Re: Teaching Listening - Please read!!

[Andrew @ StellaTeach.Me]

Hi Emma,

The part about workshop details that I saw only said "more info coming soon.."  or something along those lines.   Did I look at the wrong link? 

Cheers,

Andrew

------------------ Original ------------------

From: "Emma Quayle";

Date: 2012年7月30日(星期一) 晚上8:52

To: "teaching-listening";

Cc: "andrew";

Subject: Re: Teaching Listening - Please read!!

Hi Andrew,

 

Thanks for taking the time to feedback on the site and for the good advice, there are some really useful tips there. Not only applicable this site, but also for others I have/will make in the future.

 

At the moment however, what I am primarily looking for is more in the way of feedback on the actual workshops - do they seem to run ok? Is there too much or too little content? Do you think it will be engaging enough for the children?

 

If you are able to look over them too that would be fantastic.

 

Thanks again,

 

Emma

 

On Monday, July 30, 2012 12:00:50 PM UTC+1, Andrew @ StellaTeach.Me wrote:

Hi Emma,

Your site looks great!   ( http://listeninglearning.wordpress.com/ )

I have reviewed it and made a few suggestions as you requested ;


- Main page / header:  Facebook, Twitter, Youtube Channel and SoundCloud account links make it easier for people to connect with you in other ways and also to share you with their friends! 

- A link showing your mission and core values on the header bar can help attract more like-minded people faster

-  Having an introduction video makes it easier and faster for people to understand and share your vision 

-  Having a carousel widget can help to make your content more visually accessible and more likely to be clicked.  Maybe www.widgetbox.com has a good one you can customize...

-  In reference to Julian I highly recommend embedding his TED videos right into your page as he lends a ton of credibility and more importantly, his TED talk content is important to share with others and allow them to easily share alike.   

-  You've done a great job with allowing comments on about every page, but is there a way to allow visitors to add content or otherwise interact with your site and keep coming back for more?  

-  About You;  Where is your photo?  Faces are easier to remember.  Also, I have learned that it is hard to spread a message without people knowing you.  ( I finally allowed my face to be used in marketing materials and on packaging :| )

-  Your chimp is great, but the resolution is too low.  Alot of people might not notice this consciously but it does have an impact on everyone who sees it.  I recommend www.istockphoto.com for great HD photos.  Otherwise you might be able to find some great free images on bing.com image search.  

As stated above, your site is already great and only will get better!  I hope my thoughts and suggestions help!  If not, then I will give you a full refund!  ;) 

Cheers,

Andrew

------------------ Original ------------------

From:  "Emma Quayle"<e.qu...@hotmail.com>;

Date:  Wed, Jul 25, 2012 05:41 AM

To:  "teaching-listening"<teaching-list...@googlegroups.com>;

Subject:  Teaching Listening - Please read!!

Hi All,

I have started devising a series of workshops to host in Primary and Secondary Schools in Edinburgh, to start later in this academic year.
This is not something that I have done before and so I am looking for as much feedback and advice as I can get before I head out there...

I have created a blog, which can be found at www.listeninglearning.wordpress.com where I am in the process of uploading the work that I have done so far in preparing the workshops.

If you could spare some time over the next few days to read through what I am planning and write a few lines in response, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Emma

[Emma Quayle]

:) Yes, there are a couple of workshops under Workshops -> Paradykes Primary -> workshop 1 and 2.
I guess that's something i should make more clear to. You just never know with wordpress how obvious the different dropdown menus are going to be...
Some of these workshops will be transferable into the primary/secondary ones. I am just working on the Paradykes school in particular at the moment as my work is running a project there which includes these workshops so they have to be ready asap.
Emma
 

---

From: and...@stellateach.me
To: e.qu...@hotmail.com; teaching-...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: Teaching Listening - Please read!!
Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2012 16:18:45 +0800

Hi Emma,

The part about workshop details that I saw only said "more info coming soon.."  or something along those lines.   Did I look at the wrong link? 

Cheers,

Andrew

------------------ Original ------------------

From: "Emma Quayle";

Date: 2012嚙羯7嚙踝蕭30嚙踝蕭(嚙瞑嚙踝蕭嚙瑾) 嚙賠上8:52

[Andrew Aker]

Thanks Emma,

I found it now!

May I ask what is your target for these workshops?  To raise awareness, spark a lifelong interest, signups for future courses?  All of the above?

I will make a short note for each segment of your lesson.   By the way, do you have a specific amount of time planned for each segment?  How many students in the group at once and what their age groups and pre-existing behavioral issues will also factor into your effectiveness. 

Intro:  I think you have a great concept.  It brings our unconscious processing of sound into our awareness in an unexpected way.

Starter:  Again, great job!  Asking the students to draw on pre-existing emotional connections ( and re-activates the amygdala ) that they have makes it very relative and thus more highly memorable to them.  This follows alot of the criteria in the book "Made to Stick" which discusses why some ideas stick and others don't.   Stories provide a context for the concepts and make them highly memorable.

As a teacher the only point I would disagree with here is telling the students that it is a "difficult thing".  I've been called radical in the past because I give students very difficult tasks and concepts to learn, but without telling them that they are difficult.  It is through this method that we've successfully taught trigonometry to six year olds!  I would only tell the kids that it is difficult after they've already completed the first lesson and felt some progress.  By saying "The task you've just aced is actually one of the most difficult things for anyone of any age to really learn, so you guys should be proud of yourselves!" you can build confidence and interest very quickly.  This instills the belief that things are only as hard as we believe them to be, and if we just try our best consistently we can master any skill, and much faster than we expected at first!

Activity: It seems that you are a very experienced and seasoned teacher!  This next concept might seem counter-intuitive as this is supposed to be a listening development class but my research shows that if we can combine the senses in the lesson then we get longer retention of the lesson content.  I propose to ask your students to draw what they hear.  ( Even drawing with their eyes closed can help. )  This involves kinesthetic and visual / spatial neurological firing in the brain which gives more feedback to the hippocampus, thus strengthening long term memory.  A method that can help  to directly intervene in neuro-plastic brain activity you may find that blindfolding ( this may likely not be feasible ) students for the entire period.  After not very long being blindfolded, the parts of your brain that were previously being used to process vision start to be used to process sound and touch.  ( That's why blind people generally have amazing hearing abilities and can read braille so fluently. ) 

I meant just to do a short note for each one but got carried away!  I've run out of time for today.  If you feel my notes are beneficial I will carry on tonight or tomorrow morning, just let me know. 

 Otherwise I would recommend adding the following; 

*  An interactive game such as "name that sound" or "make that sound". 

* A review / quiz section at the end ( your preview for the next lesson is very good to have )

* Rewards ( like fruit roll ups ) are also a great incentive for kids to interact, and make them want to come back for more. 

* A progress chart where students can visualize their success in learning.

* Links to activities your site or interaction with your site during the lesson time.



Hope that helps!



*******************

The first of three workshops – Listening Skills

Introduction

As the kids come in an audio track is playing in the background (this could be any soundscape) I gradually turn it down and as they get quieter, realising the sound has gone, I ask them it what it was we were listening to, where was it, how many different sounds could they hear?

I introduce myself, saying that over the next three workshops we will be learning one of the most difficult things, but something that we actually do naturally all day everyday: how to listen.

Starter

Ask if anyone knows someone that cuts them off when they are talking? Anyone that always thinks they have a better story to tell? – Put up hands if that person is another pupil? An adult? Ask volunteers to tell us about their culprit who doesn’t listen – ask how this makes them feel. Ask if they treat their friends or family this way?

Repeat “So today they are going to be learning one of the most difficult things, how to listen”

Activity

Ask for a volunteer to come up the front and whisper in their ear that I want them to time for 1 minute after I have spoken to the group and to tell the class when that minute is complete.

Tell the class that we are going to sit for 1 minute and just listen.

When the minute is up, quietly tell the group to make a list of all the sounds that they heard. (I make a list too)

Ask again for volunteers to tell me what they heard, then ask questions like ‘how many footsteps?’, ‘When in the minute did you hear that?’  - Corroborate a list of what sounds were heard on a ‘sound map’, including the quantity/quality and discuss sounds that they wouldn’t usually notice, were there any sounds that usually just slip into the background? Any sounds that they didn’t think counted? (Giggles, body noises, breathing etc.) à Introduce the concept of a ‘soundscape’ as all of the sounds heard in a particular location, considered as a whole. Ask if they can think of sounds in other soundscapes, i.e. in a city, at home that are often not counted? Or that people don’t realise that are there?

Extension//////

Do the same listening task, but this time playing two different soundscapes – one typically urban, one rural. Ask the pupils to make lists of what that they heard in each recording. Then ask them what differences they can see between these two different environments. How did each track make them feel? What would it be like/how easy or hard would it be to have a conversation with someone in each of these environments?

Plenary

In this workshop we discussed not listening versus listening and how that makes ourselves and other people feel. We listened to our environment and also saw the difference between listening and not listening in that context. Here we also extended our listening skills by analysing what we had heard and considering what did and didn’t count. We learnt that, together, the sounds we hear around us are called the Soundscape, and that there are sounds there too which we often don’t realise are there. (And Extension,  that these sounds too have an effect on how we feel.)

The next workshop will look at how we hear and, now that we’ve started out on the path to being better listeners, we can make some sounds of our own.

[Emma]

Andrew, your advice is invaluable, this is exactly what i was looking for, and thank you for putting so much time into going so in-depth!

I have to admit, these ideas are not completely my own, so your comment that i seem experienced may be a bit misplaced :s but thank you anyway! :)

This set of workshops is for primary school children but I'm not sure exactly what age(s) ill be working with - i have to meet with the headmaster at the start of the school year to discuss this. But it'll be for any age 6/7-11. I am working to a regular lesson plan, at the advice of a teacher friend of mine, so I'm planning to run them for 1 hour. The aim of the workshops is to engage the kids in the acoustic remedial works going on in their dining hall (explained further on the blog) by raising awareness about the importance of listening (and building up skills), so yes, i guess it is mainly about raising awareness. Essentially, I want to help build up a generation of young people who are more sound aware, so that in the future there will be better quality aural environments. A life-long interest is also important, especially for this set of workshops, as one of my objectives (set by my work) has to be to encourage a future career in sound, or at least to give this to them as an option that they may not realise exists.


I had thought about getting them to draw what they were hearing as well but i wasn't sure whether it would take up too much time, but if, as you say, they have their eyes closed or are blind folded, they will just draw randomly and not be concerned about the quality/accuracy of their drawings. I did this as a workshop in Sardinia with some teenagers actually - mixing listening with drawing, drawing without seeing and then transferring this into movement.

I will make the changes you have suggested to the workshops and re-post.

I like the idea of using my website in some way for the lessons. Maybe i can use your match the animal sounds game...?
I could also upload the soundscapes I'm going to use to there and any recording work they do could go up there as well. :)
And it would be a good way for enabling teachers to re-use parts from the workshops as teaching materials, or for parents to see what the kids have been doing after the workshops are over.

Great!

Yeah, if you could look over the other one as well, that would be fantastic, and I have a final one on the way (for this set of workshops)

Where do you live Andrew? Are you in the UK?


Emma

[Andrew @ StellaTeach.Me]

Hi Emma,

It's a good feeling knowing that I am contributing!  

Experienced or not, your lesson format is pretty sound and it is great to have some veterans backing you up! 

The planning process will prove priceless for you as time goes on.  Sometimes lesson plans and lesson delivery look very different from eachother, but the planning stage prepares you better for when the need to improvise arises.  

You really hit on something very profound and important for all educators;   "Revealing options that students didn't know existed."   Though students may never want to grow and be sound artists or scientists, they will at least have it as another option.  

My last message about blindfolding wasn't very clear.  I actually didn't think of having them draw blindfolded ( I was discussing two separate concepts ) but imagining it now I could see some very good laughs when everyone does a show and tell at the end!   

Sardinia sounds interesting!  I recommend posting their drawings and some videos or photos and then inviting those students to comment on them! 

There are two separate memory flash games that come up in this group, animals sounds not belonging to me.  I made the one that teaches the spoken words as it is intended to be an ESL game.  However you are free to use it while it is still in beta!   I am working with the production company that helped us make it to get it converted into an embeddable website widget and an iPad game!  

About using your site as a portal for further student interaction feel free to check out how we do it on our website;  www.stellateach.me  It is a student / teacher / parent educational networking site where video of every class is uploaded, along with interactive homework assignments, supplementary materials, related flash games and more.  It's good for teachers to re-use work, to share with others and for students and parents to be able to review long into the future.  It's a work in progress so your critique is very welcome!    

For the Plenary and Extension sections I recommend "planting the seeds" for future lessons where the students learn the connection between today's lessons and later lessons.  I think a big goal for this program is teaching better communication skills through better listening, right?   Maybe in future lessons let the students listen to two recorded conversations at the same time and see how much they can pick up from each?   Another concept is where you have scripted dialogs with emotional states embedded.  i.e. The angry supermarket customer is shouting a starting to look volatile;  How can we listen better and get him to cool down? 

Though I think the sound effects and soundscapes are very wonderful tools for teaching I still find the application might still be a bit abstracted from the daily life of most kids.  It is cool an interesting to experience the lessons I think they will take much more from it if we can give them something concrete and measurable;  "Today I learned how to use my improved listening skills to get better grades in school."  or "Today I learned how to use my improved listening skills to calm myself down when I am upset."

I must also not forget to recommend the advice of a great author and highly effective teacher:  Stephen R. Covey.  In his book "7 Habits of Highly Effective People"  he said that the best way to learn something is to then turn around immediately and teach it to someone else.  Since I read those words I made it a point to embed that into nearly every single homework assignment I have ever given thereafter.  This process forces your brain to shift its paradigm on the subject and to know it much better than ever before.  An added bonus to this for kids is that they get a role-reversal.  They are the sage teaching their parents their new found wisdom, and parents get to know what it feels like to be a kid and a learner again.  This creates an even stronger bond between parents and kids which truly foments better listening on both sides and all important trust in the relationship.  

An example of homework I might give if I was teaching your lesson; 

1.  Use your smartphone ( even young kids seem to have them these days ) or otherwise go to www.soundboard.com, get 5 distinctly different sounds.

2.  Using the 5 sounds you got, teach mom and dad ( or brother / sister / friend, whoever you can ) what you've learned today.       

3. Try to get a video of your homework and upload it to http://listeninglearning.wordpress.com/

*Really awesome or really funny homework uploaders get McDonald's icecream ( or something less nefarious ) as a reward!

Then as students upload their homework over the long term they build their own timeline of their learning process.  That is something that is truly priceless and magical for parents and teachers to see.

I am based in Shenzhen, China.  Learning and teaching here since 2001.  Let me know if you plan to make any trips to China or Hong Kong!  

Give me a few more days to get to your other workshop.  Though my time is limited I have made it my life's mission to help other teachers as much as I can and spread messages ( such as the importance of listening ) that the world needs to hear!


All the best,

Andrew

------------------ Original ------------------

From:  "Emma Quayle"<e.qu...@hotmail.com>;

Date:  Wed, Aug 1, 2012 05:46 PM

To:  "teaching-listening"<teaching-...@googlegroups.com>;

[e.qu...@hotmail.com]

Hey, just to let you know I'm reworking the 2nd workshop, so unless you really want to, you could wait until I have the new version up and comment on the new one to save you reading it twice...

Yes, its always something that stumped me as a child, and something I wish there was more guidance on - options of real life things you can do wiyh the things you are learning (last minute trips to the 'careers office' just don't cut it...)

I like your ideas for planting seeds and also for using role reversal homework.
I agree I need to give more concrete things to take away, that's a good point already that I can input into the other workshops, as I was struggling a bit with trying to fit in recordings/bits of info which are probably actually unnecessary for the message I am trying to put across at this point.

I may come to China :)  I am thinking also of doing a TEFL course so I could work abroad, - there is another ESL teacher who has just joined the group too, (Tracy I think) who is working in the Philippines and is working on developing listening skills lessons for learning new language sounds.

Anyway, I have to get off this train now. I'll let you know when the other workshops are up.
Cheers,
Emma

[Emma]

Hi Andrew,
Just to let you know that i have my second workshop up ready for commentary when you have a moment.
I'm going to start on the third and final one now and then start to apply some of your comments for homework and making them more concrete.
Cheers!
Emma

On 02/08/2012 04:36, Andrew @ StellaTeach.Me wrote:

Hi Emma,

It's a good feeling knowing that I am contributing!�0�2�0�2

Experienced or not, your lesson format is pretty sound and it is great to have some veterans backing you up!�0�2

The planning process will prove priceless for you as time goes on.�0�2 Sometimes lesson plans and lesson delivery look very different from eachother, but the planning stage prepares you better for when the need to improvise arises.�0�2�0�2

You really hit on something very profound and important for all educators;�0�2�0�2 "Revealing options that students didn't know existed."�0�2�0�2 Though students may never want to grow and be sound artists or scientists, they will at least have it as another option.�0�2�0�2

My last message about blindfolding wasn't very clear.�0�2 I actually didn't think of having them draw blindfolded ( I was discussing two separate concepts ) but imagining it now I could see some very good laughs when everyone does a show and tell at the end!�0�2�0�2�0�2

Sardinia sounds interesting!�0�2 I recommend posting their drawings and some videos or photos and then inviting those students to comment on them!�0�2

There are two separate memory flash games that come up in this group, animals sounds not belonging to me.�0�2 I made the one that teaches the spoken words as it is intended to be an ESL game.�0�2 However you are free to use it while it is still in beta!�0�2�0�2 I am working with the production company that helped us make it to get it converted into an embeddable website widget and an iPad game!�0�2�0�2

About using your site as a portal for further student interaction feel free to check out how we do it on our website;�0�2 www.stellateach.me�0�2 It is a student / teacher / parent educational networking site where video of every class is uploaded, along with interactive homework assignments, supplementary materials, related flash games and more.�0�2 It's good for teachers to re-use work, to share with others and for students and parents to be able to review long into the future.�0�2 It's a work in progress so your critique is very welcome! �0�2 �0�2

For the Plenary and Extension sections I recommend "planting the seeds" for future lessons where the students learn the connection between today's lessons and later lessons.�0�2 I think a big goal for this program is teaching better communication skills through better listening, right?�0�2�0�2 Maybe in future lessons let the students listen to two recorded conversations at the same time and see how much they can pick up from each?�0�2�0�2 Another concept is where you have scripted dialogs with emotional states embedded.�0�2 i.e. The angry supermarket customer is shouting a starting to look volatile;�0�2 How can we listen better and get him to cool down?�0�2

Though I think the sound effects and soundscapes are very wonderful tools for teaching I still find the application might still be a bit abstracted from the daily life of most kids.�0�2 It is cool an interesting to experience the lessons I think they will take much more from it if we can give them something concrete and measurable;�0�2 "Today I learned how to use my improved listening skills to get better grades in school."�0�2 or "Today I learned how to use my improved listening skills to calm myself down when I am upset."

I must also not forget to recommend the advice of a great author and highly effective teacher:�0�2 Stephen R. Covey.�0�2 In his book "7 Habits of Highly Effective People"�0�2 he said that the best way to learn something is to then turn around immediately and teach it to someone else.�0�2 Since I read those words I made it a point to embed that into nearly every single homework assignment I have ever given thereafter.�0�2 This process forces your brain to shift its paradigm on the subject and to know it much better than ever before.�0�2 An added bonus to this for kids is that they get a role-reversal.�0�2 They are the sage teaching their parents their new found wisdom, and parents get to know what it feels like to be a kid and a learner again.�0�2 This creates an even stronger bond between parents and kids which truly foments better listening on both sides and all important trust in the relationship. �0�2

An example of homework I might give if I was teaching your lesson;�0�2

1.�0�2 Use your smartphone ( even young kids seem to have them these days ) or otherwise go to www.soundboard.com, get 5 distinctly different sounds.

2.�0�2 Using the 5 sounds you got, teach mom and dad ( or brother / sister / friend, whoever you can ) what you've learned today. �0�2�0�2 �0�2 �0�2

3. Try to get a video of your homework and upload it to http://listeninglearning.wordpress.com/

*Really awesome or really funny homework uploaders get McDonald's icecream ( or something less nefarious ) as a reward!

Then as students upload their homework over the long term they build their own timeline of their learning process.�0�2 That is something that is truly priceless and magical for parents and teachers to see.

I am based in Shenzhen, China.�0�2 Learning and teaching here since 2001.�0�2 Let me know if you plan to make any trips to China or Hong Kong!�0�2�0�2

Give me a few more days to get to your other workshop.�0�2 Though my time is limited I have made it my life's mission to help other teachers as much as I can and spread messages ( such as the importance of listening ) that the world needs to hear!


All the best,

Andrew

------------------�0�2Original�0�2------------------

From: �0�2"Emma Quayle"<e.qu...@hotmail.com>;

Date: �0�2Wed, Aug 1, 2012 05:46 PM

To: �0�2"teaching-listening"<teaching-...@googlegroups.com>;

Subject: �0�2Re: Teaching Listening - Please read!!

Andrew, your advice is invaluable, this is exactly what i was looking for, and thank you for putting so much time into going so in-depth!

I have to admit, these ideas are not completely my own, so your comment that i seem experienced may be a bit misplaced :s but thank you anyway! :)

This set of workshops is for primary school children but I'm not sure exactly what age(s) ill be working with - i have to meet with the headmaster at the start of the school year to discuss this. But it'll be for any age 6/7-11. I am working to a regular lesson plan, at the advice of a teacher friend of mine, so I'm planning to run them for 1 hour. The aim of the workshops is to engage the kids in the acoustic remedial works going on in their dining hall (explained further on the blog) by raising awareness about the importance of listening (and building up skills), so yes, i guess it is mainly about raising awareness. Essentially, I want to help build up a generation of young people who are more sound aware, so that in the future there will be better quality aural environments. A life-long interest is also important, especially for this set of workshops, as one of my objectives (set by my work) has to be to encourage a future career in sound, or at least to give this to them as an option that they may not realise exists.


I had thought about getting them to draw what they were hearing as well but i wasn't sure whether it would take up too much time, but if, as you say, they have their eyes closed or are blind folded, they will just draw randomly and not be concerned about the quality/accuracy of their drawings. I did this as a workshop in Sardinia with some teenagers actually - mixing listening with drawing, drawing without seeing and then transferring this into movement.

I will make the changes you have suggested to the workshops and re-post.

I like the idea of using my website in some way for the lessons. Maybe i can use your match the animal sounds game...?
I could also upload the soundscapes I'm going to use to there and any recording work they do could go up there as well. :)
And it would be a good way for enabling teachers to re-use parts from the workshops as teaching materials, or for parents to see what the kids have been doing after the workshops are over.

Great!

Yeah, if you could look over the other one as well, that would be fantastic, and I have a final one on the way (for this set of workshops)

Where do you live Andrew? Are you in the UK?


Emma

On 01/08/2012 05:09, Andrew Aker wrote:

Thanks Emma,

I found it now!

May I ask what is your target for these workshops?�0�2 To raise awareness, spark a lifelong interest, signups for future courses?�0�2 All of the above?

I will make a short note for each segment of your lesson.�0�2�0�2 By the way, do you have a specific amount of time planned for each segment?�0�2 How many students in the group at once and what their age groups and pre-existing behavioral issues will also factor into your effectiveness.�0�2

Intro:�0�2 I think you have a great concept.�0�2 It brings our unconscious processing of sound into our awareness in an unexpected way.

Starter:�0�2 Again, great job!�0�2 Asking the students to draw on pre-existing emotional connections ( and re-activates the amygdala ) that they have makes it very relative and thus more highly memorable to them.�0�2 This follows alot of the criteria in the book "Made to Stick" which discusses why some ideas stick and others don't.�0�2�0�2 Stories provide a context for the concepts and make them highly memorable.

As a teacher the only point I would disagree with here is telling the students that it is a "difficult thing".�0�2 I've been called radical in the past because I give students very difficult tasks and concepts to learn, but without telling them that they are difficult.�0�2 It is through this method that we've successfully taught trigonometry to six year olds!�0�2 I would only tell the kids that it is difficult after they've already completed the first lesson and felt some progress.�0�2 By saying "The task you've just aced is actually one of the most difficult things for anyone of any age to really learn, so you guys should be proud of yourselves!" you can build confidence and interest very quickly.�0�2 This instills the belief that things are only as hard as we believe them to be, and if we just try our best consistently we can master any skill, and much faster than we expected at first!

Activity: It seems that you are a very experienced and seasoned teacher!�0�2 This next concept might seem counter-intuitive as this is supposed to be a listening development class but my research shows that if we can combine the senses in the lesson then we get longer retention of the lesson content.�0�2 I propose to ask your students to draw what they hear.�0�2 ( Even drawing with their eyes closed can help. )�0�2 This involves kinesthetic and visual / spatial neurological firing in the brain which gives more feedback to the hippocampus, thus strengthening long term memory.�0�2 A method that can help�0�2 to directly intervene in neuro-plastic brain activity you may find that blindfolding ( this may likely not be feasible ) students for the entire period.�0�2 After not very long being blindfolded, the parts of your brain that were previously being used to process vision start to be used to process sound and touch.�0�2 ( That's why blind people generally have amazing hearing abilities and can read braille so fluently. )�0�2

I meant just to do a short note for each one but got carried away!�0�2 I've run out of time for today.�0�2 If you feel my notes are beneficial I will carry on tonight or tomorrow morning, just let me know.�0�2

�0�2Otherwise I would recommend adding the following;�0�2

*�0�2 An interactive game such as "name that sound" or "make that sound".�0�2

* A review / quiz section at the end ( your preview for the next lesson is very good to have )

* Rewards ( like fruit roll ups ) are also a great incentive for kids to interact, and make them want to come back for more.�0�2

* A progress chart where students can visualize their success in learning.

* Links to activities your site or interaction with your site during the lesson time.



Hope that helps!



*******************

The first of three workshops �C Listening Skills

Introduction

As the kids come in an audio track is playing in the background (this could be any soundscape) I gradually turn it down and as they get quieter, realising the sound has gone, I ask them it what it was we were listening to, where was it, how many different sounds could they hear?

I introduce myself, saying that over the next three workshops we will be learning one of the most difficult things, but something that we actually do naturally all day everyday: how to listen.

Starter

Ask if anyone knows someone that cuts them off when they are talking? Anyone that always thinks they have a better story to tell? �C Put up hands if that person is another pupil? An adult? Ask volunteers to tell us about their culprit who doesn��t listen �C ask how this makes them feel. Ask if they treat their friends or family this way?

Repeat ��So today they are going to be learning one of the most difficult things, how to listen��

Activity

Ask for a volunteer to come up the front and whisper in their ear that I want them to time for 1 minute after I have spoken to the group and to tell the class when that minute is complete.

Tell the class that we are going to sit for 1 minute and just listen.

When the minute is up, quietly tell the group to make a list of all the sounds that they heard. (I make a list too)

Ask again for volunteers to tell me what they heard, then ask questions like ��how many footsteps?��, ��When in the minute did you hear that?�� �0�2- Corroborate a list of what sounds were heard on a ��sound map��, including the quantity/quality and discuss sounds that they wouldn��t usually notice, were there any sounds that usually just slip into the background? Any sounds that they didn��t think counted? (Giggles, body noises, breathing etc.) �� Introduce the concept of a ��soundscape�� as all of the sounds heard in a particular location, considered as a whole. Ask if they can think of sounds in other soundscapes, i.e. in a city, at home that are often not counted? Or that people don��t realise that are there?

Extension//////

Do the same listening task, but this time playing two different soundscapes �C one typically urban, one rural. Ask the pupils to make lists of what that they heard in each recording. Then ask them what differences they can see between these two different environments. How did each track make them feel? What would it be like/how easy or hard would it be to have a conversation with someone in each of these environments?

Plenary

In this workshop we discussed not listening versus listening and how that makes ourselves and other people feel. We listened to our environment and also saw the difference between listening and not listening in that context. Here we also extended our listening skills by analysing what we had heard and considering what did and didn��t count. We learnt that, together, the sounds we hear around us are called the Soundscape, and that there are sounds there too which we often don��t realise are there. (And Extension,�0�2 that these sounds too have an effect on how we feel.)

The next workshop will look at how we hear and, now that we��ve started out on the path to being better listeners, we can make some sounds of our own.

On Tuesday, July 31, 2012 4:46:03 PM UTC+8, Emma Quayle wrote:

:) Yes, there are a couple of workshops under Workshops -> Paradykes Primary -> workshop 1 and 2.
I guess that's something i should make more clear to. You just never know with wordpress how obvious the different dropdown menus are going to be...
Some of these workshops will be transferable into the primary/secondary ones. I am just working on the Paradykes school in particular at the moment as my work is running a project there which includes these workshops so they have to be ready asap.
Emma

�0�2

---

From: and...@stellateach.me
To: e.qu...@hotmail.com; teaching-listening@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: Teaching Listening - Please read!!
Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2012 16:18:45 +0800

Hi Emma,

The part about workshop details that I saw only said "more info coming soon.."�0�2 or something along those lines.�0�2�0�2 Did I look at the wrong link?�0�2

Cheers,

Andrew

------------------�0�2Original�0�2------------------

From: "Emma Quayle";

Date: 2012����7����ʒ30����ʒ(�����ʒ���) ���r��8:52

To: "teaching-listening";

Cc: "andrew";

Subject: Re: Teaching Listening - Please read!!

Hi Andrew,

�0�2

Thanks for taking the time to feedback on the site and for the good advice, there are some really useful tips there. Not only applicable this site, but also for others I have/will make in the future.

�0�2

At the moment however, what I am primarily looking for is more in the way of feedback on the actual workshops - do they seem to run ok? Is there too much or too little content? Do you think it will be engaging enough for the children?

�0�2

If you are able to look over them too that would be fantastic.

�0�2

Thanks again,

�0�2

Emma

�0�2

On Monday, July 30, 2012 12:00:50 PM UTC+1, Andrew @ StellaTeach.Me wrote:

Hi Emma,

Your site looks great! �0�2 ( http://listeninglearning.wordpress.com/ )

I have reviewed it and made a few suggestions as you requested ;

- Main page / header:�0�2 Facebook, Twitter, Youtube Channel and SoundCloud account links make it easier for people to connect with you in other ways and also to share you with their friends!�0�2

- A link showing your mission and core values on the header bar can help attract more like-minded people faster

-�0�2 Having an introduction video makes it easier and faster for people to understand and share your vision�0�2

-�0�2 Having a carousel widget can help to make your content more visually accessible and more likely to be clicked.�0�2 Maybe www.widgetbox.com has a good one you can customize...

-�0�2 In reference to Julian I highly recommend embedding his TED videos right into your page as he lends a ton of credibility and more importantly, his TED talk content is important to share with others and allow them to easily share alike.�0�2 �0�2

-�0�2 You've done a great job with allowing comments on about every page, but is there a way to allow visitors to add content or otherwise interact with your site and keep coming back for more? �0�2

-�0�2 About You;�0�2 Where is your photo?�0�2 Faces are easier to remember.�0�2 Also, I have learned that it is hard to spread a message without people knowing you.�0�2 ( I finally allowed my face to be used in marketing materials and on packaging :| )

-�0�2 Your chimp is great, but the resolution is too low.�0�2 Alot of people might not notice this consciously but it does have an impact on everyone who sees it.�0�2 I recommend www.istockphoto.com for great HD photos.�0�2 Otherwise you might be able to find some great free images on bing.com image search. �0�2

As stated above, your site is already great and only will get better!�0�2 I hope my thoughts and suggestions help!�0�2 If not, then I will give you a full refund!�0�2 ;)�0�2

Cheers,

Andrew

------------------ Original ------------------

From: �0�2"Emma Quayle"<e.qu...@hotmail.com>;

Date: �0�2Wed, Jul 25, 2012 05:41 AM

To: �0�2"teaching-listening"<teaching-list...@googlegroups.com>;

Subject: �0�2Teaching Listening - Please read!!

[Andrew @ StellaTeach.Me]

That's great Emma! 

I hope to get a free moment tomorrow to give more commentary!

Cheers,

Andrew

------------------ Original ------------------

From:  "Emma Quayle"<e.qu...@hotmail.com>;

Date:  Mon, Aug 6, 2012 07:49 PM

To:  "teaching-listening"<teaching-...@googlegroups.com>;

Subject:  Re: Teaching Listening - Please read!!

Hi Andrew,

Just to let you know that i have my second workshop up ready for commentary when you have a moment.
I'm going to start on the third and final one now and then start to apply some of your comments for homework and making them more concrete.
Cheers!
Emma

On 02/08/2012 04:36, Andrew @ StellaTeach.Me wrote:

Hi Emma,

It's a good feeling knowing that I am contributing!  

Experienced or not, your lesson format is pretty sound and it is great to have some veterans backing you up! 

The planning process will prove priceless for you as time goes on.  Sometimes lesson plans and lesson delivery look very different from eachother, but the planning stage prepares you better for when the need to improvise arises.  

You really hit on something very profound and important for all educators;   "Revealing options that students didn't know existed."   Though students may never want to grow and be sound artists or scientists, they will at least have it as another option.  

My last message about blindfolding wasn't very clear.  I actually didn't think of having them draw blindfolded ( I was discussing two separate concepts ) but imagining it now I could see some very good laughs when everyone does a show and tell at the end!   

Sardinia sounds interesting!  I recommend posting their drawings and some videos or photos and then inviting those students to comment on them! 

There are two separate memory flash games that come up in this group, animals sounds not belonging to me.  I made the one that teaches the spoken words as it is intended to be an ESL game.  However you are free to use it while it is still in beta!   I am working with the production company that helped us make it to get it converted into an embeddable website widget and an iPad game!  

About using your site as a portal for further student interaction feel free to check out how we do it on our website;  www.stellateach.me  It is a student / teacher / parent educational networking site where video of every class is uploaded, along with interactive homework assignments, supplementary materials, related flash games and more.  It's good for teachers to re-use work, to share with others and for students and parents to be able to review long into the future.  It's a work in progress so your critique is very welcome!    

For the Plenary and Extension sections I recommend "planting the seeds" for future lessons where the students learn the connection between today's lessons and later lessons.  I think a big goal for this program is teaching better communication skills through better listening, right?   Maybe in future lessons let the students listen to two recorded conversations at the same time and see how much they can pick up from each?   Another concept is where you have scripted dialogs with emotional states embedded.  i.e. The angry supermarket customer is shouting a starting to look volatile;  How can we listen better and get him to cool down? 

Though I think the sound effects and soundscapes are very wonderful tools for teaching I still find the application might still be a bit abstracted from the daily life of most kids.  It is cool an interesting to experience the lessons I think they will take much more from it if we can give them something concrete and measurable;  "Today I learned how to use my improved listening skills to get better grades in school."  or "Today I learned how to use my improved listening skills to calm myself down when I am upset."

I must also not forget to recommend the advice of a great author and highly effective teacher:  Stephen R. Covey.  In his book "7 Habits of Highly Effective People"  he said that the best way to learn something is to then turn around immediately and teach it to someone else.  Since I read those words I made it a point to embed that into nearly every single homework assignment I have ever given thereafter.  This process forces your brain to shift its paradigm on the subject and to know it much better than ever before.  An added bonus to this for kids is that they get a role-reversal.  They are the sage teaching their parents their new found wisdom, and parents get to know what it feels like to be a kid and a learner again.  This creates an even stronger bond between parents and kids which truly foments better listening on both sides and all important trust in the relationship.  

An example of homework I might give if I was teaching your lesson; 

1.  Use your smartphone ( even young kids seem to have them these days ) or otherwise go to www.soundboard.com, get 5 distinctly different sounds.

2.  Using the 5 sounds you got, teach mom and dad ( or brother / sister / friend, whoever you can ) what you've learned today.       

3. Try to get a video of your homework and upload it to http://listeninglearning.wordpress.com/

*Really awesome or really funny homework uploaders get McDonald's icecream ( or something less nefarious ) as a reward!

Then as students upload their homework over the long term they build their own timeline of their learning process.  That is something that is truly priceless and magical for parents and teachers to see.

I am based in Shenzhen, China.  Learning and teaching here since 2001.  Let me know if you plan to make any trips to China or Hong Kong!  

Give me a few more days to get to your other workshop.  Though my time is limited I have made it my life's mission to help other teachers as much as I can and spread messages ( such as the importance of listening ) that the world needs to hear!


All the best,

Andrew

------------------ Original ------------------

From:  "Emma Quayle"<e.qu...@hotmail.com>;

Date:  Wed, Aug 1, 2012 05:46 PM

To:  "teaching-listening"<teaching-...@googlegroups.com>;

Subject:  Re: Teaching Listening - Please read!!

Andrew, your advice is invaluable, this is exactly what i was looking for, and thank you for putting so much time into going so in-depth!

I have to admit, these ideas are not completely my own, so your comment that i seem experienced may be a bit misplaced :s but thank you anyway! :)

This set of workshops is for primary school children but I'm not sure exactly what age(s) ill be working with - i have to meet with the headmaster at the start of the school year to discuss this. But it'll be for any age 6/7-11. I am working to a regular lesson plan, at the advice of a teacher friend of mine, so I'm planning to run them for 1 hour. The aim of the workshops is to engage the kids in the acoustic remedial works going on in their dining hall (explained further on the blog) by raising awareness about the importance of listening (and building up skills), so yes, i guess it is mainly about raising awareness. Essentially, I want to help build up a generation of young people who are more sound aware, so that in the future there will be better quality aural environments. A life-long interest is also important, especially for this set of workshops, as one of my objectives (set by my work) has to be to encourage a future career in sound, or at least to give this to them as an option that they may not realise exists.


I had thought about getting them to draw what they were hearing as well but i wasn't sure whether it would take up too much time, but if, as you say, they have their eyes closed or are blind folded, they will just draw randomly and not be concerned about the quality/accuracy of their drawings. I did this as a workshop in Sardinia with some teenagers actually - mixing listening with drawing, drawing without seeing and then transferring this into movement.

I will make the changes you have suggested to the workshops and re-post.

I like the idea of using my website in some way for the lessons. Maybe i can use your match the animal sounds game...?
I could also upload the soundscapes I'm going to use to there and any recording work they do could go up there as well. :)
And it would be a good way for enabling teachers to re-use parts from the workshops as teaching materials, or for parents to see what the kids have been doing after the workshops are over.

Great!

Yeah, if you could look over the other one as well, that would be fantastic, and I have a final one on the way (for this set of workshops)

Where do you live Andrew? Are you in the UK?


Emma

On 01/08/2012 05:09, Andrew Aker wrote:

Thanks Emma,

I found it now!

May I ask what is your target for these workshops?  To raise awareness, spark a lifelong interest, signups for future courses?  All of the above?

I will make a short note for each segment of your lesson.   By the way, do you have a specific amount of time planned for each segment?  How many students in the group at once and what their age groups and pre-existing behavioral issues will also factor into your effectiveness. 

Intro:  I think you have a great concept.  It brings our unconscious processing of sound into our awareness in an unexpected way.

Starter:  Again, great job!  Asking the students to draw on pre-existing emotional connections ( and re-activates the amygdala ) that they have makes it very relative and thus more highly memorable to them.  This follows alot of the criteria in the book "Made to Stick" which discusses why some ideas stick and others don't.   Stories provide a context for the concepts and make them highly memorable.

As a teacher the only point I would disagree with here is telling the students that it is a "difficult thing".  I've been called radical in the past because I give students very difficult tasks and concepts to learn, but without telling them that they are difficult.  It is through this method that we've successfully taught trigonometry to six year olds!  I would only tell the kids that it is difficult after they've already completed the first lesson and felt some progress.  By saying "The task you've just aced is actually one of the most difficult things for anyone of any age to really learn, so you guys should be proud of yourselves!" you can build confidence and interest very quickly.  This instills the belief that things are only as hard as we believe them to be, and if we just try our best consistently we can master any skill, and much faster than we expected at first!

Activity: It seems that you are a very experienced and seasoned teacher!  This next concept might seem counter-intuitive as this is supposed to be a listening development class but my research shows that if we can combine the senses in the lesson then we get longer retention of the lesson content.  I propose to ask your students to draw what they hear.  ( Even drawing with their eyes closed can help. )  This involves kinesthetic and visual / spatial neurological firing in the brain which gives more feedback to the hippocampus, thus strengthening long term memory.  A method that can help  to directly intervene in neuro-plastic brain activity you may find that blindfolding ( this may likely not be feasible ) students for the entire period.  After not very long being blindfolded, the parts of your brain that were previously being used to process vision start to be used to process sound and touch.  ( That's why blind people generally have amazing hearing abilities and can read braille so fluently. ) 

I meant just to do a short note for each one but got carried away!  I've run out of time for today.  If you feel my notes are beneficial I will carry on tonight or tomorrow morning, just let me know. 

 Otherwise I would recommend adding the following; 

*  An interactive game such as "name that sound" or "make that sound". 

* A review / quiz section at the end ( your preview for the next lesson is very good to have )

* Rewards ( like fruit roll ups ) are also a great incentive for kids to interact, and make them want to come back for more. 

* A progress chart where students can visualize their success in learning.

* Links to activities your site or interaction with your site during the lesson time.



Hope that helps!



*******************

The first of three workshops – Listening Skills

Introduction

As the kids come in an audio track is playing in the background (this could be any soundscape) I gradually turn it down and as they get quieter, realising the sound has gone, I ask them it what it was we were listening to, where was it, how many different sounds could they hear?

I introduce myself, saying that over the next three workshops we will be learning one of the most difficult things, but something that we actually do naturally all day everyday: how to listen.

Starter

Ask if anyone knows someone that cuts them off when they are talking? Anyone that always thinks they have a better story to tell? – Put up hands if that person is another pupil? An adult? Ask volunteers to tell us about their culprit who doesn’t listen – ask how this makes them feel. Ask if they treat their friends or family this way?

Repeat “So today they are going to be learning one of the most difficult things, how to listen”

Activity

Ask for a volunteer to come up the front and whisper in their ear that I want them to time for 1 minute after I have spoken to the group and to tell the class when that minute is complete.

Tell the class that we are going to sit for 1 minute and just listen.

When the minute is up, quietly tell the group to make a list of all the sounds that they heard. (I make a list too)

Ask again for volunteers to tell me what they heard, then ask questions like ‘how many footsteps?’, ‘When in the minute did you hear that?’  - Corroborate a list of what sounds were heard on a ‘sound map’, including the quantity/quality and discuss sounds that they wouldn’t usually notice, were there any sounds that usually just slip into the background? Any sounds that they didn’t think counted? (Giggles, body noises, breathing etc.) à Introduce the concept of a ‘soundscape’ as all of the sounds heard in a particular location, considered as a whole. Ask if they can think of sounds in other soundscapes, i.e. in a city, at home that are often not counted? Or that people don’t realise that are there?

Extension//////

Do the same listening task, but this time playing two different soundscapes – one typically urban, one rural. Ask the pupils to make lists of what that they heard in each recording. Then ask them what differences they can see between these two different environments. How did each track make them feel? What would it be like/how easy or hard would it be to have a conversation with someone in each of these environments?

Plenary

In this workshop we discussed not listening versus listening and how that makes ourselves and other people feel. We listened to our environment and also saw the difference between listening and not listening in that context. Here we also extended our listening skills by analysing what we had heard and considering what did and didn’t count. We learnt that, together, the sounds we hear around us are called the Soundscape, and that there are sounds there too which we often don’t realise are there. (And Extension,  that these sounds too have an effect on how we feel.)

The next workshop will look at how we hear and, now that we’ve started out on the path to being better listeners, we can make some sounds of our own.

On Tuesday, July 31, 2012 4:46:03 PM UTC+8, Emma Quayle wrote:

:) Yes, there are a couple of workshops under Workshops -> Paradykes Primary -> workshop 1 and 2.
I guess that's something i should make more clear to. You just never know with wordpress how obvious the different dropdown menus are going to be...
Some of these workshops will be transferable into the primary/secondary ones. I am just working on the Paradykes school in particular at the moment as my work is running a project there which includes these workshops so they have to be ready asap.
Emma
 

---

From: and...@stellateach.me
To: e.qu...@hotmail.com; teaching-listening@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: Teaching Listening - Please read!!
Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2012 16:18:45 +0800

Hi Emma,

The part about workshop details that I saw only said "more info coming soon.."  or something along those lines.   Did I look at the wrong link? 

Cheers,

Andrew

------------------ Original ------------------

From: "Emma Quayle";

Date: 2012嚙羯7嚙踝蕭30嚙踝蕭(嚙瞑嚙踝蕭嚙瑾) 嚙賠上8:52

To: "teaching-listening";

Cc: "andrew";

Subject: Re: Teaching Listening - Please read!!

Hi Andrew,

 

Thanks for taking the time to feedback on the site and for the good advice, there are some really useful tips there. Not only applicable this site, but also for others I have/will make in the future.

 

At the moment however, what I am primarily looking for is more in the way of feedback on the actual workshops - do they seem to run ok? Is there too much or too little content? Do you think it will be engaging enough for the children?

 

If you are able to look over them too that would be fantastic.

 

Thanks again,

 

Emma

 

On Monday, July 30, 2012 12:00:50 PM UTC+1, Andrew @ StellaTeach.Me wrote:

Hi Emma,

Your site looks great!   ( http://listeninglearning.wordpress.com/ )

I have reviewed it and made a few suggestions as you requested ;

- Main page / header:  Facebook, Twitter, Youtube Channel and SoundCloud account links make it easier for people to connect with you in other ways and also to share you with their friends! 

- A link showing your mission and core values on the header bar can help attract more like-minded people faster

-  Having an introduction video makes it easier and faster for people to understand and share your vision 

-  Having a carousel widget can help to make your content more visually accessible and more likely to be clicked.  Maybe www.widgetbox.com has a good one you can customize...

-  In reference to Julian I highly recommend embedding his TED videos right into your page as he lends a ton of credibility and more importantly, his TED talk content is important to share with others and allow them to easily share alike.   

-  You've done a great job with allowing comments on about every page, but is there a way to allow visitors to add content or otherwise interact with your site and keep coming back for more?  

-  About You;  Where is your photo?  Faces are easier to remember.  Also, I have learned that it is hard to spread a message without people knowing you.  ( I finally allowed my face to be used in marketing materials and on packaging :| )

-  Your chimp is great, but the resolution is too low.  Alot of people might not notice this consciously but it does have an impact on everyone who sees it.  I recommend www.istockphoto.com for great HD photos.  Otherwise you might be able to find some great free images on bing.com image search.  

As stated above, your site is already great and only will get better!  I hope my thoughts and suggestions help!  If not, then I will give you a full refund!  ;) 

Cheers,

Andrew

------------------ Original ------------------

From:  "Emma Quayle"<e.qu...@hotmail.com>;

Date:  Wed, Jul 25, 2012 05:41 AM

To:  "teaching-listening"<teaching-list...@googlegroups.com>;

Subject:  Teaching Listening - Please read!!

[Andrew Aker]

Hi Emma,

Your second workshop outline looks fantastic!   The only thing I can ask for is a video of it and share with our listening group online!!   Also if you can get audio recording of the class or the original music track available for download that would be a great supplement for the students to use at home!   

I really love how you show how deaf musicians use other senses to "hear" !  ( In the next few years we are going to see some AMAZING devices created that take advantage of this exact phenomenon of neuro-plasticity and allow the deaf and blind to hear and see!  ) 

Keep up the awesomeness!  See you in the classroom!

Cheers,

Andrew

p.s. I can't wait to see the workshop on our ancestors!  One theory that I've found very effective in putting into practice with rhythm in the classroom comes from tribal drum beats that date back to pre-historic times!  

[Emma]

Hi again!
My third workshop is now available online for review at www.listeninglearning.wordpress.com/workshops/paradykes-primary/workshop3/
I not sure whether it may not be specific enough for it's required application - teaching the kids how the acoustics in their school hall is effecting their behaviour, but I can always change bits around. I wanted also to fit in a section on our ancestors use of sound but was unable to link it all up in such a short amount of time - this is something I will add into the longer workshops that i will be drawing up next.
Cheers
Emma

[Andrew Aker]

Emma,

I just plugged your wordpress site on facebook but the thumbnail didn't show up very well :( 

https://www.facebook.com/andrew.aker1/posts/399347916798574?notif_t=share_comment

That's because your header image on your page is on big rectangle;  http://listeninglearning.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/cropped-head1.jpg 

If you can crop the image to being almost a square it will show up on facebook posts much better.  There is a way to make the rest of the white background just from code.  If you like I can connect you with a good programmer here in China.  Her English isn't so good but she does some pro bono work to help our educational cause! 

Let me know if that's what you're into!

Cheers and all the best,

Andrew

[Emma Quayle]

Hi Andrew,

 

How are you? I've not been working on the workshops for a while, other things got prioritised. Also, the project that my work is doing with a school - at which i was planning on doing the workshops, seems to have fallen by the wayside.

 

I was wondering if you would be able to expand a bit on what it is that you actually do with Stella teach... Do you work in a school? is it ELS through listening games? - sorry if you told me already before.

 

- I am planning on doing some traveling at the end of the year/beginning of next year. I don't want to do random sight seeing but would like to go to China, maybe Tibet, I also have friends in Australia, who i would like to see - i am thinking to come away for a couple of months at least.  Maybe i could come and work with you and put some of this listening stuff into practice. - Just an idea.

Emma