their students could make or break how the students interact in the classroom. When a teacher communicates effectively with their students many different things can happen: learning can become easier, the class goals are more likely to be made, the teacher and students tend to have a better connection and it creates a positive atmosphere. To create a classroom environment where communication issues are openly recognized and managed in a way that promotes learning.

Definition of terms

Feedback: Process in which the effect or output of an action is 'returned' (fed-back) to modify the next action. Feedback is essential to the working and survival of all regulatory mechanisms found throughout living and non-living nature, and in man-made systems such as education system and economy. As a two-way flow, feedback is inherent to all interactions, whether human-to-human, human-to-machine, or machine-to-machine. In an organizational context, feedback is the information sent to an entity (individual or a group) about its prior behavior so that the entity may adjust its current and future behavior to achieve the desired result. Feedback occurs when an environment reacts to an action or behavior. For example, 'customer feedback' is the buyers' reaction to a firm's products and policies, and 'operational feedback' is the internally generated information on a firm's performance. Response to a stimuli (such as criticism or praise) is considered a feedback only if it brings about a change in the recipient's behavior.

Feedback is information given to a person to evaluate behaviors. People can give you feedback on things you do or say. Feedback is important to you because it will tell you how you are doing and if you are doing what is expected of you. Feedback can be either positive or negative. If you are doing a job or an assignment correctly, you will receive positive feedback and you will know that you should continue that behavior. Positive feedback tells you that everything is going well. Negative feedback, on the other hand, tells you that you are not doing as you are expected. It tells you that you must in some way alter your behavior so that you will be doing things right. Classroom A 'classroom' is: 1) an auditorium where students and teachers regularly meet for academic exercises 2) academic exercises in general, usually in reference to a student's performance http://wiki.answers.com/ Communication: the act or process of communicating; fact of being communicated. The imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions, or information by speech, writing, or signs. Something imparted, interchanged, or transmitted. The act or process of transmitting information (as about ideas, attitudes, emotions, or objective behavior) Communication can also be said to be exchange of information between individuals through a common system of signs, symbols, or behavior.

Main Body.
Human beings are said to be always communicating, so long as they are alive. According to www.qualityintegration.biz Communication takes place everywhere. Everyone communicates all the
time. Communication is a central phenomenon in all business activities, interaction between people, and also in nature. Communication is a very natural activity. Communication is the basis of all human interaction, and it is evident that it is the "condition sine qua non", in other words the necessary condition, of human existence and social order.. To create an environment that is conducive for learning the trainer should be I a position to monitor and use all forms of communication feedback that the students may exhibit to him.

Students behave in different ways to communicate, sometimes at a sub conscious level, their attitudes towards a lesson. Take for example; students may start behaving rudely in class. According to www.cmu.edu Sometimes students engage in rude behaviors because they have become disengaged

from the class. This can happen if they are bored, confused or frustrated. It can also happen if the material is sufficiently controversial or sensitive that students become anxious, uncomfortable, or angry.
Sometimes students act rudely as a way of registering their disapproval with the course as a whole. This may be particularly true in required courses, but may also occur if students view the class as unfair, irrelevant, or disorganized. While it is tempting to the teacher to feel frustrated, it is important to try and figure out what the rude behavior is trying to communicate. If students are behaving rudely, pay attention to additional cues (e.g., body language, facial expressions) to determine the cause. At times students start behaving rudely because they dont understand the concepts that are being taught. The trainer might be moving at a pace that is too fast for the students, or at times the trainer might be assuming too much prior knowledge and not addressing the basics that may be required for the student to understand. If students look confused, you may have to slow down; if they look bored, you may want to pick up the pace. If they look disgruntled or angry, you may need to ask questions to diagnose areas of misunderstanding or discomfort. You may also want to collect information more formally. If you cannot diagnose the problem on the basis of in-class observation, consider collecting more data on student understanding and/or student perceptions. Student performance on quizzes, assignments or exams, as well as on classroom assessment techniques (CATS) can give you a sense of whether the material is pitched at the right level for the majority of students. Information about student perceptions of the course (or specific content areas) can be gleaned via informal conversations with students in or outside class, by using an early course evaluation, by asking a T.A. to serve as a liaison with students, or by appointing a student ombudsman to relay student feedback to you. If students seem disengaged or disgruntled, address the problem immediately. How you do this will depend on the nature of the problem and the objectives of the course. If the problem is situational and short-term (for example, during a unit focused on material that is particularly sensitive or emotionally provocative) it might be enough to simply prepare students better for their own and their classmates reactions, to provide them with venues (e.g., journals, blogs) to air their opinions and perspectives, and provide ground rules to ensure that discussions are respectful and productive. If the problem is one of slow pacing, you might want to pick up the pace for the class as a whole, or to encourage students who are bored to tackle more sophisticated variations on the assigned work. By the same token, if you find you are moving too fast (leaving a number of your students behind) you may want to slow down or offer extra review sessions outside of class time. Sometimes the problems involve the design of the course as a whole, or teaching problems that are more extensive.

Apart from monitoring non verbal cues within the classroom environment, the trainer can take deliberate approach to gathering feedback from students on learning outcomes. One such method is the teacher designed feedback form. In this instance the teacher may ask students to complete a brief questionnaire with multiple choice questions or questions with scaled responses about aspects of his teaching that he would like feedback on. The multiple choice and or scaled responses will enable anomity and thus provide for a degree of accuracy. This the trainer will be able to achieve by creating a set of responses such that the students individual response is not identifiable. WWW. Provides an option of posing open ended questions in the class room, thereby creating, discussion forums. This method is highly effective in societies that have embraced technology in the learning environment. The site recommends a discussion board in which, the trainer or other students may post questions for other students to respond to. The student, remains with an option to use their real names, an alias or to remain anonymous altogether. The website also recommends the use of instant messaging sessions during the class, whereby students are encouraged to communicate using social networking tools such as facebook, twitter and yahoo IM in which students may respond to questions posted by the teacher on the classroom environment or his teaching methods. Create discussion board forums in myWPI asking students to answer these questions each week. Allow anonymous postings so students can remain

anonymous if they want to. Schedule instant messaging sessions periodically throughout the class and ask students to join you and provide feedback. Common instant messaging systems such as
AOL Messenger or Yahoo Messenger can be used. Another method of attaining feedback from students is to ask students to provide critical learning statements. In other words ask students to write down the critical points they have most clearly learned from class and the points they are still most clear about. A variation is to ask students to write down the questions they have about a topic just covered in the class. Ask students to respond via a written note or email, keeping in mind that the responses will not be anonymous. The lack of anonymity may be helpful if you find that individual students need a bit more attention from you than others on specific topics. In line with the critical learning statement, the trainer may ask students to write him a letter. Ask students to reflect on their learning experiences in the format of a letter addressed to you. Explain why you want them to write a letter and indicate the preferred length and the types of information you are looking for. To get compliance, offer a grade based on completion only and completion will be based on answering the questions that you pose. This method allows students to speak freely by giving them a chance to provide qualitative feedback not necessarily obtained through surveys and feedback forms. After you compile the feedback, write a letter to the class sharing what youve learned and the changes you plan to make based on their feedback.

Conclusion
There are many different strategies that a teacher can use to effectively communicate to their classroom. The first one is to assess and develop your own communication skills and knowledge. By doing this teacher set the tone for the year and students become adapted to the way the school year will be run. Another strategy is to learn more about each students communication before the course begins. This way the class runs more smoothly and it deepens the connection the students have with their teacher. Adjust the classroom environment as needed and Establish communication rules and guidelines. These two strategies are key when communicating with a class. Some days the students attention span is not what it normally is and you need to be able to look at the situation and figure out a way to make the class calm down and listen. It is also very important to create an environment where by students are free to express their attitudes, fears and misgivings on a course. After all a student will only learn when he or she wants to. Monitoring the feedback that students will provide in the classroom, will not only provide the trainer with the attitudes the students have towards the course , but will adequately arm him with the necessary information to create an environment that will make the learning experience more complete and beneficial to the student.